{"id":284,"date":"2025-07-30T14:51:47","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T13:51:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/housing-rights.info\/news\/?p=284"},"modified":"2025-07-31T20:29:57","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T19:29:57","slug":"the-error-prone-evisa-and-other-issues-with-new-technology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/housing-rights.info\/news\/the-error-prone-evisa-and-other-issues-with-new-technology\/","title":{"rendered":"The error-prone eVisa and other issues with new technology"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Problems continue as eVisas are rolled out and there is good and bad news on other issues to do with use of new technology.<\/p>\n\n\n<style>.kb-table-of-content-nav.kb-table-of-content-id284_dddaba-8e .kb-table-of-content-wrap{padding-top:var(--global-kb-spacing-sm, 1.5rem);padding-right:var(--global-kb-spacing-sm, 1.5rem);padding-bottom:var(--global-kb-spacing-sm, 1.5rem);padding-left:var(--global-kb-spacing-sm, 1.5rem);background-color:#e7e7dd;border-top:1px solid #d0d0d0;border-right:1px solid #d0d0d0;border-bottom:1px solid #d0d0d0;border-left:1px solid #d0d0d0;border-top-left-radius:0.5rem;border-top-right-radius:0.5rem;border-bottom-right-radius:0.5rem;border-bottom-left-radius:0.5rem;}.kb-table-of-content-nav.kb-table-of-content-id284_dddaba-8e .kb-table-of-contents-title-wrap{padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;}.kb-table-of-content-nav.kb-table-of-content-id284_dddaba-8e .kb-table-of-contents-title{font-weight:regular;font-style:normal;}.kb-table-of-content-nav.kb-table-of-content-id284_dddaba-8e .kb-table-of-content-wrap .kb-table-of-content-list{color:#1b67a1;font-weight:regular;font-style:normal;margin-top:var(--global-kb-spacing-xs, 1rem);margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;}.kb-table-of-content-nav.kb-table-of-content-id284_dddaba-8e .kb-table-of-content-wrap .kb-table-of-content-list .kb-table-of-contents__entry:hover{color:#111111;}.kb-table-of-content-nav.kb-table-of-content-id284_dddaba-8e .kb-table-of-content-list li{margin-bottom:8px;}.kb-table-of-content-nav.kb-table-of-content-id284_dddaba-8e .kb-table-of-content-list li .kb-table-of-contents-list-sub{margin-top:8px;}.kb-table-of-content-nav.kb-table-of-content-id284_dddaba-8e .kb-toggle-icon-style-basiccircle .kb-table-of-contents-icon-trigger:after, .kb-table-of-content-nav.kb-table-of-content-id284_dddaba-8e .kb-toggle-icon-style-basiccircle .kb-table-of-contents-icon-trigger:before, .kb-table-of-content-nav.kb-table-of-content-id284_dddaba-8e .kb-toggle-icon-style-arrowcircle .kb-table-of-contents-icon-trigger:after, .kb-table-of-content-nav.kb-table-of-content-id284_dddaba-8e .kb-toggle-icon-style-arrowcircle .kb-table-of-contents-icon-trigger:before, .kb-table-of-content-nav.kb-table-of-content-id284_dddaba-8e .kb-toggle-icon-style-xclosecircle .kb-table-of-contents-icon-trigger:after, .kb-table-of-content-nav.kb-table-of-content-id284_dddaba-8e .kb-toggle-icon-style-xclosecircle .kb-table-of-contents-icon-trigger:before{background-color:#e7e7dd;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kb-table-of-content-nav.kb-table-of-content-id284_dddaba-8e .kb-table-of-content-wrap{border-top:1px solid #d0d0d0;border-right:1px solid #d0d0d0;border-bottom:1px solid #d0d0d0;border-left:1px solid #d0d0d0;}}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.kb-table-of-content-nav.kb-table-of-content-id284_dddaba-8e .kb-table-of-content-wrap{border-top:1px solid #d0d0d0;border-right:1px solid #d0d0d0;border-bottom:1px solid #d0d0d0;border-left:1px solid #d0d0d0;}}<\/style>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Updated Home Office guidance on eVisas<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">4.3 million people now have a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account, but 300,000 people still need to switch from their previous paperwork (according to the West Midlands SMP newsletter). Biometric Residence Permits and Residence Cards are no longer accepted as travel documents as of 2 June. The eVisa <a href=\"https:\/\/homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk\/2024\/12\/04\/media-factsheet-evisas-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" title=\"\">media factsheet<\/a> has been updated to reflect the change. Expired BRPs and BRCs can still be kept for personal records and assisting future immigration applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Benefits and eVisas<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a <a href=\"https:\/\/the3million.org.uk\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/DWP-reply-t3m-MigrantsOrganise-EvisaDigitaliisation-02Dec2024.pdf\">letter<\/a> to The3million, a DWP minister confirms that if DWP staff need to check someone\u2019s immigration status, this will be done using existing data sharing with the Home Office, such as via the Application Programming Interface and Status Verification and Enquiries Checking team. Where necessary, DWP customers will be contacted directly and given the opportunity to provide evidence of their immigration status. No action is taken on benefit claims without first giving individuals an opportunity to provide evidence of their immigration status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If there is a new application, e.g. from a refugee, then they also need to verify the person&#8217;s ID, and when they check directly with the Home Office the system does not show the person&#8217;s photo. Therefore, the person needs to show some kind of proper document that DWP can use to verify they are who they say they are, e.g. an application registration card (ARC).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">UK\u2019s error-prone eVisa system is \u201canxiety-inducing\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Technical difficulties mean scores of people living in the UK have no means to reliably prove their immigration status or \u201cright\u201d to be in the country, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/366625359\/UKs-error-prone-eVisa-system-is-anxiety-inducing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" title=\"\">says<\/a> <em>Computer Weekly<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019ve been seeing complaints about the eVisa scheme since day one, from the moment people began setting up their eVisa accounts,\u201d Sara Alsherif, migrant rights programme manager at Open Rights Group, said. \u201cNow, more than a year later, we\u2019re still seeing the same unresolved problems: system failures, people losing jobs and benefits due to technical errors, and others experiencing extreme stress when trying to return to the UK despite having a right to enter.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>The Guardian<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/charteredinstituteofhousing.sharepoint.com\/sites\/Marketing\/Shared%20Documents\/Campaigns\/2025\/Housing%20rights\/summer%2025%20newsletter\/Drafts\/The%20Guardian%20repeatedly%20asked%20the%20Home%20Office%20if%20it%20has%20records%20relating%20to%20those%20200,000%20people%20and%20if%20it%20knows%20how%20many%20are%20still%20alive%20and%20residing%20in%20the%20UK,%20but%20received%20no%20response.