Latest news with #the3million
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The Independent
06-07-2025
- The Independent
Daughter of stranded 78-year-old Ukrainian slams UK eVisa system
A 78-year-old Ukrainian grandmother, Liudmyla Karpenko, was left stranded at Krakow airport after being denied boarding for a flight to the UK due to issues with her electronic visa (eVisa). Despite having confirmation from the Home Office of her correct visa status, Ms Karpenko's eVisa account would not link to her old residency permit, leading to her initial denial of travel. Her daughter, Maria Bondarenko, criticised the new eVisa system, highlighting its complexity for elderly individuals and the lack of effective support when problems occur. Ms Bondarenko incurred significant costs, estimated at £600, for her mother's accommodation, a new flight, and helpline calls, due to the eVisa complications. Rights groups, such as the3million, have called on the Home Office to address the disproportionate impact of the eVisa system on vulnerable and older people, noting that technology is failing many.
The Guardian
03-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Rollout of eVisas ‘could drag 200,000 people into Windrush-style scandal'
Up to 200,000 people who have lived in the UK legally for decades are at risk of being caught up in a Windrush-style scandal because the Home Office does not know their whereabouts or have their details on government computer systems. There are fears that some in this group will face a serious risk of being left undocumented as the Home Office converts immigration records from paper to digital. The news has emerged at a time when the Home Office says it is taking back control of its immigration system. Many of those affected are older people and some are not digitally literate. Many came from countries across Africa and Asia in the 1970s and 80s and were granted indefinite leave to remain by the Home Office with an ink stamp or vignette (sticker) in their passports, or a piece of paper confirming their status. This physical proof of right to remain is known as a legacy document. However, the Home Office is now encouraging everyone eligible to create an online eVisa account to replace their legacy document. Officials say the system is working well for millions of people, but many users have reported technical problems including with linking their passport to their eVisa. But the organisation the3million, which campaigns for the rights of EU citizens in the UK and has monitored the government's eVisa rollout closely, believes the Home Office is unable to track this large group of people down so cannot urge them to obtain eVisas. It is possible some may have died or left the UK. They did not feature on the Home Office's previous immigration database – CID (Case Information Database) – nor on Atlas, CID's replacement. The best estimate of the number involved is 200,000, which comes from a Home Office internal assessment (pdf) in April 2022. The Guardian 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. Naga Kandiah of MTC Solicitors has been working with some older people with legacy documents who are only now realising they need to go online and obtain eVisas. 'Individuals who were previously granted indefinite leave to remain or other long-term statuses via ink-stamped endorsements are increasingly being left behind,' he said. 'Despite holding lawful status, many are now at serious risk of being treated as undocumented, simply because their physical documents are not recognised or integrated into the Home Office's new digital eVisa platform. 'This vulnerable group often includes elderly, marginalised or digitally excluded individuals, many of whom have lived in the UK for 30 to 40 years or more. 'Without access to digital records or UK Visas and Immigration accounts, these individuals are effectively invisible within the current system, despite their lawful and settled status. Sign up to Headlines UK Get the day's headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning after newsletter promotion 'As a result, many are being denied access to essential services and entitlements, including pensions, universal credit, NHS treatment and housing, simply because they cannot prove their status under the digital framework.' Even when older people with ink stamps or vignettes in their passports do try to engage with eVisas, many are reporting problems with the system. The Guardian reported on the case of Kathleen Harper last year, an American actor with an ink stamp in her passport granting her indefinite leave to remain. She struggled to access her eVisa and abandoned her attempt. But recently she was asked to provide proof of her identity and tried again to obtain an eVisa. Despite the Home Office putting experienced technical advisers on the case, they still hit walls, repeatedly getting a message on screen saying: 'Cannot start yet.' Harper said: 'It has taken at least eight phone calls and several hours of my time to get my passport connected to my eVisa. Is this a sane way of going about things?' Home Office sources said they had apologised to Harper for the confusion concerning her case and that her eVisa issue had now been resolved. Monique Hawkins of the3million said: 'We believe the transition to eVisas could cause potential problems for people with legacy documents – there's an urgent need for an independent review of the entire eVisa system and its rushed rollout.'
