Seema Malhotra
MP for Feltham and Heston · Labour (Co-op) · United Kingdom
“Public sector productivity is improving, with the latest Office for National Statistics figures showing output continuing to grow faster than inputs, and Departments being challenged to improve efficiency and modernise outdated processes.”
“I was proud to support the Feltham Convening Partnership’s young leaders summer programme last month. What struck me was their ambition for themselves and their community, as well as their call for more work experience opportunities.”
“We will be working to commence the socioeconomic duty on public bodies in section 1 of the Equality Act to require public authorities to put addressing socioeconomic disadvantage at the heart of their strategic decision making. There will be more on that to follow. Let me again thank my hon.”
“For generations, the message to those who want to enter public life or elite professions has been that if they want to get on, they must sound like everybody else. When Margaret Thatcher became leader of her party in the 1970s, she famously underwent intensive elocution lessons with a tutor from the National Theatre.”
“Whether a young person chooses a degree or a trade, their journey must be determined by merit and their potential—never by whether they have to change their voice or pretend to be someone else to fit in.”
“Interestingly, studies also regularly show that regional accents such as Welsh or Yorkshire are rated by the public as trustworthy, warm and honest. Yet when those same studies measure perceived intelligence or employability, standard southern English and received pronunciation invariably top the metrics.”
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“That reduces the dependency on recruiting from abroad because we are already using those who are here on those visas and wish to work, alongside continuing to recruit home-grown talent. Perhaps the Liberal Democrats are not fully aware that we are introducing the first fair pay agreement to the adult social care sector, so that care professionals are recognised and rewarded for the important work that they do. The Government will engage all those who draw upon care, as well as those who provide care. We will also consult local authorities, unions and others from across the sector. Fair pay agreements will empower worker representatives, employers and others to negotiate pay, and terms and conditions, in a responsible manner.”
“We have already seen a significant reduction in the number of international care workers recruited for just over a year, and that is because employers have been unable to demonstrate that they have genuine vacancies that would guarantee sufficient hours to meet salary requirements. The most recently published data and statistics show that in the year ending December 2024, the number of international care workers reduced by 91%. The work that the Home Office is doing with the Department of Health and Social Care is increasing the role of regional hubs, with £16 million going into them. Regional hubs play an important role in supporting workers who may have left an employer or lost a licence to find other employment.”
“I do not believe that it is necessary to lay a report before Parliament given that the Government publish details on migration on a quarterly basis, which will show the impact of changes in inwards migration. It will not be possible for that data to show the effect of this issue on net migration, as the figures will depend on other factors such as the number of people who choose to leave the UK, which might not be a result of care worker minimum wage requirements. It is also not clear whether the report would have to look at settled workers and other workers in the labour market as well as those who are on health and care visas.”
“I am pleased to speak on new clause 14. It is unclear whether its intention is to commission a review of the impact of setting a minimum wage for new entrants or for settled workers in the care sector. I interpreted that its effect would be the Government commissioning a review into implementing a national minimum wage for workers in the social care sector. It is unclear whether it would apply to international workers or the whole labour market. It is also unclear—I think this was the shadow Minister’s point—what the minimum wage for carers being referred to is; there are no sector-based minimum wage standards. The national living wage is currently £11.44 for people aged 21 or over. It is rising to £12.21 in April. International workers on a health and care visa are currently required to be paid £11.90.”
“We would be removing an important tool to encourage employers to look first at the domestic labour market and at what more could be done to train and improve the skills of people already in the UK, rather than looking outside it and continuing our reliance on overseas trained workers to support our public services. In the light of what the immigration skills charge is for—to help and support the development of skills and, therefore, to support the growth of our skills and talent in the UK—I hope that the hon. Gentleman will reconsider and withdraw the new clause.”
“I thank the hon. Member for Woking for tabling new clause 16, which would exempt the NHS from paying the immigration skills charge when recruiting skilled workers. I recognise that the intention is to protect the NHS and reduce the cost of recruiting those vital health and care professionals. As we all know, they do a fantastic and important job for all our constituents and families in looking after the wellbeing of people across the UK. It is worth recognising, however, that the new clause would run contrary to the Government’s position that we should reduce our reliance on international workers in all sectors of the UK economy, including the NHS. The clue to what the immigration skills charge is for and why we have it is in the word “skills”, so removing it would send the wrong message.”
