COVID-19 has altered the way that most people operate their businesses, and the Home Office and its commercial partners are no exception to this. The Home Office and its commercial partner in the UK, UKVCAS, have as a direct result of the pandemic, changed the way that applicants register their biometrics for immigration applications.
Prior to the pandemic, an applicant would, after having submitted his/her application online and making payment of the Home Office fee, register with UKVCAS in order to arrange a biometric enrolment appointment at one of their service centres. However, with the service centres being closed for months as a result of the lockdown, and with the ever growing list of applicants who require to attend a service centre to enrol their biometrics (fingerprints and facial photograph), UKVCAS has, in conjunction with the Home Office, devised a new way for applicants to enrol their biometrics. The new way is through an app called the ‘IDV app’.
Upon submission of an application, and registration with UKVCAS, applicants who are eligible to use the app will be contacted by UKVCAS. An applicant’s eligibility to use the app will be determined by whether it is possible to re-use his/her fingerprints which were enrolled during a previous immigration application. If it is possible to re-use the fingerprints, then the applicant will be invited to use the app. If it is not possible to re-use the fingerprints, then the applicant will proceed to arrange a biometric enrolment appointment at a UKVCAS service centre.
Once an applicant has been identified as being eligible to have his/her fingerprints reused then he/she will receive an email from UKVCAS to confirm this. The applicant will not be able to register to provide his/her facial image through the app until a direction to do so is issued by UKVCAS. Prior to downloading the app and registering a facial image, the applicant, or their representative, should scan and upload their supporting documents to the UKVCAS website.
Once the direction to use the app is issued, the applicant should download the app and enter the relevant details. Once these details have been entered, the applicant should proceed to register a ‘selfie’ photo, complete the liveness check and take a photo of his/her passport. The application is then submitted to UKVI on the IDV app.
The Home Office’s commercial partner has been rolling out the IDV app in phases, working in date order from the earliest to the most recent, based on the date that the application is registered with UKVI.
If you wish assistance with the preparation and submission of an immigration application then please do not hesitate to contact one of the solicitors in our immigration team to discuss matters further.
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