UK: Digital residence checks lock out refugees, slavery victims

Refugees and human trafficking survivors in Britain are being forced to choose between buying food or data to access an official digital identity check system for migrants, charities said, warning that the scheme was putting vulnerable people at risk.

Some have lost out on jobs because they were not able to access the system, which confirms that a migrant has the right to live and work in Britain, support organisations said, adding that this could force desperate migrants into exploitative work.

Immigration solicitor Carita Thomas said one of her clients, a human trafficking survivor, went hungry because he had to prioritise buying mobile data over food.

"He was not eating properly and getting food out of bins in order to maintain the data package on his phone," said Thomas, of the Anti Trafficking and Labour Exploitation Unit (ATLEU), a charity providing legal support for slavery victims.

"Many of our clients might struggle financially to maintain sufficient data packages and will now need to prioritise this over other important expenses ... They cannot be without [data] because they can't prove their rights otherwise."

In April, the Home Office, or Interior Ministry, in April replaced a system of physical residency cards with a digital verification process to confirm migrants' rights to rent and work, which it said can crack down on illegal migration and identity fraud.

Instead of providing their permit cards, migrants must now use an online government portal to generate a one-off digital code, which is then shared with a potential employer or landlord to prove their immigration status.

The Home Office said it aims to phase out physical documents by 2024, and that the "vast majority" of migrants have access to digital devices.

"Where they do not, we have measures in place to support them, as well as offering additional assistance for those who do not speak English," a spokesperson said in emailed comments.

However, organisations that work with vulnerable migrants said that the system was exacerbating digital divides, with those who are not digitally literate, lack devices, or cannot afford data costs left behind.

Digital bureaucracy

While governments across the world are adopting digital ID systems, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights says they can exclude marginalised groups.

About 6 per cent of British households do not have access to the Internet at home because they cannot pay for broadband, do not own a phone or laptop, or have poor digital skills, said a March report by Ofcom, which regulates UK communications services.

For many refugees and trafficking survivors, data is simply a luxury, as they rebuild their lives in a country grappling with soaring food and energy bills, in a cost-of-living crisis triggered by the Ukraine war and Covid-19.

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People claiming asylum in Britain are not allowed to work until the government has verified that they are genuine refugees, and in the interim receive free government-provided housing and a weekly allowance of about 41 pounds ($50) per person.