The Home Office has accelerated its proposal to phase out physical visa documents by the end of 2024, in favour of electronic immigration status (an eVisa) – they believe this will help deliver a ‘modernised and digital border.’
To maintain a statutory excuse against liability for illegal employment, employers must carry out follow-up right-to-work checks online for any of its employees who proved their right to work in the UK before 6 April 2022 based on a physical visa document with an expiry date of 31 December 2024.
Employees may receive a new standard document (likely in the form of an email), from their employers if impacted by the proposal.
It is free and straightforward for individuals who hold physical and paper documents to create a UKVI account to access their eVisa, without impacting or removing employees’ current immigration statuses, or rights in the UK.
The government proposes that eVisa will substantially benefit the UK public and visa customers. They are secure, and, unlike a physical document, cannot be lost, stolen or tampered with. They can be accessed anywhere and in real-time, putting individuals in control of their own data, and allowing them to swiftly update the Home Office with new contact or passport details.
The contents of this post do not constitute legal advice and are provided for general information purposes only.
Associated photo designed by Freepik.
The contents of this post do not constitute legal advice and are provided for general information purposes only ■
