The UK's transition from physical Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs) to fully digital immigration status — the eVisa — represents the most significant change to the way the Home Office documents immigration status in a generation. The transition, mandated by the Home Office in 2022 and accelerated through 2024, requires every BRP holder to create a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account and link their immigration status to a digital record by 31 December 2024. After that date, the physical BRP card is no longer valid proof of immigration status, regardless of the printed expiry date on the card — many BRPs have printed expiry dates of 31 December 2024 because that is the date the underlying card stock expires, but even cards with later expiry dates become invalid for status purposes. The eVisa cannot be lost or stolen, can be updated instantly when immigration status changes, and can be shared with employers, landlords, and airlines through a "share code" system. The transition has not been without friction, particularly for older holders, those without smartphones, and those travelling to the UK for the first time on the new digital status.
The 31 December 2024 BRP Expiry Deadline
The Home Office announced in 2022 that all Biometric Residence Permits would expire on 31 December 2024, regardless of the immigration status they documented. This artificial expiry date was set because the card stock and chip technology used in BRPs were reaching end-of-life, and the Home Office chose not to issue replacement physical cards but to move to a fully digital system instead. The 31 December 2024 deadline applied to all BRPs issued to those with settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, those with indefinite leave to remain or enter, those with limited leave under work, study, or family routes, and those with refugee status or humanitarian protection. The deadline did not affect the underlying immigration status — only the physical card used to prove it.
BRP holders received letters and emails from the Home Office in 2024 instructing them to create a UKVI account and link their status before the deadline. The vast majority of BRP holders (approximately 6 million people as of mid-2024) successfully completed the transition by the end of 2024, but a significant minority — estimated at 5 to 10% — did not, leaving them with invalid physical cards and no accessible digital status. Holders who missed the deadline did not lose their underlying immigration status, but they faced practical difficulties in proving status to employers, landlords, and at the UK border. The Home Office kept the UKVI account creation portal open beyond the deadline, and holders who missed it can still create an account and link their status; the delay simply means they cannot generate a share code or prove status online until the account is active. For travel into the UK, holders without an active eVisa may face additional questioning at the border but should not be denied entry if their underlying status is verifiable.
What an eVisa Is and How It Works
The eVisa is a digital record of a person's immigration status, stored securely on Home Office servers and accessible through the holder's UKVI account. The eVisa shows the holder's name, date of birth, photograph, immigration status (such as "Indefinite Leave to Remain" or "Skilled Worker Visa valid until 12 March 2028"), and the conditions attached to the status (such as the right to work, the right to study, and the right to access public funds). The eVisa cannot be lost or stolen, unlike the physical BRP, and it updates automatically when the holder's immigration status changes — for example, when a Skilled Worker Visa is extended or when ILR is granted. The eVisa is free of charge, eliminating the £194.50 BRP replacement fee that was charged for lost or stolen cards under the previous system.
The eVisa replaces not only the BRP but also the biometric residence card (BRC) issued to EU Settlement Scheme family permit holders, the passport endorsement stamps for indefinite leave to enter, and the legacy paper documents that documented some older grants of leave. The eVisa does not, however, replace the passport — holders must still have a valid passport or travel document to enter the UK, and the passport must be linked to the UKVI account for the eVisa to be recognised at the border. The eVisa system is part of a broader move to digital immigration status across the UK government, which the Home Office estimates will save approximately £25 million per year in card production, distribution, and replacement costs once fully implemented. The system is built on the same technology platform that has supported the EU Settlement Scheme's digital status since 2018, providing a degree of operational stability after years of refinement.
Creating a UKVI Account
Creating a UKVI account is the essential first step in the eVisa transition. The process is online at gov.uk/create-ukvi-account and requires the holder's date of birth, BRP number (or, for those who never had a BRP, their passport number and the application number from their most recent immigration application), and an email address. The system then verifies the holder's identity by comparing the date of birth and BRP number against Home Office records, and the account is created with the holder's email as the username and a self-selected password. Two-factor authentication is required for subsequent logins, typically via a code sent to the holder's mobile phone, which means the holder must have access to a mobile phone capable of receiving SMS messages — a barrier for some older holders and those in remote areas with poor mobile coverage.
Once the account is created, the holder can view their eVisa, update their personal details (such as a new passport number after passport renewal), and generate share codes for employers, landlords, and other third parties. The share code is a nine-character alphanumeric code that the third party enters into the Home Office's online verification service at gov.uk/view-prove-immigration-status, which then displays the holder's immigration status and the conditions attached. Share codes are valid for 30 days and can be used by the third party only once, providing a measure of privacy protection. Holders who lose access to their email account or mobile phone can recover access by calling the UKVI account support line, but the recovery process can take several days and requires identity verification. For families, each adult must create their own UKVI account; children under 18 cannot create their own accounts and must be linked to a parent's account, which the parent manages on the child's behalf.
