The UK’s immigration system will become exclusively digital on 1st January 2025. Student visa holders will no longer be required to have a physical Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) to prove their immigration status. The BRP will be replaced by digital immigration permission in the form of an eVisa.
What is an eVisa?
An eVisa is a digital record of your immigration status and the conditions of your permission to enter or stay in the UK. The eVisa will replace the Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) from the 1st January 2025. The visa vignette in your passport will also be redundant and replaced by the eVisa.
If you have been issued with a BRP, you will need to continue to carry this with you when you travel until the end of 2024. From 2025 you will be able to use an eVisa, linked to your passport, to travel to the UK and you will no longer need to carry a BRP. It is therefore important that you ensure your Passport is up-to-date and that you apply for renewal in advance to travelling to avoid any delays.
You can watch the following video created by UK Visa's and Immigration to learn more about eVisa's:
In order to access your new eVisa you will need to have a UKVI account:
If you already have a UKVI account:
Many students studying at Northumbria on a Student visa, will already have a UKVI account. This will be the case if you have ever:
Applied to the EU Settlement Scheme.
Used the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app to prove your identity when applying for a visa.
Created a UKVI account when applying for your visa (you will have received a UKVI account confirmation email).
Previously created a UKVI account to get access to an eVisa (you will have received a UKVI account confirmation email).
If you already have a UKVI account you do not have to set up a new account, even if you currently have a BRP card. Your eVisa will be accessible via your existing UKVI account. If you have not done so already, you may need to link your UKVI account to your eVisa (see step 3 in the How to create a UKVI account and get access to your eVisa).
If you have never created a UKVI account:
If you have never created a UKVI account, you will be contacted personally and invited to do so by the Home Office. You should then follow the instructions in the email you receive. Please note that you no longer need to wait to receive this invitation as the Home Office have now stopped contacting individual visa holders and opened the system to any visa holder who has not yet created a UKVI account.. As ever, please ensure that any communication you receive from the Home Office is genuine - if you are in doubt please check emailed links against those in this article. There are no costs involved in creating a UKVI account and there is free help available if you require it. You can also sign up for alerts on the UK government website.
How to create a UKVI account:
Please follow the instructions in your invitation and/or in the following UKVI video to create an online account. If you are experiencing any problems using the view and prove service, or obtaining a sharecode, you can contact the UKVI by visiting this webchat link.
After you have created your UKVI account and linked your passport to it, you will be able to view your eVisa on your account and share your immigration status with third parties (for example your employer or landlord) via the View and Prove service.
How to Prove your Immigration status with an eVisa:
Managing your BRP until 2025
While the UK immigration system is transitioning to an exclusively digital service, students who have been issued with a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) must continue to carry this while travelling. We expect that students will still have to collect new BRPs from the Post Office and provide a copy of this to the University. The University is awaiting further guidance from the Home Office about what will be expected of students in relation to their BRPs and we will keep you updated if there are any changes.
If the UKVI have issued you with a BRP you can find frequently asked questions about collecting and managing your BRP here:
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