ReadID has enabled more than 3.1 million applicants to join a digital onboarding immigration programme in the UK using remote identity verification.

To support the UK’s exit from the European Union, the EU Settlement Scheme was established by the Home Office to allow EEA nationals living in the UK to apply for a UK immigration status. Applicants need to complete three key steps - prove their identity, show that they live in the UK, and declare any criminal convictions.

The Home Office needs to provide this type of service for an estimated 3.5 million EEA nationals, via mail-in; visit a local service provider; or a completely digital route. The digital option is supported by ReadID, which reads the ePassport chip’s security features to authenticate the legitimacy of the document, as part of WorldReach’s Know You Traveller platform.

Also, part of the identity verification is selfie matching. This is achieved by comparing the secure reference image from the ePassport chip to a live selfie captured by smartphone camera. This service supports not only ePassports, but also UK biometric residence cards and EU citizen eID cards, all using ICAO standards.