The way international citizens prove their right to live and work in the UK is changing.
Since July 2015, visa holders have been issued a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP). The BRP is a physical card with chip which holds a person’s biometric data and shows their identity and immigration permission.
The Home Office is replacing BRPs and all other forms of immigration documents, with a digital proof of immigration status called an eVisa. Millions of EU nationals and their family members who hold settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme or who applied for their visa with the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app already hold digital status.
This system is now being rolled out to all visa holders. Anyone who uses a physical immigration document and who does not already have a UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) account will need to take action and create and account at www.gov.uk/evisa.
Your employees will need to take action to ensure they can continue to prove their immigration status and to ensure they do not encounter any travel disruption at the UK border. As all BRPs expire on 31 December 2024, it is important that employees act now to obtain their digital status.
What do eVisas mean for employers?
For new employees, the way you check right to work will not change. You should continue to ask new employees who hold a visa to provide a share code and give consent for you to check their right to work. They can generate a share code at: www.gov.uk/prove-right-to-work. You must then carry out an online right to work check as you are doing currently, using the tool at: www.gov.uk/view-right-to-work.
For existing employees, the expiry date of 31 December 2024 is only the expiry date of the BRP, not the employee’s underlying immigration status. You do not need to re-check an existing employee’s right to work solely because their BRP is due to expire. However, now is a good time to review your HR records to check that you have not relied on a right to work check using a BRP after 6 April 2022.
There are no changes to how you check right to work for British and Irish employees.
We can offer refresher training on right to work checks to ensure you are up to date with recent changes to policy and guidance. please contact either your regular immigration contact or our Immigration Caseworker, Catriona MacDonald, at cmacdonald@thorntons-law.co.uk.
What do eVisas mean for my existing employees?
Employees who currently hold a BRP must take action now. They should register for a UKVI account which will show their eVisa.
Any employee who does not register for a UKVI account to access their eVisa before 31 December 2024 may have issues re-entering the UK if they travel abroad.
What if an employee does not have a BRP?
A small number of people who need to prove their immigration status will not have a BRP. This may be because they have been in the UK since before BRPs were introduced in 2015 and their immigration status has not changed in that time.
Any employee in this position should take legal advice on their immigration options. It may be that they are entitled to apply or register for British citizenship. Alternatively, they may wish to apply for a BRP before 31 December 2024, in order to set up an eVisa.
If you wish to support your employees with obtaining specialist immigration advice please contact either your regular immigration contact or our Immigration Partner, Jacqueline Moore, at jmoore@thorntons-law.co.uk
What should I tell my employees about eVisas?
You should make your employees aware of the move to eVisas and the importance of them taking action now to ensure they have no issues with their immigration status or issues at the UK border after 31 December 2024.
If you would like to make use of our internal communications resources on eVisas for employers, please contact our Immigration Caseworker, Catriona MacDonald, at cmacdonald@thorntons-law.co.uk.
Action plan
You can help your employees navigate the upcoming move to eVisas. Here are some steps that you can take now to minimise the risk of any issues:
- Consider your communications strategy – make use of our resources
- Review your HR processes to ensure right to work checks are up to date.
- Advise any employees without a BRP to take legal advice early.
If you need any further advice or assistance on preparing for the move to eVisas, please contact Thorntons Immigration team on 03330 430350.
