EU citizens miss out on employment opportunities and housing due to Home Office immigration portal
A new report from the3million, the EU citizens’ organisation, finds EU citizens living in the UK are missing out on work, rent and travel because of errors in the Home Office’s digital immigration portal.
EU citizens are required to use the digital View & Prove system to access and prove their immigration status, including when trying to rent, travel and get a job. Frontline services experts and people experiencing problems have contributed to the analysis which concludes that “the system meaningfully excludes people from their rights”.
From 6th April, following a change in immigration rules, the system is expanding to all migrants in the UK to rely solely on the digital-only service to prove their rights to work and rent to employers and landlords.
Charities contributing to the report are warning this reliance on solely digital systems is affecting the most marginalised groups the worst. EU citizens at risk of homelessness, those who lack digital literacy and access to technology, older citizens and people with low levels of English are unable to use the portal independently.
People who need help to access and manage their digital status only have available a government phone line, the EU Resolution Centre. A freedom of information request by the3million showed that more than half of calls to the helpline failed to get through, out of the 1.4m calls made between Nov 2020 and Nov 2021.
Luke Piper, Head of Advocacy and Policy at the3million, said:
“View and Prove alone is not a sustainable way for people to prove and maintain their status. Every life event requiring proof of status now requires a transaction with a government website which requires understanding, digital know-how, access to technology, internet, and an email address and telephone number in hand for security confirmation codes.
“Even for people with this access, the system still shows errors, with dire consequences: from loss of employment opportunities, to restrictions on travel and inability to view or prove status.
“Alternatives need to be explored to ensure that people can have personal access to, and ownership of, proof of their right to live in the UK, rather than having to repeatedly obtain permission from the Home Office acting as a gatekeeper to their status.”
Get in touch
For more information, please contact: Andreea Dumitrache, Communications Manager at the3million, [email protected], 07598 893045.