Gulf Today
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Gulf Today
UK's eVisa rollout dogged by glitches, threatening rights
Beatrice Tridimas, Reuters Britain has failed to resolve years-old issues with its eVisa system ahead of the phase-out of physical immigration documents, jeopardising the rights of around 4 million people living legally in Britain, rights groups say. Hundreds of people have struggled to access new electronic records of their immigration status, making it hard to apply for welfare payments and prove their right to work or rent property. Electronic records of immigration status were introduced in 2019 for European Union citizens applying for settlement in Britain after the vote to leave the bloc. Now eVisas are being rolled out for non-EU migrants and refugees as part of a switch to an online-only system for verifying one's status. But data mix-ups, problems creating accounts and entire system outages have bedevilled the scheme. 'We've seen how the system fails (and are) warning the government that this is a flawed implementation,' said Andreea Dumitrache, the head of the3million, a grassroots group for EU citizens that supports those trying to switch to eVisas. 'A person's whole life is impacted and, especially for the most vulnerable, it's the difference between putting a roof over someone's head or not,' said Dumitrache. The government has said the online-only system, which it describes as 'tried and tested', will increase the immigration system's security and efficiency. In a glitch in March, the3million said some people found the wrong identity documents were attached to their UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account, where digital visas are accessed to help people prove their status to landlords, employers and government departments. The switch to eVisas was due to be completed at the end of 2024, but the Labour government extended the deadline to March 31, saying the previous Conservative administration had not managed all the risks. It has since pushed the date to June 1. Jorge Gomez was granted asylum in 2022 after fleeing Nicaragua where he was persecuted for being a journalist. He switched to an eVisa last November, but was unable to link his travel document, which is issued to refugees instead of a passport, to his UKVI account. 'I'm young, and I love technology, but it is actually very overwhelming creating an account and linking up your document,' he said. 'It's not easy. It's not intuitive either.' Rights groups said the final transition period to online immigration status has been rushed and poorly planned and no major changes have been made to the system despite the same technical glitches occurring since its inception. The government did not prepare for the 'infinite' variety of immigration needs, said Bethan Lant, principal immigration advisor at migrant charity Praxis. For example, there was no guidance for people who are waiting for their status to be renewed or for victims of domestic violence applying for permission to remain separately from their partner. Some people in these groups were unable to set up an eVisa or were shown an error message when they tried to access it. Neither the current government nor its predecessor has disclosed assessments of the impact on data protection or equality, failing to respond to multiple freedom of information requests submitted by nongovernmental organisations for access to such assessments. In December, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, who oversees immigration policy, said the government was extending the eVisa rollout period to assess risks and would apply a 'Windrush test,' a reference to a 2018 immigration scandal. In that case, thousands of people from Caribbean nations who lived legally in Britain for decades were unable to prove their right to stay because the government had not kept records of their arrival. Dozens of people were wrongly deported. The eVisa transition will be different to Windrush because everyone requiring an eVisa should have proof of their status in a letter or email, the government has said. The government promised to compensate people for losses stemming from the Windrush scandal. But there is no government liability for losses relating to eVisas, according to the terms and conditions of the UKVI system. 'They have learned from Windrush. They've learned to try and get rid of their responsibility,' said Lant. The3million has met with the Home Office seven times since December 2023 to raise issues with the technical functioning of eVisas. It has the Home Office to publish a detailed troubleshooting guide, explaining the various problems that exist and how best to resolve them. The Home Office has a Resolution Centre to provide support to people with issues accessing their eVisa and a helpline specifically for people seeking IT support. It also provided 4 million pounds ($5.18 million) to NGOs across the UK to help vulnerable and sick people set up their eVisas and UKVI accounts. But Dumitrache said the funding was inadequate and failed to consider that many people need help after setting up an account. The3million are calling for offline alternatives, but the government rejected a proposal to make proof of status accessible via an app, physical card or passport sticker. Gomez agrees that people need somewhere to turn when the tech does not work. 'It's important to have a physical document because if anything happens - for example, you lose your phone when you go abroad or it runs out of battery, or you don't have any data - how can you prove your status in the UK?' he said.