“There are risks: we may be sympathetic to the international system that I just mentioned, which supports people fleeing very difficult and dangerous situations, but it would be difficult to consider protection claims from large numbers of individuals overseas who might like to come to the UK. It is the case that, as part of how the system works internationally, those who need international protection should claim asylum in the first safe country that they reach. That is the fastest route to safety.”
“I will keep my remarks brief, because there is some overlap between this new clause and the debate we had on safe and legal routes. New clause 20 proposes a new humanitarian travel permit. As we have mentioned, the UK has a strong history of protecting those fleeing war and persecution around the world. I talked about the UK resettlement scheme that we run in partnership with the UNHCR. When people are assessed independently by the UNHCR and accepted as refugees, they may then be allocated to the UK under that scheme; it is then for the UK to provide visas to them in advance of their travelling to the UK, so that they can come here safely. We previously discussed why there is no provision in the immigration rules for someone to be allowed to travel to the UK to seek asylum, as I think the new clause seeks to provide.”
“It is important to make sure that we learn lessons and ensure that that situation does not happen again. Both Departments now have robust guidance and processes in place to support policy leads where legislative powers are needed to support the charging of fees in relation to the provision of public services.”
“In considering whether retrospective legislation is the right approach, it is important to be clear that customers who paid a fee received a service that they were able to use as part of, for example, a visa or nationality application, or to understand the comparability of qualifications to support access to education or work. Other options, such as repaying fees, would require placing a considerable and unfair financial burden on UK taxpayers, who have not, on the whole, directly benefited financially from income generated by these services. That is why we believe that this measure is the right course of action to ensure that there is no doubt about the charges being lawful while protecting taxpayer money and Government resource. I repeat the fundamental point that a service was received for the fee that was paid.”
“Regulations have been made for the charging of services recently for the Home Office’s visas and nationality service, and are being made for the Department for Education’s UK ENIC services. The fee for the non-UK early years qualifications recognition service was removed. We are bringing forward the clause to ensure that fees charged before the Bill comes into force are lawful. We recognise that retrospective legislation should be used with caution, however, we consider that there are important reasons for it in this case, and indeed, that it was assumed that there was a legal basis for those fees in the past.”
“I will now lay out how this situation came about. In spring 2024, under the previous Administration, an issue was identified with the legal arrangements to charge fees for three services provided by a third-party supplier on behalf of the Home Office and the DFE. Those are the Home Office’s visas and nationality service, the Department for Education’s UK European network of information centres services, and the Department for Education’s non-UK early years qualifications recognition service. A statutory basis for those fees has not been in place for a part, or the whole, of the period of their being charged. Although we do not have an exact date from which that may have run, the estimate is from around 2008 to the present day.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship today, Dame Siobhain, and to contribute to Bill Committee proceedings on this important piece of legislation. I will briefly state the purpose and effect of the clause before I make some more detailed remarks. The purpose of the clause is to ensure retrospective power for the charging of fees currently provided on behalf of the Home Office and the Department for Education in relation to the comparability, recognition or assessment of qualifications obtained in and outside of the UK from any time to the point at which the Bill comes into force. The effect of the clause is that fees charged by, or under, arrangements with the Secretary of State in relation to the comparability, recognition or assessment of qualifications obtained in and outside of the UK will have been charged lawfully.”
“I beg to move amendment 22, in clause 55, page 56, line 28, after “39” insert “ and ( EU Settlement Scheme: rights of entry and residence etc )”. This amendment to the extent clause is consequential on NC31.”
“The UK has sought as a matter of practice to treat those cohorts the same in how we have interpreted and treated those cases in relation to their status in the UK, but as case law has evolved, very small technical points have had consequences where rights have been derived technically from the withdrawal agreement or domestic legislation. The new clause will make the position clear in law. It removes the distinction in UK law between true and extra cohorts, making it clear that both are to be treated as if they were in scope of the withdrawal agreement at the end of the transition period in December 2020, meaning that they benefit from the rights contained in part 2 of the agreement.”
“It was a priority for the whole of Parliament during that time that EU citizens with a right to be in the UK and British citizens in the EU did not have their lives disrupted by the consequences of Brexit. That approach has greatly simplified the operation of the EUSS, under which 5.7 million people now have status. It also simplified it for applicants and caseworkers. That is important, because we want consistency and accuracy in the processing of cases. Just by virtue of these technicalities, two cohorts of EU citizens and their family members have status under the EUSS: the true cohort, who derived their rights from the withdrawal agreement, and the extra cohort, who were not within scope of the withdrawal agreement for technical reasons and derived their rights from domestic legislation.”
