Skip to main content
Back to work

Digital identity and contactless travel

Making digital immigration easier for 7M+ users, reducing offline support requests by 67%

Role
Senior UX Designer
Date
2024/25
Client
GOV.UK
Status
Shipped
Jump to a section
Project hero image showing the contactless travel interface

Overview

On GOV.UK digital immigration, I worked across two connected workstreams: improving the live status service and evaluating remote biometric enrolment. I owned wireframes, prototypes and detailed designs for a complex, high-traffic interface, and designed to WCAG and inclusion standards. I collaborated with another UX designer, three user researchers, three content designers, and several business analysts and developers.

Global users served

7M

40% growth from 5M

Completion rate

83%

9 percentage points in 2 months

GDS service assessment

Passed

First attempt · progressed to public beta

Project scope

  • Workstream 1 improved the live immigration status service.
  • Workstream 2 evaluated remote biometric self-enrolment.

My contribution

  • Designed for WCAG and inclusion across public and internal services.
  • Co-designed online account recovery and evaluated biometric supplier experiences.

Constraints

  • Rigid backend architecture
  • Diverse global and cultural needs
  • Strict identity-security requirements
SERVICE JOURNEY

How the eVisa journey fits together

Process flow and high-level user journey for the contactless eVisa service.

Problem

The work addressed two connected problems: making the live immigration service more accessible, and understanding how remote biometric enrolment could feel secure and trustworthy.

WORKSTREAM 1

Access and account recovery

Public immigration status service

  • Expiring physical documents created an urgent need for digital proof of status.
  • Users without identity documents faced barriers when creating an account.
  • Jargon and inaccessible content excluded people with lower English or digital confidence.
  • Lost account details forced users into slow offline recovery routes.
WORKSTREAM 2

Trust and remote biometrics

Biometric self-enrolment trials

  • Users needed confidence when sharing biometric data with the UK government.
  • Strict security requirements had to coexist with a usable experience.
  • Collection and storage needed to remain secure throughout the journey.
  • Biometric authentication had to connect coherently with wider account journeys.

Workstream 1: Improving the live service

For the digital immigration status service, we followed an iterative, user-centred process: research with the user research team, prototypes I owned, and checks against WCAG and inclusion standards, so the service could work for a wide range of users.

1

User research

  • Usability testing with diverse users, run with the research team, surfaced accessibility and inclusion issues.
2

Prototyping

  • Owned wireframes and iterative prototypes, then refined journeys from user and stakeholder feedback.
3

Accessibility

  • Designed to WCAG and digital inclusion standards, including contrast, language, and disabled states.
4

Collaboration

  • Worked with policy, product, engineering, and GDS assessors, and communicated the design rationale through to public beta.
Some of the styles and components from the GOV.UK Design System used in the prototype.

I applied the GOV.UK Design System in Figma, Mural, and in HTML, CSS, JavaScript and Nunjucks. The coded prototype was also implementation guidance for engineers: how the journey should be built, not only how it should look.

I owned a hybrid prototype: a Figma mobile flow connected to a GOV.UK prototype in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. This simulated a real omni-channel journey.

This setup enabled users to pause the flow on their desktop and switch to their phone. They simulated verifying their identity using a prototype of the actual app. This helped us observe how users behave and what they experience across different devices.

Mural board from two intensive rounds of user testing with eVisa applicants, capturing key insights and pain points.

Usability testing with diverse users, alongside the research team, surfaced issues in accessibility, usability, and clarity. I iterated the prototypes from that evidence and from stakeholder feedback. Key fixes are outlined in the ‘Solutions’ section.

Workstream 2: Testing remote biometrics

For the biometric self-enrolment trials, we focused on building user trust while ensuring robust security measures for handling sensitive biometric data.

1

User research

  • Ran biometric trials to gauge views on remote fingerprint and facial recognition.
2

Prototyping

  • Designed and refined biometric enrolment UI components from real-world tests.
3

Security & trust

  • Advised app suppliers on ways to build user trust through clear messaging.
4

Cross-collaboration

  • Worked with security, privacy, and research teams to propose robust solutions.
Insights and sentiment analysis from 200 participants in biometric self-enrolment trials.

