Hundreds of thousands of people have still not registered for eVisas, leaving them without the means to prove their immigration status just days before the final deadline.
The Home Office is replacing physical identity documents for millions of migrants with online information, which can be used for traveland the right to work and rent a home.
The new system has been dogged by a succession of technical problems. A high court challenge is under way arguing that the Home Office should put in a physical backup for times when the online system fails.
According to Home Office data, by the end of 2024 3.2 million people had registered for eVisas out of an estimated 4 million who need them. Another 100,000 eVisa accounts were created in January.
The Home Office says that earlier this year 100,000 visas expired, mainly for students, and it is not known whether this group have all left the country or are in the process of applying for alternative visas. This means there could be up to 700,000 people who will not have registered for eVisas by the 1 June deadline. It is also not known how many people have created eVisa accounts that are not working.
Lawyers, the media and advocacy groups have received countless complaints about the problems people have experienced with eVisas. Some people have been delayed in boarding return flights to the UK after staff at foreign airports have not accepted the eVisas or because they could not be accessed online.
The Home Office has already twice extended the deadline for registering, firstly from 31 December 2024 to 31 March 2025 and then to 1 June in the hope of getting more people to register.
Officials confirmed there had been at least two IT failures relating to online visa systems, the first from 5 to 6 March and the second on 8 and 9 May.
Home Office sources confirmed that the March issue related to a Home Office system update, which caused a limited number of people to see incorrect information within the “Update your details” element of their account.
This resulted in some people seeing an incorrect reference number and nationality for identity documents linked to their account. In the second incident, an error message popped up on screen when people tried to input visa information relating to email verification, preventing people from submitting visa applications. The error message said: “We are urgently working to fix this and are sorry for any inconvenience caused.”
Open Rights Group is one of the organisations that has raised concerns about failings in the eVisa system.
Sara Alsherif, the migrant rights programme manager at the group, said: “As a result of the flawed eVisa scheme, people with the legal right to be in the UK have been held at airports, denied jobs and even made homeless.”
Unkha Banda, a solicitor at Deighton Pierce Glynn involved in the eVisas legal challenge, said: “We’re seeing worrying numbers of clients being denied vital services like housing and public funds because their eVisa accounts contain incorrect personal information.
“Even more concerning is the fact that Home Office’s systems to fix these issues are slow and often ineffective. The government has the legal power to offer alternative proof of status – it must start doing so to prevent more people being harmed.”
