eVisas

From 6 August 2024 all existing BRP holders can create a UKVI account to access their eVisa at www.gov.uk/evisa. You do not need to wait for an invitation from the Home Office in order to create a UKVI account.  

If you wish to remain in the UK, you should make an immigration application in the usual way prior to the expiry of your current immigration permission.  

You do not need to take any further action other than keeping your UKVI account up to date with the details of your current passport/travel document. You should also keep your contact details up to date. If you already have an eVisa and BRP also, you also do not need to take any further action other than keeping your UKVI account up to date.

You will need the following to create a UKVI account:

• your BRP number/visa application number (also known as a GWF or UAN number)
• an identity document (passport/BRP)
• Email address and mobile phone number (this does not need to be a UK mobile number but you must be able to receive messages from the UKVI using this number such as two-factor authentication codes)
• Access to a smart phone (if you do not have a smart phone you can use a friend/family member’s)
• Access to the ID check app

You can watch the UKVI video for further details on how to create an account.

Follow the instructions provided in the gov.uk webpage for details of the personal details that may be updated, and for instructions on how to update the personal details in your account.

The main gov.uk webpage on eVisas states, in How do I get an eVisa and a UKVI account?:

If you cannot see your eVisa details once you create your UKVI account, you can contact us to report an error with your eVisa. If you have a valid BRP you can use it to prove your immigration status, where permitted, until your eVisa details are available.

The report an error with your eVisa webpage, also confirms that you can use this online reporting tool to report that you cannot view your eVisa when signing in to your UKVI account. If you have any concerns around this, you may wish to speak to your Student sponsor institution.

You will need to obtain a share code in order to “view and prove” your status to others. Watch the UKVI’s view and prove video for further details on how to do this.

If you experience a technical issue linking your passport to your UKVI account following setting up your account with your BRP, contact the UKVI for assistance. You can either contact the Resolution Centre or use the UKVI webchat service. You should ask for your account to be archived in order for you to set up a new account with your passport details.

The eVisa gov.uk webpage has confirmed that BRPs will no longer be produced after 31 October 2024.  If you enrol your biometrics at a Visa Application Centre overseas prior to 31 October 2024, you will continue to be issued with a 90-day vignette and a “short-dated” BRP. You will be required to create a UKVI account in order to access your eVisa, so that you can prove your immigration permission in the UK beyond the expiry date of your BRP. You should create your UKVI account following the collection of your BRP.

If you enrol your biometrics at a Visa Application Centre overseas after 31 October 2024, you will be issued with a 90-day vignette only but not a BRP. Although you will be able to travel to the UK with your 90-day vignette, you will be required to create a UKVI account. Creating a UKVI account will allow you to view your eVisa and prove your immigration status in the UK.

The eVisa gov.uk webpage has confirmed that BRPs will no longer be produced after 31 October 2024. If you are a visa national and you make a Student application in the UK prior to 31 October 2024, you will continue to receive a “short-dated” BRP. You will need to create a UKVI account (if you haven’t already) in order to prove your immigration permission in the UK beyond the expiry date of your BRP. If you make a Student application after 31 October 2024, you will not receive a BRP and will need to create a UKVI account (if you haven’t done so already) in order to access your eVisa.

EEA nationals and other individuals who have been permitted to use the ID check app to apply for immigration permission, should already have a UKVI account and have access to their eVisa already.

Those who apply for entry clearance (a Visitor visa from outside the UK), are still scheduled to be issued with a vignette. Although those applying for Visitor visas will also transition to eVisas at some point, the exact date of this is unknown. We will update this webpage with further information when an announcement is made of the exact date of the transition. Please refer to our Visitor webpage for further details of the Visitor route.

The Home Office has said it plans to introduce eVisas for people in this position. We understand that if you fall into this category, you will need to make a "no time limit" (NTL) application first before transitioning to an eVisa. According to the gov.uk website, you will still be able to prove your rights using your existing physical documents (where permitted) while your NTL application is being considered and after it is decided.

If your BRP has been lost or stolen, you must report the loss or theft to the police, but you are no longer required to replace it. Failure to report the loss or theft to the police can result in a £1,000 fine and the risk of being made to leave the UK. See gov.uk info on If your BRP is lost or stolen, where it is confirmed that "You cannot get a replacement [BRP]. You'll need to set up access to an eVisa instead".

In the gov.uk info, Get access to your eVisa, it states that to access your UKVI account:

You’ll [...] need one of the following, if you have them:

• • a valid passport and your visa application number - this is a global web form (GWF) number or unique application number (UAN)
  • a valid passport and your biometric residence permit (BRP) number
  • your BRP card

Therefore, it appears you should be able to create a UKVI account using your lost/stolen BRP number, as long as you have a copy of that BRP, and your passport. Alternatively, instead of your BRP details, you can use your visa application reference number (your GWF or UAN number) and your passport.

You are permitted to travel with your current passport and eVisa. However, you must have updated your UKVI account with the details of your current passport, in order to avoid any problems and delays at the border.

