Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how long her Department plans to fund Migrant Help to support people with the rollout of e-visas.

Legacy document holders who currently prove their rights using 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 at www.gov.uk/eVisa, which offers a range of benefits to customers and status checkers.

Holders of Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs) who have a valid immigration status and, for any reason, do not switch to an eVisa before their BRP expires, will be able to create a UKVI account quickly and easily, using their expired BRP if needed. They will also be able to use their expired BRP to generate a share code through the Right to Work and Right to Rent online services for a limited time. However, an expired BRP does not offer the full benefits of an eVisa, and we encourage them to create a UKVI account as soon as possible.

Migrant Help will initially be funded to support people in their transition to an eVisa for up to 12 months. We will monitor customer demand and keep our support offer under review.

We have learnt from the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) and are building on the success of the scheme, particularly in relation to our support for vulnerable customers, such as providing grant funding to organisations to support vulnerable people through the transition to eVisas, and through the Assisted Digital service which provides UK-wide support to individuals who require assistance with IT-related aspects of creating a UKVI account. The UKVI Resolution Centre is also available to those creating their UKVI account, and those using the online immigration status services. We also have ‘helper’ and ‘proxy’ functionality in place for those who require assistance switching to, and navigating the online services.

We are currently delivering an extensive communications campaign in support of the transition to eVisas, including through direct communications to impacted individuals, wide-ranging stakeholder engagement, development of a range of communications materials for stakeholders to share and use, and proactive media engagement. From mid-October we will be launching a paid advertising campaign in support of eVisa transition, targeting those who are using physical immigration documents, and encouraging them to take action to switch to an eVisa.

We provide clear guidance and direct support for vulnerable, and less digitally confident customers to help them manage this change, with support available for them online, through the grant funded network, the Assisted Digital service and via the UKVI Resolution Centre.