“From the start, the UK’s approach has been that, as the withdrawal agreement requires, all EU citizens resident in the UK before the cut-off date, which proved in the end to be the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020, are eligible for the EUSS, irrespective of whether they resided in the UK in accordance with EU law at the end of 2020. The EUSS, our scheme in the UK, does not therefore assess whether, at the end of the transition period, the EU citizen was exercising treaty rights in the UK by being a worker, self-employed, a student or self-sufficient, or whether they had an EU law right of permanent residence here, possibly on the basis of having spent five years working here. The approach we took was fair and ensured a smooth transition.”
“I am sure that, like all of us, Dame Siobhain, you consider it important for your constituents to have clarity about their rights in law. The Government take citizens’ rights very seriously, and we continue to work constructively with the EU to ensure that citizens’ rights provisions in the withdrawal agreement are properly implemented in the UK and the EU. The EUSS opened on 30 March 2019, when the withdrawal agreement was still in draft; some of us still remember those slightly heady days and late nights.”
“New clause 31 will mean that all EU citizens and their family members with status under the EUSS who were resident in the UK before the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020—I remind the Committee that we left the EU at the end of January 2020, but had the transition period until December 2020—will be considered beneficiaries of the withdrawal agreement and accordingly have rights in UK law. That is regardless of whether they belong to what I have described as the true cohort—the vast majority, who were compliant with all aspects of the free movement rules—or whether they technically did not and fell within what we have called the extra cohort. The new clause means that they all be able to rely directly on the rights in the withdrawal agreement for as long as they hold EUSS status.”
“At the end of December 2020 they might technically not have met all the definitions under the free movement rules, and therefore technically not have been complying with EU law, but for all intents and purposes they should still have their citizens’ rights. The source of those rights is the withdrawal agreement. New clause 31 clarifies that so that we do not have case law challenging it or defining it differently. It was always the UK’s intention to treat those cohorts the same, but as case law has evolved it has become more difficult in practice. I thank other parliamentarians, including those in the other place, and stakeholders who have raised this issue. We want to ensure that there is clarity in law and that what we intend is actually the case. It is better all round to make the position clear.”
“But those who, for example, were not in work on 31 December—they might have lost their job, or there was some other reason why they were not technically meeting the rules—are described as the extra cohort. While they were not technically meeting those free movement rules at that moment, we moved forward with citizens’ rights after we left the European Union at the end of the transition period by treating those two cohorts as the same, as if it had been census day. Those technicalities have meant that the withdrawal agreement rights apply completely to the true cohort, but arguably, given case law, have sometimes become a bit more complicated when applied to the extra cohort—who, as far as the UK is concerned, should be treated the same. It is important that we clarify in law that we treat the cohorts the same.”
“If their family members, who may have been partners or children under the age of 21, were also here before the end of December 2020, then at that point—it was a bit like census day—it did not matter whether they were outside the UK; under permitted absence rules, they could have been abroad for whatever reason but coming back. The point is about the definition of meeting free movement rules. They were resident here and effectively living under EU law, so they would be eligible for rights under the EU withdrawal agreement. The issue is a technical one. There is a cohort described as the extra cohort, rather than the true cohort. The true cohort is those who were self-sufficient, studying or working, and therefore ticked all the boxes of meeting free movement rules.”
“I turn first to new clause 31, which is on EU citizens’ rights. It will confirm in law what the UK has in practice sought to do since the EU settlement scheme was established: to ensure that all EU citizens and their family members with status under the scheme have equal rights in the UK. Part of this is quite complicated, so it may be useful to try to simplify it. In order to meet free movement rules, those who were here as residents from the European Union before the end of the transition period, which was the end of December 2020, needed to have been financially self-sufficient, studying or working for the previous five years. That meant that they had the rights of permanent residence in the UK.”
“I thank hon. Members for those comments. I can clarify the numbers that I have; if there is anything that we have not covered, I can make sure that Members are written to. I mentioned that 5.7 million people now have status, but 4.1 million have settled status and have met the requirements for that. On why the change has happened now, the main point is that the issue has been ongoing and we had to work out the best time to bring it forward. We have now been able to bring it forward as a new clause in the Bill.”
“Policy has sometimes become a bit more difficult because of case law—we cannot always predict where that ends up—so it is right that we look at where we can make the position clear in law, which is what we are doing today.”
