What’s going on?
The Home Office is phasing out the use of hard copy documents to evidence someone’s immigration status. It intends to move to a fully digital system by 1 January 2025.
What does this mean?
If the only way you have to evidence your UK immigration status is a hard copy document such as a Biometric Residence Permit (“BRP”), you need to create a UKVI immigration account before 31 December 2024 and link your immigration status to it. This is your eVisa.
What’s an eVisa?
An eVisa is the electronic record of your immigration and any conditions relating to your stay in the UK.
What is being replaced?
Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs)
Biometric Residence Cards (BRCs)
Long term visas in passports
Endorsements in passports for example, indefinite leave to enter/remain stamps.
I’m worried that my BRP will expire on 31 December 2024. Do I have to apply for a new visa?
All BRPs will expire on or before 31 December 2024. If your current immigration permission extends beyond this date, it will not be affected by the expiry date of 31 December 2024 on your BRP. This expiry date relates to the BRP only and not your immigration permission. However, after 31 December 2024, the only way you will be able to evidence your right to enter, live, work or rent in the UK will be through your UKVI immigration account. Therefore you should create one as soon as possible if you do not already have one.
Once you have created a UKVI immigration account, you will be able to use it to access your electronic immigration status or eVisa through the internet.
What do I need to create my UKVI immigration account?
Your BRP (or your Unique Application Number for your most recent visa application)
Your date of birth
Your email address (we suggest you do not use a work email address as you must be able to access your UKVI immigration account throughout your stay in the UK, even if you change jobs)
Your personal mobile number (if you change your phone, you must remember to update this in your UKVI immigration account to ensure you can continue to access it in the future)
Access to a smartphone
UK Immigration ID check app downloaded to a smartphone.
If you have immigration permission under the EU Settlement Scheme, you will already have an eVisa and do not need to create a new UKVI Immigration Account.
I’ve lost my BRP, how do I get a new one?
As mentioned earlier, ensure you have reported the lost BRP to the Home Office (and also the police if it was stolen). The Home Office will not issue a replacement BRP. You will have to use your eVisa to prove your immigration status to anyone who requires it and to travel.
The Home Office has ceased to issue new BRPs as of 31 October 2024.
How to create the account
If you have received a letter or email from the Home Office, follow the instructions you received.
If you have not received any communication from the Home Office, you can set up your account by going to: https://www.gov.uk/get-access-evisa.
Confirm your identity by using the UK Immigration ID Check app. Download the app to a smartphone and follow the instructions. You will need to take a picture of your BRP or passport. You will also need to take a picture of your face as part of the process.
Once you have created your account, you need to link it to your eVisa. You will need to complete the next window that appears.
Confirm the declaration if you agree with it and select submit. You will receive an email within a few days.
When the account is created, the UKVI account will be linked to the document you used. Before travelling, always ensure that your personal details and passport information are correct on your account and do not need to be updated. Otherwise this may lead to issues entering the UK in the future.
Why should I bother with this?
If you need to prove your immigration status to anyone, you will need to do this through the UKVI immigration account. This will be the only way you can prove your:
Right to work to an employer
Right to rent to a landlord/letting agency
Right to continue to enter the UK at a port of entry such as an airport (provided your passport details on your UKVI immigration account are up to date. If your account has details of an expired or cancelled passport, you may have difficulty re-entering).
Can I create an account for myself and everyone in my family?
Each person must have their own individual immigration account. The Home Office anticipates that for children under 18, one of their parents will create the account for them using the parent’s email address and mobile number. When the child turns 18, the account should be updated to their own personal contact details.
There’s an error on my eVisa
You can now report online to the Home Office any of the following errors on your eVisa:
name
sponsor reference
photo
National Insurance number
visa restrictions - these say what you can and cannot do in the UK
immigration status
valid until date
You will need to so on this website: https://www.gov.uk/report-error-evisa.
I don’t have a BRP. I have indefinite leave to remain (“ILR”) or indefinite leave to enter (“ILE”) endorsed in my passport from many years ago. I show this old passport with the ILR/ILE endorsement together with my current passport every time I enter the UK.
At present, you will need to submit a “No Time Limit” application to the Home Office, free of charge.
The Home Office has recently simplified the application and now only requires a copy of your passport showing your ILR/ILE endorsement and a copy of your passport showing your most recent entry to the UK. However, a caseworker can still request additional information and documents to verify an applicant’s identity and that they have retained their immigration status.
A UKVI account will be created as part of the application process.
I have a Certificate of Entitlement for Right of Abode. I don’t want to apply for a British passport. What can I do?
The Home Office has said that in the future, you will be able to create an immigration account and confirm your immigration status via an eVisa.
Next steps
If you are affected by this, you should create your UKVI immigration account as soon as possible unless you already have one. Once your eVisa has been linked to your account, you need to keep it updated if there are any relevant changes, for example, when you obtain a new passport.
This information is offered on the basis that it is a general guide only and not a substitute for legal advice. We cannot accept any responsibility for any liabilities of any kind incurred in reliance on this information. Contact us at immigration@laytons.com for advice on your circumstances.
