The United Kingdom began rolling out a new e-visa system today, April 17, 2024. This marks a significant shift towards a digital immigration process for the country. Millions of immigrants residing in the UK with physical Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs) will be gradually transitioned to the new e-visa system.
The Home Office, the UK's immigration department, aims to achieve a completely digital immigration and border system by 2025. This initiative is expected to enhance security, streamline procedures, and offer greater convenience to immigrants.
Individuals with BRPs will receive email invitations to create accounts on the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) platform to access their e-visas. The physical BRPs will be phased out over time.
Minister for Legal Migration and the Border, Tom Pursglove MP, said in a press statement:
"We've already taken really significant steps to digitally transform the border and immigration system, and this wider rollout of eVisas is a key part of that process."
"Replacing physical immigration documents with eVisas will ensure firm control over who comes here to live, work or study, strengthening border security and preventing abuse of the immigration system, while delivering cost-savings for UK taxpayers."
'Tried and tested'
The announcement follows the British government's plans we had earlier reported on that focus on fully digitalizing the border systems and phasing out physical immigration documents by 2025.
According to the Home Office, eVisas bring "substantial benefits" to the UK public and are secure as "unlike a physical document cannot be lost, stolen or tampered with."
E-visas can be accessed in real-time from anywhere and as such, says the government, puts "customers in control of their own data." The online system will also allow them to "swiftly update the Home Office with new contact or passport details."
Organizations that require proof of your immigration status will conduct a quick and simple check via the GOV.UK website, whereas, public bodies such as the NHS England and Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) can automatically and securely access an individual's status when they apply to access benefits and public services.
"eVisas are tried and tested, with millions of customers already using them across routes including the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS). Most physical documents, such as biometric residence permits/cards (BRPs/BRCs) are being gradually phased out, with most BRPs expiring at the end of 2024," says the Home Office."
An e-visa will be safely connected to the individual biometric data of its holder, just like BRPs.
The switch to e-visas is in line with other affluent nations that have either adopted digital immigration status documents already or are about to do so.
Pros and cons
There might be some restrictions even though e-visas have some benefits and are more convenient because you don't have to bother about gathering and carrying physical documentation.
Given the fundamentals of public-key encryption, one major benefit of physical documents—especially those based on chips—is their capacity to be consistently validated offline, even in the face of certain limitations. The need for an always-online system is all but eliminated when paired with other security measures like watermarks and UV holograms included into these papers.
Put another way, without requiring an Internet connection, a user can even safely read and confirm the legitimacy of a BRP card (or an ePassport) using an NFC-enabled smartphone app. The biometric chip itself stores the information and photo of the document holder, which are both digitally signed by the issuing authority. Nevertheless, eGate failures have caused havoc for travelers at airports in the past.
What happens if there is a breakdown in the internet-connected IT systems that border guards and airlines depend on? How can the identity of passengers coming with eVisas, as opposed to tangible biometric credentials, be reliably checked in such a scenario?
So far, the technology appears to be working as millions of people already utilize e-visas after enrolling in the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS). Additionally, visitors to the UK from a number of countries are awarded an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) rather than a physical visa stamp.
Those who currently have an e-visa don't need to take any further action, but they should make sure that their passport information is current in their UKVI account.
Until they expire, the UK government continues to urge people to travel abroad with their valid physical immigration documents.
Updates and more details about the implementation can be found at www.gov.uk/evisa.
