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Get ready for a digitised immigration system: create your UKVI account and convert to an eVisa

UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) are replacing physical immigration documents with an online record of your immigration status or 'eVisa'

As part of their plans to fully digitise the UK immigration system, UKVI are replacing physical immigration documents with an online record of your immigration status. This is known as an eVisa.

Find out more about what eVisas are and how the transition to a fully digital immigration system will affect you as a member of staff.

eVisas

An eVisa will be an online record of your immigration status in the UK. Transitioning to an eVisa won’t affect your immigration status or the conditions of your permission to stay in or enter the UK.

In the future, you’ll be able to use your eVisa to travel into and out of the UK without the need to carry physical immigration documents, such as a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP), Biometric Residence Card (BRC) or endorsements and travel vignettes in passports.

The benefits of an e-Visa include:

  • security - they can’t be lost, stolen or tampered with
  • convenience - you won’t need to wait for, or collect, a physical immigration document after your visa application has been decided
  • ease of travel across the border - it should be quicker and easier to prove your immigration status when entering the UK

UKVI plans for eVisas to be fully operational from 1 January 2025.

You can find out more about eVisas on the Government's dedicated webpages.

Impact of eVisas and what action you’ll need to take

eVisas will replace physical immigration documents such as:

  • Biometric residence permits (BRPs)
  • Biometric residence cards (BRCs)
  • Endorsements on passports, such as indefinite leave to remain vignettes
  • Vignette stickers in passports, such as entry clearance or visa vignettes

If you currently have a physical immigration document for any type of immigration permission to enter or stay in the UK, you’ll be affected by the transition to eVisas. You’ll need to create a UKVI account to access your eVisa and share information about your immigration status and conditions.

The Home Office will start contacting eligible visa holders from April 2024, and the system will be fully accessible to all BRP and BRC holders by Summer 2024.

If you’ve already been contacted to create a UKVI account, either by email or in a decision letter, you should follow the instructions UKVI have provided to create your UKVI account.

If you haven’t been contacted by UKVI yet, you'll be able to create your account and access your e-Visa when UKVI contacts you and provides instructions on what you need to do and when.

We suggest registering for updates on the Government's webpages.

BRP or BRC cards expiring on 31 December 2024

If your BRP or BRC lists 31 December 2024 as its expiry date, but your visa allows you to stay in the UK longer, this isn’t an error. UKVI plans to digitise the UK immigration system and switch everyone to eVisas which means you won’t need a BRP or BRC from 1 January 2025.

It’s important that you check the actual end date of your immigration permission, and you can check your decision email or letter from the Home Office if you don’t already know what date this should be.

If you’re not sure what a BRP or BRC is or if you have one, you can find out more about these on the Government's dedicated webpages.

You can find out what action you’ll need to take if you have a BRP or BRC that expires on 31 December 2024 further on in this guidance.

Holders of paper immigration documents

If you have Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) and prove your rights using a passport containing a wet-ink stamp or vignette sticker, or another type of legacy paper document, you should make a free ‘No Time Limit’ (NTL) application via the Government's webpages.

As part of the process, you may be asked to attend a UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services Centre (UKVCAS) to provide a photograph, and sometimes fingerprints. Successful applicants will be issued with a BRP which can be used to create a UKVI account.

The Home Office intends to launch a revised NTL application process later in 2024, which proves an eVisa directly rather than issuing a BRP first.

Provide Human Resources with your share code

If you have a BRP or BRC with an expiry date of 31 December 2024, but your immigration permission extends beyond this date, the Staff Immigration Team will contact you directly to update your iTrent record to reflect your actual visa end date or settled status, as appropriate.

For further guidance or if you have any questions about these changes and how they may impact you, please contact the Staff Immigration Team on hr-visas@bath.ac.uk .

Enquiries

If you have any questions, please contact us.

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