“I thank my hon. Friend for his question. I would probably put it slightly differently. This is an example of where we are being fair and generous—going beyond what was technically within the withdrawal agreement—because that is right for EU citizens who were here. In line with the approach that we took across the whole of Government, we should make sure that there is a smooth transition and security for EU residents here in the UK and also for British citizens in the EU. I spent four years on the Committee on the Future Relationship with the European Union—I was a veteran, from the first meeting to the last. Early on, citizens’ rights were important and central.”
“The hon. Lady asks a good question. The extra cohort is a minority in that. There are estimates. I am not sure whether I have here the estimate of the specific number of the extra cohort, which it is quite difficult to have an exact number on. But I will make sure that she is written to about the best estimate or the best way in which we can consider it. The extra cohort is a minority, but it is important that we clarify that their rights, too, are derived from the withdrawal agreement.”
“Her question is also relevant to a more general question about those who are here and have settled status: how many are working? We know that there is different research, but the vast majority are self-sufficient.”
“I will just make this point first. In a sense, the new clause will have a very limited impact on access to benefits for those with pre-settled status, or limited leave, under the EUSS. To access income-related benefits such as universal credit, they would be required to evidence relevant qualifying activity, such as current or recent employment or self-employment. Those with settled status, or indefinite leave, under the EUSS already have full access to benefits where eligible. On the question asked by the hon. Member for Weald of Kent, I know there is broader research, and there is some data but not other data, and there are different estimates, but I am sure that she will know and appreciate that the vast majority will be working.”
“5 In this Schedule “specified” means specified in the arrangements.’ (4) In Schedule 10 to the Immigration Act 2016 (immigration bail), in paragraph 2(1) (conditions of bail), after paragraph (e) insert— ‘(ea) a condition requiring the person to be at a particular place between particular times, either on particular days or on any day; (eb) a condition requiring the person to remain within a particular area; (ec) a condition prohibiting the person from being in a particular area;’”.— (Dame Angela Eagle.) This new clause makes provision about the conditions which can be imposed on a grant of leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom or a grant of immigration bail. Brought up, and read the First time .”
“2 The arrangements may in particular— (a) require P to wear a device; (b) require P to make specified use of a device; (c) require P to communicate in a specified manner and at specified times or during specified periods; (d) involve the exercise of functions by persons other than the Secretary of State. 3 If the arrangements require P to wear, or make specified use of, a device they must— (a) prohibit P from causing or permitting damage to, or interference with, the device, and (b) prohibit P from taking or permitting action that would or might prevent the effective operation of the device. 4 An electronic monitoring condition may not be imposed on a person unless the person is at least 18 years old.”
“New Clause 30 Conditions on limited leave to enter or remain and immigration bail “(1) The Immigration Act 1971 is amended in accordance with subsections (2) and (3). (2) In section 3(1)(c) (conditions which may be applied to limited leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom)— (a) omit the ‘and’ at the end of sub-paragraph (iv), and (b) at the end of sub-paragraph (v) insert— ‘(vi) an electronic monitoring condition (see Schedule 1A); (vii) a condition requiring the person to be at a particular place between particular times, either on particular days or on any day; (viii) a condition requiring the person to remain within a particular area; (ix) a condition prohibiting the person from being in a particular area; (x) such other conditions as the Secretary of State thinks fit.’ (3) Before Schedule 2 insert— ‘Schedule 1A Electronic monitoring conditions 1 For the purposes of section 3(1)(c)(vi), an “electronic monitoring condition” means a condition requiring the person on whom it is imposed (“P”) to co-operate with such arrangements as the Secretary of State may specify for detecting and recording by electronic means one or more of the following— (a) P’s location at specified times, during specified periods of time or while the arrangements are in place; (b) P’s presence in a location at specified times, during specified periods of time or while the arrangements are in place; (c) P’s absence from a location at specified times, during specified periods of time or while the arrangements are in place.”
“Amendment 24, in clause 55, page 56, line 31, after second “to” insert “any of the Channel Islands or”.— (Dame Angela Eagle.) This amendment enables certain amendments and repeals by the Bill to be extended by Order in Council to any of the Channel Islands. Clause 55, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 56 Commencement Amendment made: 25, in clause 56, page 57, line 15, after “35” insert “, (EU Settlement Scheme: rights of entry and residence etc)”.— (Dame Angela Eagle.) This amendment to the commencement clause has the effect of bringing NC31 into force 2 months after Royal Assent. Clause 56, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 57 ordered to stand part of the Bill.”
