Poor planning, technical issues and concerns over human rights and data protection are plaguing the rollout of the UK’s upcoming biometric eVisas.
The UK government plans to replace physical immigration documents, including Biometric Residence Permits (BRP) and passports with a digital-only document. Millions of migrants in the UK are expected to switch to eVisas by the end of 2024. The transition, however, could leave many immigrants at risk, says UK-based digital rights organization Open Rights Group (ORG).
The eVisa will be used for immigration purposes but also for current immigrants to prove their right to work, sign housing contracts and access banking services. The group predicts multiple problems with eVisas, including technical errors and data mismatches.
ORG highlights that the system makes complicated live checks across databases, potentially leading to more errors during each check. Datasets are also not tightly linked by single identifiers, meaning data can be mismatched.
“The policy is due to the Home Office’s desire to rescind e-Visas whenever possible and as soon as possible, without sufficient regard for the consequences for holders of e-Visas,” says the organization.
Many migrants in the UK are also unaware of the upcoming changes which could lead to problems with their status with little support offered to vulnerable groups such as older or homeless people. More than four million immigrants have Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs) that expire on December 31st. Lawyers and immigrant rights organizations have been warning that the introduction of eVisas could wreak havoc on immigrant lives.
“Insistence on digital-only creates a number of threats to, and potential violations of, human rights by not providing alternative means to prove a person’s immigration status, especially for vulnerable groups,” the Open Rights Group said in a release published last week.
The eVisa is part of the UK’s upcoming immigration system reforms which will include the electronic travel authorization (ETA) scheme. According to the scheme, all travelers except for British and Irish passport holders, will need to apply for permission either through the eVisa or the ETA system. Non-Europeans will need an ETA to travel into the UK starting January 8th, 2025, while Europeans will have to provide the digital document from March 5th, 2025. Gulf Cooperation Council visitors already need an ETA to travel to the UK.
Estonia receives €2m funding as EU boosts external borders
Europe continues to invest in digital border control, including through the Border Management and Visa Policy (BMVI) which aims to introduce effective border management at the EU’s external borders to preserve internal security.
Estonia received 2 million euros (US$2.2 million) from the European Commission to implement “Smart Borders,” Minister of the Interior Lauri Läänemets announced last week.
“As a country on the EU’s eastern border, we are responsible for the security of the entire Schengen Area,” says Läänemets. “It is precisely security and accurate knowledge of our border traffic that ensure the openness and functioning of the Schengen Area.”
Estonia is one of the key projects for the Border Management and Visa Policy (BMVI). The program aims to expand border surveillance, especially in areas where there is no permanent infrastructure, including investing in mobile remote sensing systems. The Eastern European country has previously used BMVI funding to purchase drones, patrol vehicles, cameras, radars and other surveillance technology.
Among other key projects for BMVI are the expansion of AI use in border surveillance in Greece and Cyprus (REACTION: REal-time ArtifiCial InTellIgence for BOrders Surveillance) and the construction of a border surveillance system in Lithuania, Latvia and Poland designed to monitor migration from Belarus.
Access Now takes aim at Greece’s AI border control
Migrants are also facing trouble on European borders. In Greece, authorities have been investing in digitizing border management making the country a testing ground for biometric surveillance – at the expense of migrant rights, says digital rights group Access Now.
The Greek government has launched several projects, including building a national asylum-seeker identification and registration system interoperable with police information systems called Alkyoni II. It has also been equipping migrant detention camps with digital surveillance infrastructure through project Kentaurus and introducing the asylum seeker entry-exit control system Hyperion.
In April this year, the Greek Data Protection Authority (DPA) slapped the Ministry of Asylum and Migration with a record-breaking 175,000 euro (US$194,733) fine under the GDPR over the Kentauros and Hyperion project.
The projects have faced other issues, including a temporary shutdown of the asylum service’s database Alkyoni which put migrants at risk of detention and deportation, writes Caterina Rodelli, Access Now’s EU policy analyst in a recent blog post.
Rodelli argues that inherently harmful AI systems such as automated profiling systems, emotion recognition, and biometric categorization, should be banned in asylum procedures.
“The digitalization of border management is a key part of the dehumanization process inherent within the EU’s migration policy,” she writes. “In contrast to claims that such digital tools are ‘neutral’ or ‘objective,’ the use of automatic decision-making and surveillance technology has been shown to reinforce existing inequalities, and to punish already systematically oppressed people.”
Migrant rights groups have also criticized the opacity behind the asylum digitalization project.
Article Topics
Access Now | biometrics | border management | digital ID | Estonia | Europe | Greece | identity document | immigration | UK | visas