Solutions

This section highlights key updates made to the public-facing and internal services. Additionally, I discuss my final outputs from the biometric self-enrolment trials.

WORKSTREAM 1

Strengthening the live service

I simplified complex steps, improved accessibility across devices, and co-designed an automated online account recovery journey.

WORKSTREAM 2

Evaluating remote biometric enrolment

We captured more than 200 fingerprints, evaluated nine supplier apps against accessibility and usability heuristics, and produced recommendations for safer remote enrolment.

Four Workstream 1 design decisions show how research findings became focused improvements to the public service and internal platform.

Use plain language and improve the reading order

Plain language, acronym tooltips, and screen-reader-friendly layout.

We made technical terms relatable, kept the original English for acronyms via tooltips, and moved critical content above the call-to-action. These changes improved comprehension and reduced missed information for assistive tech users.

Put warnings at the point of decision

Inline warning placed where the decision happens. Images are blurred deliberately to protect sensitive information.

I created a way to show when a face scan is missing for valid reasons on the case working platform. I added a warning next to the decision options. This improved visibility and reduced errors without adding another easily ignored blue alert.

Split complex choices to reduce overwhelm

Two-page flow clusters options together with helpful hints. Images are blurred deliberately to protect sensitive information.

Research showed too many options on one page caused overwhelm and limited design scalability. I split the flow into two pages with short hints. This reduced cognitive load and helped users decide faster with fewer errors.

Remove inaccessible disabled controls

Disabled radios failed contrast checks in WAVE. Images are blurred deliberately to protect sensitive information.

I initially identified the disabled radios as failing WCAG SC 1.4.3 contrast requirements. Because they served no purpose when another active user was viewing the case, I explored whether they could be removed.

During the review, I learned that disabled or inactive interface components are exempt from the contrast requirements in WCAG 2.2 SC 1.4.3 and SC 1.4.11. I shared this clarification with the team, and we ultimately kept the controls disabled.

Results

Global users served

7M

40% growth from 5M

Completion rate

83%

9 percentage points in 2 months

GDS service assessment

Passed

First attempt · progressed to public beta

Average journey time

21 min

4% reduction

Offline recovery requests

-67%

Fewer requests after online recovery launched

Biometric enrolment trials

200+

Participants across remote trials

Workstream 1

We achieved a first-time GDS assessment pass, taking the design rationale, including accessibility and the account-recovery flow, to assessors so the service could move to public beta.

  • •Over 7 million users worldwide can now prove their immigration status digitally.
  • •Simplified content and added tooltips for acronyms through inclusive language design.
  • •Co-designed and prototyped an automated account recovery flow, reducing offline requests by 67%.

Workstream 2

Enhanced user trust in biometric authentication systems, achieving 100% willingness to join follow-up enrolment trials.

This will make things so much easier. I won't have to travel for 2 hours to do this, I can just do it at home.

Participant in the biometric trials

Conclusion

Balance technology with human needs

While implementing cutting-edge technology was important, we learned that the most successful aspects of the solution were those that addressed fundamental human needs. Features that reduced anxiety, saved time, and provided clear information were more valued than technically impressive but less practical capabilities.

Inclusive design is essential

Designing for the extremes of user ability benefits everyone. By focusing on accessibility for users with disabilities, we created a more intuitive system that all travellers found easier to use, regardless of their digital literacy or physical capabilities. By adopting an omni-channel design approach, we ensured the service works for users regardless of device access.

In-person testing offers special insights

Our most valuable insights came from in-person testing, where observing real users with fingerprint scanning apps revealed human factors issues missed in remote testing. For example, we learned that 'thumb' is not a word recognised by people in some countries - it may be called 'big finger'. Additionally, we learned suppliers should design flows that let users without some of their fingers skip certain steps.