“Indeed, it is important to have data that can inform policymaking and public debate. This is a separate matter to the one of those who come to work, settle and contribute to our economy and society, which I know we all want to see—that is indeed what we see in our constituencies—but it is also important that those who come through humanitarian routes are supported to access employability skills and employment, so that they can support themselves and their families. It is important that we look at how joined-up we are and to what extent that support is in place. Amendment 22 agreed to. Amendments made: 23, in clause 55, page 56, line 29, after “to” insert “any of the Channel Islands or”. This amendment enables certain provisions of the Bill to be extended by Order in Council to any of the Channel Islands.”
“It is important that we look at how we are tackling the demand. Several hon. Members made that important point. I was surprised that the hon. Member for Perth and Kinross-shire did not talk about going even further with what he is suggesting.”
“The system has lost public confidence. I think we all know—the Conservatives themselves have acknowledged it—that we lost control of immigration. The system was and is chaotic. It is not just a problem in relation to how people feel about an immigration system that is not fair, controlled or managed; it is about the consequences for individuals, such as asylum seekers caught up in backlogs. Their lives are on hold until their claim is considered. It is important to return to the subject of the utter chaos that the whole system has been in, and why the Bill is important to what we are looking to do to strengthen our borders and go after the smuggling gangs, which hon. Members have mentioned. Those gangs do so much damage to the lives of migrants. They also undermine our border security and make money—millions—from putting lives at risk.”
“Member for Perth and Kinross-shire said that he was pretty good at predicting the responses from colleagues. I gently suggest that I might say some things that he may not expect about certain aspects of the subject. That is because some parts of what we currently do have not been raised at all in the debate. They are in relation to safe and legal routes, and how they are working, outside the Afghan, Ukrainian and Hong Kong schemes. I want to go through those points because they are important. I also make a broad point in relation to, in particular, the comments and the question from the hon. Member for Woking about consideration and having a conversation. The Government will, as he knows, shortly set out our approach to immigration as part of considering how we bring down net migration, tackle abuse and put more controls in the system.”
“Thank you, Dame Siobhain. It is a pleasure to speak to these new clauses, and to acknowledge the genuine questions and important aspects that have been raised in the debate so far. In particular, I thank the hon. Members for Perth and Kinross-shire and for Woking for tabling the amendments. Contributions also came from my hon. Friends the Members for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh and for Dover and Deal and from the Opposition. The point I want to make on this subject is in response to both new clauses, although I recognise the slight differences. New clause 1 seeks to require a strategy, laid before Parliament, for the development of safe and managed routes for people to seek asylum in the UK, and new clause 6 seeks to require the Secretary of State to “make regulations specifying additional safe and legal routes”. The hon.”
“The key point is that we must work together to address the underlying causes of skills shortages and overseas recruitment in different parts of the UK, and that is what we are seeking to do. The hon. Gentleman also knows that we believe net migration must come down—under the last Government, it more than trebled and reached a record high of over 900,000 in the year to June 2023. Immigration is a reserved matter, on which we work in the interest of the whole of the UK. The previous schemes that we have talked about have succeeded only in restricting movement and rights, and creating internal UK borders. Adding different rules for different locations will also increase complexity and create friction when workers move locations.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship for this important debate, Dame Siobhain. It is probably the fourth time we have discussed this matter. I want to acknowledge the persistence of the hon. Member for Perth and Kinross-shire. He will be aware—perhaps this is one point I can acknowledge that he would have predicted my response—that we will not be introducing a Scottish visa scheme or devolving control of immigration policy. This has also been a discussion that we have had, and a point that we have made to the Scottish Government. In my remarks, I will perhaps make a few points that will be useful for his ongoing deliberations on this issue, and suggest how he may direct them towards working with the Scottish Government on some matters that it may be useful for him to be aware of.”
“The hon. Gentleman mentions the Fresh Talent scheme, which allowed graduates of Scottish universities to remain and work for two years after graduation without needing a sponsoring employer. In practice, many Fresh Talent participants did not remain in Scotland and took up employment elsewhere in the UK. That is precisely the challenge we are talking about.”
“I can also reassure the Committee that this instrument does not commit the Government to introduce any new technology; instead, it bolsters our ability to enrol and retain biometric information at the border and paves the way for trialling of contactless travel. I realise that these are both somewhat technical areas. I thank Members for their consideration of our fees order, which will ensure that our migration and borders system is sustainably funded, and our biometrics regulations, which will help to facilitate our ambitious journey towards a biometrically enabled digital immigration system. I commend the order and the regulations to the Committee.”
