In a blog post dated 10 March, Chief Digital, Data & Technology Officer Rob Thompson announced that the department’s technology function is now officially called “Home Office Digital”. The rebrand is presented as a marker of progress in digitising border and immigration services. Among headline achievements, Thompson cites airport eGates handling 76 million crossings a year, electronic travel authorisation (ETA) approvals delivered in just 45 seconds, and more than seven million foreign nationals now accessing their UK immigration status through digital eVisas rather than physical permits. The post links the name change to the new 2030 Digital Strategy, which commits the Home Office to make digital “the default lens” for policy delivery. For mobility practitioners the message is clear: BRP cards, vignette stickers and paper status letters are on borrowed time; digital status and machine-readable travel permissions will dominate compliance workflows. Vendors in the travel-tech and identity space should expect more API opportunities as the Home Office emphasises integration and ‘one-team’ culture across policing, borders and visas. Employers can anticipate further streamlining of right-to-work and right-to-rent checks as services migrate to cloud-based platforms.
Source: Home Office Digital blog
