Home Office confirms full rollout of eVisas delayed until 31 March 2025

The government’s initiative to transition to a fully digital eVisa system has been delayed until 31 March 2025 due to delays with the IT infrastructure. The delay means airlines and other carriers will continue to accept physical immigration documents such as Biometric Resident Permits as valid proof of permission to travel to the UK. We’ll speak to an immigration lawyer about the impact the delay will have on employers. 

A reminder. The eVisa system is a central component of the UK’s plan to modernize its border and immigration processes by replacing physical documents with digital proof of immigration status. The switch to a digital system is designed to enhance security, reduce fraud, and streamline the verification of immigration status for visa holders. The initial deadline for this transition was set for 31 December 2024 but has been pushed back by a further 3 months.

The Home Office says the IT problems which have caused the delay largely stem from the complexity of integrating new digital infrastructure with their existing systems. They say their goal is to achieve seamless data sharing between immigration databases, border control, and third-party stakeholders such as airlines but this is proving difficult. There are also problems with scaling up the new system to meet demand given it must support millions of users simultaneously while maintaining performance during peak periods. Security concerns have further complicated the rollout, given that the system must be robust against cyberattacks and comply with GDPR regulations to protect sensitive personal data. The Home Office reckons all of that will be fixed by 1 April next year. Meanwhile, visa holders who have not yet transitioned to the eVisa system are encouraged to create a UKVI account to access their digital status. 

So, let’s get a view on what the delay means for employers. Earlier I caught up with immigration expert Shara Pledger who joined me by video-link from Manchester to discuss it:

Shara Pledger: “It's slightly strange advice to give, but to a certain extent nothing really should change in terms of the approach that's being made. Ultimately, eVisas will become what is used in the UK. It might just be that the actual final kind of switch over from the physical documents to the digital is now slightly delayed by a few months. That absolutely does not mean that individuals should stop registering for their eVisas. They definitely should continue to do that. If they then see that they're having some IT issues, this cushion of time, if you like, can be used to resolve those issues. So, what I would definitely say to employers is not necessarily to sort of change your messaging, or certainly not to backtrack on previous messages that have been given encouraging people to register for their eVisa, that is still very much a required thing to do. What is different now is that there is some additional guidance that can be added to this to say in addition to having your eVisa, what you can also do is make sure that you travel with your share code that you can use to access your online account to prove your immigration status. If you have a Biometric Residence Permit don't throw it away, keep it with you if you travel, have it with you just in case of a problem if you are coming back over the border and it's not coming up with your eVisa information. So, this is really just about having those extra kind of comforts with you, if you like, to be able to say, well, if there is a problem with my eVisa, I know that I can resolve it by doing this, or I can resolve it by doing that. So, it's just about having more options about proving your status, not about abandoning eVisas in their entirety.”

Joe Glavina: “During the transition period from now until 1 April what support do employers have available to them?”

Shara Pledger: “The Home Office are continuing to increase the number of resources that they have. So, for example, there's now a designated page on the Home Office website where you can go to address problems that you identify in your eVisa. So, if you log into your eVisa, it's not your photograph, it's not your name, or the information there, it is not reflective of your current status, you can now specifically seek to address that. So, it is really important to just keep up to date with the information that the Home Office is releasing on this issue and that will continue to be the case, obviously, into the early part of 2025. We're now looking at 31st March 2025 for the end of use of those physical biometric documents so even though you've got them with you maybe for a few more months, don't give up on making sure that you are still following the latest information and guidance for that digital status.”

Joe Glavina: “Separately, we also have the UK’s Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme, Shara. Is that affected in any way by this delay?”

Shara Pledger: “The key message really is that Electronic Travel Authorisation is not impacted by these changes for eVisas. So Electronic Travel Authorisation is being introduced as of early January for a huge number of travellers, including those that will be coming into the UK for visits from the USA, from Canada, from Australia, from New Zealand, for example, and then as we move throughout the course of the year, as we get into April, we'll be including all of our neighbours from the European Union who are coming to visit into the UK as well. So, the registration process for the Electronic Travel Authorisation is already open for that first cohort who need those in place for travel from 8 January. Don’t ignore that even though eVisas is potentially seeing this sort of postponement for taking full effect into March. That doesn't impact the ETA registration so absolutely make sure that if you're going to require one, that you have one ready to go.”

As far as eVisas are concerned, there is a lot of useful information on the Government’s website including videos explaining what is changing and what will be required from 1 April next year. We have put a link to that in the transcript of this programme for you.

- Link to Government website on eVisas