Kathleen Harper, 78, an American actor, was given indefinite leave to remain in 1974. It was documented as a stamp in her paper passport. The Home Office did not send her any information about the eVisa scheme and she knew nothing about it until a friend living in the US told her he had read about it. Despite having had indefinite leave to remain for half a century, she has in effect been asked to reapply for the right to be in the UK.
I don't know what kind of proof the Home Office needs of my 50 years in the UK, and when I asked them they couldn't really tell me. I'm fortunate that because I've worked here as an actress for so long there are a lot of records of my work, Harper said.
There is particular concern about the 200,000 people in the UK who have legacy documents proving their right to be in the country, and who are expected to first apply for a BRP and then apply for a UK visas and immigration account.
As with the Windrush scandal, these tend to be older people who may not know they need to apply for an eVisa until they try to access health or other public services.
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