10 February 2020

To manage the immense administrative burden of processing millions of applications from EU citizens and their family members to obtain proof of their right to reside in a limited timeframe, the Home Office introduced a much more efficient system than for any other immigration application to date. Yet, for no apparent reason, it only allows applicants to use its technologically advanced system in the initial application phase. As a result, when applicants renew their passports which are linked to their online immigration status, they are subjected to travel restrictions because of the need to send their new passports to the Home Office to be verified.

In line with the Government’s promise that those EU migrants and certain family members already present in the UK will be able to stay, the Home Office made extraordinary efforts to design an efficient, user-friendly, technological solution. They can apply to remain in the UK under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) by scanning their passport via an app and completing an application online, instead of sending their original passport to the Home Office. This modern system significantly simplifies the process which benefits both the Home Office and applicants, reducing the burden and resources on the Home Office to physically verify the passport while also allowing applicants to travel while the application is pending.

Surprisingly, applicants who renew their passports after being granted permission are required to send their original passports to the Home Office to be verified and so that their permission is linked to that new passport. Whilst the Home Office states that the procedure takes 10 postal days, some applicants have reported delays of weeks. Busy travellers simply cannot afford to be without their passport for such a lengthy period.

We would have hoped that when designing the system, the Home Office would have considered the impact of not having the function to enable applicants to scan their renewed passports via the app. Many applicants are unaware of this at the time they apply whereas some are strategically deciding to delay submission of their application until they have renewed their passports. Despite the Home Office encouraging applicants to apply as soon as possible to avoid a bottle neck of applications at the end of the transitional period, the inability to scan renewed passports via the app is indirectly contributing to this.

In the long term, it means that everyone with status under the EUSS (unless they become British) will have to send their passport to the Home Office every five or ten years, depending on the passport expiry. As millions of Europeans and their family members applied under the scheme, we wait eagerly for the Home Office to upgrade the current EUSS app to enable applicants to scan their new passports to avoid travel restrictions and further administrative burden on the already stretched Home Office resources.