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UK eVisa Guide: How to Access Your Immigration Status, Travel and Prove Your Right to Work
The UK has replaced Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs) and other physical immigration documents with eVisas, creating a digital system for recording and proving immigration status.
For visa holders, this means that immigration status is accessed online through a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account rather than evidenced by a physical residence permit.
Although the transition began in 2024, understanding how to access and use an eVisa remains important for individuals, families and employers.
This guide explains how the system works, what to do if your BRP has expired, how to avoid problems when travelling and what employers need to know about right to work checks.
What Is a UK eVisa?
An eVisa is an electronic record of a person's UK immigration status and the conditions attached to their permission.
It can show:
- The type of immigration permission held.
- When that permission expires, where applicable.
- Whether the individual is permitted to work.
- Other conditions attached to their immigration status.
An eVisa is accessed through a UKVI account using the Home Office's online services. Unlike a BRP, an eVisa does not require the individual to carry a separate physical residence card. However, visa holders must still travel with an appropriate valid passport or travel document.
Have Biometric Residence Permits Been Replaced?
Yes. All BRPs have now expired and been replaced by eVisas. Most BRPs carried an expiry date of 31 December 2024, even where the holder's immigration permission continued beyond that date.
An expired BRP does not necessarily mean that your immigration permission has expired.
If you previously held a BRP and still have valid UK immigration permission, you should ensure that you have access to your eVisa.
Expired BRPs can no longer be used as evidence of permission to travel to the UK. However, they may still be useful for certain UKVI account and immigration application processes. Under current Home Office arrangements, an expired BRP may be used for specified purposes for up to 24 months after its printed expiry date, or until 31 December 2026, whichever is earlier.
You should not assume that an expired BRP is acceptable proof of your immigration status for employment or travel.
How to Create a UKVI Account and Access Your eVisa
If you do not already have access to your eVisa, you may need to create a UKVI account.
Before doing so, check whether you already have one.
For example, you may already have an account if you previously used the UK Immigration: ID Check app, applied through a digital immigration process or obtained status under the EU Settlement Scheme.
Do not create a second UKVI account if you already have one.
Step 1: Check Whether You Already Have an Account
Visit the official GOV.UK eVisa service.
You can attempt to sign in using your existing account details.
Step 2: Create an Account If Required
If you need to register, you will generally require an email address, telephone number and suitable identity or immigration application information.
Depending on your circumstances, this may include your passport, BRP details or immigration application reference.
Step 3: Confirm Your Identity
The registration process requires you to confirm your identity.
This may involve using the UK Immigration: ID Check app. Alternative arrangements are available in certain circumstances.
Step 4: Link Your Account to Your eVisa
Creating an account does not always complete the process.
You must ensure that your immigration status has been linked to the account and that you can actually view your eVisa.
Step 5: Check Your Immigration Details
Once you can access your eVisa, check that the information displayed is correct.
Pay particular attention to your name, date of birth, immigration category, expiry date and any conditions affecting employment.
If there is an error, use the Home Office's process to report an eVisa error.
Travelling to the UK With an eVisa
One of the most important aspects of the digital immigration system is the connection between your eVisa and your passport. Airlines and other carriers can use electronic systems to confirm whether passengers have permission to travel to the UK.
If the information in your UKVI account does not match your travel document, you may experience problems at check-in or delays at the UK border.
What Should You Check Before Travelling?
Before leaving or returning to the UK:
- Sign in to your UKVI account and confirm that you can access your eVisa.
- Check that your immigration status and personal details are correct.
- Ensure that your current passport or travel document is linked to your account.
- Confirm that your passport details match those supplied to your airline or other carrier.
- Consider obtaining a travel share code before departure.
A travel share code is currently valid for 90 days.
You should also check the entry requirements of any country you intend to visit.
What If You Have Renewed Your Passport?
If you have obtained a new passport, you should update your UKVI account before travelling. This is particularly important if your eVisa remains linked to an expired passport.
You can use the Home Office's update your UKVI account details service.
Do not leave this until you arrive at the airport.
What If the Airline Cannot Verify Your eVisa?
If a carrier cannot automatically confirm your immigration status, you may be asked to provide additional evidence. This could include a travel share code or another acceptable immigration document.
The Home Office has published guidance on confirming your immigration status to a carrier.
Where problems arise, the carrier may need to contact the relevant Home Office support service.
Do Children Need Their Own eVisa?
Yes. Children who hold UK immigration permission requiring an eVisa need access to their own digital immigration status.