“We will be able to match the facial image of a person arriving at the UK border with the biometric information we already hold from either their passport or immigration application. To reassure the Committee, these regulations do not change the requirement for all arrivals to the UK to travel on a valid passport. Our future vision for the UK border is rightly ambitious. Equally, it is important that we proceed cautiously with any new technology introduced at the border. We must make sure that we get this right. That is why our first step will be to test contactless travel on British citizens only later this year. We will only move to further implementation if that is a success.”
“The enhanced facial comparison capability provided through these regulations will also allow us to develop further new identity verification technologies. That includes trialling contactless travel at the UK border, which would enable a person to enter the UK without routinely producing their passport—something you might enjoy doing, Sir Roger—at the border, but without compromising our security. We aim to do that by using the information we have from our universal permission to travel, e-visa and electronic travel authorisation, coupled with advance passenger information, which will allow us to know more about who is travelling to the UK prior to their departure. That will enable us to conduct more checks prior to their arrival at the border.”
“By retaining this data, we will have a record of up-to-date facial images to support a smoother passage through the border each time the person arrives in the UK. The instrument ensures that robust action can be taken by Border Force officers against those non-British or non-Irish citizens who wish to consciously circumvent requirements to provide biometric information at the border, by allowing Border Force to refuse or cancel permission to enter the UK. We know that some of our Five Eyes partners, such as the USA and Australia, are developing automated border systems based on biometric information to improve passenger flow and maintain security. This instrument will allow us to keep pace.”
“This instrument closes that gap and ensures that anyone who applies to stay in the UK because they are stateless needs to enrol their biometric information as required, or face having their application disregarded or refused. Moving to our plan to transform the UK border, we are looking to harness innovative technologies to improve how people move through the UK’s border. Biometric information is an effective way of establishing and verifying a person’s identity. We want to build upon existing identity verification capabilities to ensure that we are building a border that can withstand future pressures efficiently, while maintaining our border security. To achieve that, we need legislation that will enable us to enrol and retain the biometric information captured at the UK border.”
“We have taken lessons from the experiences of the Windrush generation and are committed to avoiding undue burdens being placed on elderly people. We will not require people aged over 70 to update their facial image or to create an account where they hold an expired biometric residence permit but will encourage them to do so for their convenience. The proposed regulations also enable us to extend the standard fingerprint retention period beyond 15 years for those who abscond from immigration bail and seek to avoid contact with the Home Office or the police. Statelessness presents significant challenges, which we have managed through legal frameworks and international co-operation. The previous instrument enabled some people to avoid providing their biometrics for the purposes of the biometric immigration document without any consequences.”
“We need to ensure that foreign nationals who are staying in our country comply with our rules. Therefore, to reflect the new digital status, we are introducing a new, but proportionate, sanction that may be imposed on a person who refuses to adhere to any requirements in the regulations to encourage compliance. If an e-visa holder fails to update their photo in the required time, the regulations allow us to prevent them from sharing their status for third-party checks until they comply with the regulations. That will reduce the need to impose more stringent existing sanctions, such as civil penalties or curtailing or varying their immigration permission. I stress that these sanctions will apply only to those who will not comply with our requirements, not to those who cannot.”
“To ensure the integrity of the e-visa system, the regulations will also require e-visa holders to maintain accurate information about themselves, including by updating their facial image. That will ensure that employers and other organisations conduct accurate checks when establishing a person’s status and identity, which helps to prevent illegal working and identity-enabled criminality. That is because, while e-visas issued to people who are settled in the UK do not expire, we still need the person to periodically update their facial image, as with UK passports and photo driving licences, which are valid for up to 10 years. The person will need to be reminded to update their facial image ahead of needing to do so. For adults, the period of time will be similar to that for passports or UK driving licences.”
“The roll-out of e-visas started in 2018 as part of the EU settlement scheme and has been incrementally widened to other foreign nationals coming to and staying in the UK. As of 27 February 2025, over 4 million people have successfully created a UK Visas and Immigration account to access their e-visa up to the end of January, with many more creating an account every day. In November 2024, the Home Office stopped issuing biometric residence permits and intends to stop issuing passport vignettes, or stickers, later this year. Instead, people granted permission to come and stay in the UK need to create a UKVI account to access their e-visa, which they can use to prove their status and identity in the UK.”