Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to improve communication on the validity of legacy paper documents for people who do not have an e-visa.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
An extensive communications campaign is being delivered in support of the transition from physical immigration documents to eVisas, to raise awareness of eVisas, build understanding of how it applies to visa holders and checkers, and encourage them to take action. This includes activity and messaging specifically targeting biometric residence permit (BRP) holding customers to register for a UKVI account by the end of 2024, when most BRPs expire, if they were not automatically provided with a UKVI account and eVisa when their most recent immigration application was approved.
Our communications also explain that customers with older forms of evidence of immigration status, such as ink stamps in passports, will still be able to prove their rights as they do today, using their legacy documents where these are permitted. However, we encourage those individuals to transition to an eVisa, which offers a range of benefits to customers and status checkers.
The dedicated eVisa communications activity has run from Spring 2024 onwards and has included regular updates to GOV.UK, including the establishment of a dedicated eVisa webpage at www.gov.uk/eVisa, and online resources such as eVisa support videos, direct messaging to customers via email and text message, and a wide-ranging programme of engagement with relevant stakeholders and international carriers. A national eVisa advertising campaign to raise awareness of these changes commenced on 10 October 2024.
All communications activity has directed visa holders to www.gov.uk/eVisa, and, where appropriate, has highlighted the range of available support.