Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what contingency measures are in place for people who are unable to access their eVisa due to (a) technical issues and (b) administrative errors.

We are committed to ensuring that the transition to eVisas is as smooth as possible for all status holders. The Home Office has a significant support model in place to facilitate the transition to eVisas.

Our online immigration status services are designed to be highly resilient, with rigorous testing and concurrent services to ensure that if one fails, another will take over. We consistently monitor our online services to resolve any issues as quickly as possible.

We are also taking further steps to reduce the number of circumstances where people need to provide evidence of their immigration status, by developing services to make the relevant immigration status information available automatically through system to system checks with other government departments and the NHS. This means at the point at which a person seeks to access public services such as NHS healthcare and DWP benefits, the service provider will check status directly with the Home Office, removing the need for people to prove their status themselves.

We have also put in place the systems and services to allow carriers, such as airlines, to automatically check immigration status via system-to-system checks and those systems are working well for millions of people. If for any reason the carrier does not receive confirmation of the passenger’s immigration status, they will be able to check this using the ‘view and prove' service, or the carrier can contact the 24/7 Carrier Support Hub for advice.

If people do have any issues, they can contact the UKVI Resolution Centre, which provides support via email and webchat to those creating their UKVI account, and telephone support to those using the online immigration status services. The UKVI Resolution Centre assists users who are experiencing technical issues with their online immigration status, and where necessary, enables peoples’ status to be verified through alternative means.

If someone cannot see their eVisa details after creating their UKVI account, or believes there is an error in their status information, they can report this to the Home Office via the form at Report an error with your eVisa - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk), which is available 24/7. Any reported issues with eVisa are being prioritised. Once a person has submitted the report an error with your eVisa form, they will receive an email notification when the error or issue has been resolved.

If a person needs to prove their right to work or rent while the issue is being resolved, employers can use the Employers Checking Service (ECS) and landlords can use the Landlord Checking Service (LCS).