A parent or guardian can create and manage a UKVI account on behalf of a child. The parent or guardian may use their own contact details when setting up the account, allowing them to manage access. When the child becomes able to manage their own account, their contact information can be updated.
Families should check that every child has the correct immigration status and passport information recorded before travelling.
A parent's eVisa does not replace the need for a child to have their own immigration status.
How Do You Prove Your Right to Work With an eVisa?
Most non-British and non-Irish nationals with digital immigration status can prove their right to work through the Home Office's online checking service.
The individual generates a share code, which the employer uses alongside the person's date of birth to access the relevant right to work information.
Employers should use the official Home Office right to work checking service.
It is important to distinguish between accessing an eVisa and completing a compliant right to work check.
Simply viewing an employee's eVisa or retaining a screenshot does not, by itself, establish the statutory excuse against a civil penalty.
Employers must follow the prescribed checking process and retain the required evidence.
Do Employers Need to Repeat Right to Work Checks Because BRPs Expired?
No. The expiry of a BRP, by itself, did not create a requirement to repeat a right to work check where the employer had already established a continuing statutory excuse.
However, where a time-limited statutory excuse applies, the employer must undertake the appropriate follow-up check when required.
Employers should distinguish between the expiry date of a physical document and the expiry of the person's immigration permission. For licensed sponsors, additional sponsor record-keeping and monitoring responsibilities may also apply.
What If You Cannot Access Your eVisa?
Some individuals experience difficulties accessing their UKVI account, linking their immigration status or viewing the correct information.
Common issues include:
- Losing access to the email address or telephone number associated with the account.
- Having an expired passport linked to the account.
- Finding that the eVisa displays incorrect personal information.
- Being unable to complete identity verification.
- Discovering that the account has not been correctly linked to the immigration record.
The appropriate solution depends on the nature of the problem.
The Home Office provides account recovery, error-reporting and support services.
Where the issue affects imminent travel, employment or an immigration application, it should be addressed promptly.
What Employers Should Do About eVisas
Although eVisas are now established, employers should ensure that their HR procedures reflect the digital immigration system.
Review Right to Work Procedures
Confirm that staff responsible for recruitment and onboarding understand when online right to work checks are required and how to retain the correct evidence.
Remind Sponsored Workers to Maintain Their UKVI Accounts
Sponsored employees should be encouraged to check their immigration status and update passport details when necessary, particularly before international travel.
Support Employees With Dependants
Employees relocating with partners or children may need guidance on accessing each family member's digital immigration status.
Keep Sponsorship Records Accurate
For sponsor licence holders, right to work checks are only one element of compliance.
Employers must also meet the relevant Home Office record-keeping, reporting and monitoring requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions About UK eVisas
Is an eVisa compulsory?
The UK has moved to a digital immigration system, and eVisas have replaced BRPs. The precise arrangements depend on the individual's immigration status and circumstances. Certain other forms of immigration evidence may still be relevant in specific cases.
Can I travel with an expired BRP?
No. Expired BRPs are no longer accepted as evidence of permission to travel to the UK. You should ensure that you can access your eVisa and that your current passport is linked to your UKVI account.
Does my visa expire when my BRP expires?
Not necessarily. The expiry date printed on a BRP may be different from the expiry date of the immigration permission it previously evidenced.
Do I need a new eVisa when I renew my passport?
You should update your UKVI account with your new passport details. Renewing your passport does not, by itself, mean that you need to make a new immigration application.
Can I use my eVisa to prove my right to work?
Yes, where the Home Office online right to work checking service is available for your status. You will generally need to provide the employer with a right to work share code and your date of birth.
Does my child need a separate UKVI account?
Yes, where the child needs access to their own eVisa. A parent or guardian can manage the account on the child's behalf.
What happens if my eVisa contains an error?
You should report the error through the Home Office's official service. Where the problem may affect travel or employment, address it as early as possible.
How Immtell Can Help
Digital immigration status has simplified some aspects of the UK immigration system, but it has also introduced new practical challenges. Problems with UKVI accounts, immigration records, passport details and right to work verification can have significant consequences for individuals and employers.
Immtell provides regulated UK immigration advice to businesses and individuals.
Our Managing Director, Gavin Webster, has 23 years' UK immigration experience, including 13 years working for the Home Office.
For employers, our Head of Sponsor Compliance, Ewen McKenzie, brings additional experience as a former Home Office Regional Compliance Manager and in-house immigration compliance specialist.
We can assist with immigration status enquiries, visa applications, right to work procedures, sponsor licence compliance and associated immigration matters.
Contact Immtell if you require professional advice about your UK immigration status or your organisation's immigration compliance responsibilities.