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" title=\"\">reports<\/a> that an estimated 200,000 people might be at risk of not being able to prove their status in a repeat of a Windrush-style scandal. It repeatedly asked the Home Office if it has records relating to those 200,000 people and if it knows how many are still alive and residing in the UK, but received no response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Migrant Voice <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/migrantvoice.bsky.social\/post\/3lt3f2vm22s2o\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" title=\"\">commented<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u201cThis is exactly what we have been warning about. E-visas aren&#8217;t ready to be enforced this way. For too many people they will lead to a loss of recognition of their status, loss of ability to work, and even loss of ability to rent. There needs to be a rethink.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In other news,\u00a0 it emerges that Labour MPs are backing a wider, digital identity card scheme, called a \u201cBritcard\u201d, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/ca28a2ea-1bf0-44c0-b127-56339284e48d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" title=\"\">reports<\/a> the <em>Financial Times.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">NACCOM launch their Recourse to Public Funds (RTPF) Checker<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">NACCOM\u2019s Recourse to Public Funds (RTPF) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nrpfnetwork.org.uk\/news\/rtpf-checker-launched\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" title=\"\">Checker<\/a> enables councils to \u201clook up\u201d a digital immigration status to establish a person\u2019s ability to access public funds when they have not set up an eVisa account or are struggling to use \u201cview and prove.\u201d<br><br>The Checker helps ensure people\u2019s rights are protected in the new world of digital immigration status. It is available to services, such as housing, that do not need the casework functionality of NRPF Connect (used by social care and NRPF teams).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To register an interest email <a href=\"mailto:nrpfconnect@islington.gov.uk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" title=\"\">nrpfconnect@islington.gov.uk<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nrpfnetwork.org.uk\/nrpf-connect\/rtpf-checker\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" title=\"\">find out more about the RTPF checker<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why the Home Office\u2019s \u201cAI Asylum Success Story\u201d was anything but<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Home Office briefed the media that their AI tool would save officials time. What they didn\u2019t mention was all the mistakes that it made, <a href=\"https:\/\/bylinetimes.com\/2025\/05\/19\/home-office-asylum-cases\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" title=\"\">according to<\/a> <em>Byline Times.<\/em> Recently, the government briefed media on what sounded like a success story: a new \u201cChatGPT-style\u201d tool that would allow them to cut the amount of time caseworkers spend on asylum claims, summarising information in order to save <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lbc.co.uk\/tech\/ai-deployed-reduce-asylum-backlog-saving-44-years-working-time\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" title=\"\">\u201c44 years of time\u201d<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What they didn\u2019t mention\u00a0were some of the alarming findings contained in a Home Office <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/publications\/evaluation-of-ai-trials-in-the-asylum-decision-making-process\/evaluation-of-ai-trials-in-the-asylum-decision-making-process#impact-findings\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" title=\"\">evaluation of the tool<\/a>, quietly published on their website on April 29, the same day Home Office minister Angela Eagle told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lbc.co.uk\/tech\/ai-deployed-reduce-asylum-backlog-saving-44-years-working-time\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" title=\"\"><em>LBC<\/em><\/a>: \u201cWe can cut nearly half the amount of time it takes for people to search the policy information notes, and we can cut by nearly a third, the amount of time it takes for cases to be summarised, and that means there are significant increases in productivity here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Roma and the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mihai C\u0103lin Bica of the Roma Support Group and Owen Parker and Olga Fuseini of the University of Sheffield have published an <a href=\"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/migration\/article\/13\/2\/mnaf011\/8125291\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" title=\"\">article<\/a> in <em>Migration Studies<\/em> on &#8220;Roma EU citizens and the United Kingdom&#8217;s EU Settlement Scheme: Another Windrush scandal in the making?&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Their research illustrates how historical marginalisation has made it difficult for Roma to successfully navigate the \u201cdigital by default\u201d EUSS in order to acquire settled status and, once acquired, use their new digital-only status in everyday life. It also exposes how those who were unable to acquire a new status, including many who had a legal right to status, &#8220;risked a definitive loss of rights post-Brexit.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Problems continue as eVisas are rolled out and there is good and bad news on other issues to do with use of new technology. Updated&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":266,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","slim_seo":{"title":"The error-prone eVisa and other issues with new technology - Housing Rights","description":"Problems continue as eVisas are rolled out and there is good and bad news on other issues to do with use of new technology. Updated Home Office guidance on eVis"},"_slim_seo_primary_term_category":0,"_slim_seo_primary_term_post_tag":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-evisas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/housing-rights.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/housing-rights.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/housing-rights.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/housing-rights.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/housing-rights.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=284"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/housing-rights.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/housing-rights.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/housing-rights.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/housing-rights.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/housing-rights.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}