The Home Office has admitted that many people who have the right to live and work in the UK cannot access their eVisas and provide proof that they are allowed to be in the country.
Human rights campaigners have said problems with accessing eVisas could lead to a scandal involving hundreds of thousands of people. Those affected are allowed to be in the UK but cannot show their right to work or rent a home.
At the end of this month the Home Office is transferring to a digital immigration system, and most physical documentation proving the right to remain in the UK, such as biometric residence permits, will expire.
The Guardian has learned that some of a particularly large group of migrants have not been able to obtain eVisas even though they have applied for them and have a right to receive them.
Hundreds of thousands of people are on a particularly harsh Home Office visa known as the 10-year route, where they have to pay large sums of money to renew.
Many people on that route are people of colour who are on low incomes. There are delays of about a year for those in that group each time they renew their visas, and they are granted “3C leave” while they wait, allowing them to work or rent properties.
But many who have applied for eVisas while waiting for their visas to be renewed have hit a wall when they make the application online. Although one screen states that a person has their eVisa, an error message appears when trying to open it. It states: “We cannot show you proof of your status. This might be because your status is not ready to view in this service yet.”
The Home Office said in response there were alternative ways to provide proof when people’s eVisas failed to work. But the Guardian was told by some people struggling to access their eVisas that some employers and estate agents were reluctant to accept any other evidence, and this hampered their ability to find work or a place to live.
Nick Beales, the head of campaigning at Refugee and Migrant Forum of Essex and London, said the problems with eVisas could lead to a Windrush-style scandal.
He said: “In June, the high court ruled that the government’s failure to provide people on 3C leave digital proof of status was unlawful. The new government though has refused to implement this ruling, suggesting that like their predecessors they have learned nothing from the Windrush scandal and remain committed to preserving the hostile environment.
“With the visa system going digital in one month, it is critical that everyone with immigration status can immediately access eVisas. Otherwise, it is certain that in 2025 tens of thousands of people on 3C leave will be wrongly suspended from work, deprived of disability benefits and denied other basic services.”
Home Office sources told the Guardian that because the digital visa system had been developed incrementally, some people who made their applications before their digital record status was created did not have digital 3C leave.
The department insists that having a digital-only immigration status will make things more secure, but many people claim they have been unable to access the eVisas.
Others who have obtained them may not be able to access their digital account online because of a lack of internet access or technical glitches in the system. The eVisa updates online and there is no QR code to download.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The rights of all individuals can still be proven for those who are unable to view their immigration status online, through a range of channels by which a person’s entitlement to employment, study and other benefits can be confirmed. As we transition to a digital system, increasing numbers of people with 3C leave will be able to view and prove their immigration status online.”