Read Guidance - Check your eVisa is correct before you travel - How to check your eVisa details are correct before you travel in or out of the UK (published on gov.uk on 31 October 2024).

If you are in possession of a passport and an eVisa but no other physical document (such as a BRP), Guidance - Document checks and charges for carriers confirms, on page 8, that carriers can check your immigration status using the view and prove service. You will need to generate a share code in order for the carrier to check your immigration status and permit you to board.

If, alongside your eVisa, you are also still in possession of a physical document (such as a BRP), and you still have permission to stay in the UK (regardless of if your BRP expires on 31 December 2024, or after that date), gov.uk information on How do I get an eVisa and a UKVI account? advises you should continue to carry this physical document with you as an extra document, on journeys until 1 June 2025.

View the UKVI video on How to travel with your eVisa for further details.

Your BRP is likely to have an expiry date of 31 December 2024. Despite this, as long as you continue to have underlying immigration permission that goes beyond this date, you will be permitted to travel to the UK with an expired BRP and without an eVisa up until 1 June 2025. This is confirmed in gov.uk information on How do I get an eVisa and a UKVI account?. This provision also applies if your BRP expires after 31 December 2024, and you continue to have underlying immigration permission.

If you are outside the UK and you are having difficulties setting up access to your eVisa or updating your UKVI account, but you are also no longer in possession of your BRP, it seems likely you will need to obtain a replacement BRP visa in order to be able to evidence to a carrier your right to travel to the UK. The government fee for a replacement BRP visa is £154, so ensure you have explored all options for accessing your eVisa or updating your UKVI account. The replacement BRP visa will allow you to travel to, and enter the UK, only once. If you do use a replacement BRP visa to enter the UK, you will need to continue to try to remedy your issues after you have entered the UK (perhaps through the Resolution Centre or the UKVI webchat service).

If the carrier has been unable to check your immigration status using either the view and prove service, or by viewing your expired BRP, the Home Office media factsheet confirms that you can ask the carrier to contact the Border Force Carrier Support Hub for assistance.

The main gov.uk webpage on eVisas states, in How will I use my UKVI account?:

You should report an error to UKVI if your details are wrong on your eVisa, for example your name or immigration status.

The link takes you to an online form, where you can submit your details and note what the error relates to. The landing page for the online form gives a fuller list:

Use this service to tell UKVI if any of the following details are wrong 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 should let your institution know if you need to report an error with your eVisa, and you should let it know if you have used the online form to do so. 

If there is a mistake on your eVisa with your permission start date, or an error matching your details with your dependant, please discuss this with your institution. UKVI continues to offer institutions an eVisa correction process, through which your institution can raise errors on your behalf through an eVisa bulk reporting form. This temporary measure can only be used by your institution; it cannot be used by students. You may also wish to ask your institution to use this measure if you have any issues using the online reporting tool. This temporary measure was put in place by UKVI for institutions before the introduction of the online reporting tool for individuals. It was originally designed to correct not only the errors that can now be reported by individuals using the online reporting tool but also errors with a visa start date, or errors matching a student's details with a dependant. We are not sure for how much longer the temporary eVisa correction process will remain in place.

If you have issues using the online reporting tool, and/or if your institution is not able to help you via the temporary eVisa correction process, there remain two other options of which we are aware:

• You can contact the UKVI Resolution centre. This is open from 8am – 8pm Monday to Friday (UK time), and from 8am – 6pm on Saturday and Sunday (UK time).
• You can utilise the UKVI webchat service, which is a virtual agent which operates 24 hours a day. However, note that this service states it is for "if you have a question about creating your [UKVI' account and getting access to your online immigration status (eVisa)" and is not explicitly about errors.

If you want to help improve the system for future applicants, then several independent organisations are monitoring the roll-out of eVisas and are seeking feedback about people’s experiences. A reporting tool has been launched (devised by the 3million, in conjunction with ILPA and Open Rights Group) to allow you to report issues you have had with your eVisa or UKVI account. Using this tool will allow these groups to monitor issues with the new system, and it will inform their lobbying work with the UK Government. However, please note it will not serve as a report from you to the UK Home Office about your specific error or issue. You must still contact UKVI directly if you need to tell it about an error or issue with your eVisa or UKVI account.

You can access the Account Recovery Online service, contact the Resolution Centre, or recover your account using the View and Prove/Update My Details service.

The gov.uk eVisa webpage advises that you should keep hold of your BRP (even after it expires) as this may help with future immigration applications. You may also wish to retain your BRP for your own personal records.

You can contact the UKVI’s Resolution Centre for assistance with accessing or recovering your account. They can also assist with updating your personal details if you are unable to do so yourself.

For those with greater vulnerability needs (those without internet access, and those without access to a device for example), you can get some assistance from the Assisted Digital Service.
There are also a number of organisations that have been provided with grant funding to support vulnerable individuals with the digital process.