Right to Work and Right to Rent Checks
Employers and landlords use the Home Office's online "Right to Work" and "Right to Rent" checking services to verify the immigration status of prospective employees and tenants. Under the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 and the Immigration Act 2014, employers and landlords face civil penalties of up to £20,000 per illegal worker or tenant for failing to conduct proper right-to-work or right-to-rent checks. The eVisa share code system is the primary method of conducting these checks for holders of digital immigration status, replacing the manual inspection of BRP cards that was standard before 2025. The employer or landlord enters the share code provided by the applicant at the online checking service, and the system displays the holder's status, photograph, and the conditions attached (such as "allowed to work" and the type of work permitted).
The online check produces a "right to work" or "right to rent" summary that the employer or landlord must retain as evidence of compliance, typically as a PDF screenshot or printout. The summary shows the date of the check, the holder's status, and the date the status expires (or "no end date" for indefinite leave to remain). Employers must conduct a follow-up check before the visa expiry date if the holder has time-limited leave, and the eVisa system can send automatic reminders to both the holder and the employer. The system has been generally well received by employers, who report that the digital check is faster and more reliable than the manual BRP inspection, but it requires reliable internet access at the point of hire and a working smartphone for the applicant to generate the share code. For applicants without smartphones, the share code can be generated in advance at a library or community centre and provided to the employer or landlord on paper or via email.
Travel: Airline and Border Verification
For international travel to the UK, the eVisa is verified through the airline's check-in system and at the UK border. Airlines are required under carrier liability regulations to verify that passengers have the right to enter the UK before boarding, and the verification is typically conducted by the airline's check-in staff entering the passenger's passport details into the Home Office's API (Advance Passenger Information) system, which returns a boarding clearance if the eVisa is linked to the passport. Holders must ensure that the passport linked to their UKVI account is the same passport they are travelling on — a common source of difficulties when holders renew their passport and forget to update their UKVI account before travel. Holders can update their passport details through their UKVI account, and the update typically takes effect within 24 hours.
At the UK border, the ePassport gates at major airports (Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham, and others) automatically read the passport chip and check it against Home Office records, allowing the holder to enter without speaking to a Border Force officer. Holders without an ePassport (older passports without the chip, or non-EEA passport holders travelling on certain passport types) must use the staffed desks, where the Border Force officer checks the passport against the eVisa system. The system has worked smoothly for the vast majority of travellers, but isolated incidents of holders being denied boarding or delayed at the border have been reported, typically caused by passport mismatches or by the eVisa not being correctly linked to the passport being used. The Home Office recommends that eVisa holders carry their physical BRP (if not yet expired) or a printout of their share code summary when travelling, as a backup in case of system failures.
Lost or Stolen BRPs in the eVisa Era
Before the eVisa transition, a lost or stolen BRP required the holder to apply for a replacement BRP, paying the £194.50 replacement fee and waiting up to eight weeks for the new card to be issued. During the wait, the holder could not prove their immigration status to employers or landlords, and international travel was problematic — a particular burden for those who lost their BRP shortly before a planned trip. Under the eVisa system, the loss of a physical BRP is no longer a status problem: the holder's immigration status is in the digital record, accessible through their UKVI account, and the physical card is no longer required for proof of status. The holder must, however, report the loss or theft to the Home Office through their UKVI account, both to flag the lost card as invalid (in case it is used fraudulently) and to ensure that the digital status is the sole proof going forward.
The loss of a physical BRP is also no longer a problem for international travel, since the eVisa is verified against the passport rather than the card. Holders who have lost their BRP and need to travel can do so as long as their passport is correctly linked to their UKVI account. The one residual issue is for holders who have not yet created a UKVI account and have lost their BRP — they must create the account first using their BRP number, which they may not have if the card is lost. In these cases, the holder can contact the UKVI account support line and provide alternative verification (passport details, application number, biometric information on file), and the support team can manually link the status to the UKVI account. The process typically takes 5 to 10 working days and may require the holder to attend a UKVCAS appointment for new biometrics if the existing biometrics are not adequate.
Vulnerable Persons and Exemptions
The Home Office recognised from the outset of the eVisa transition that certain categories of holders would face disproportionate difficulties with a fully digital system. Vulnerable persons — including the elderly, those without smartphones or reliable internet access, victims of domestic abuse, refugees, and those with significant disabilities — may be unable to manage a UKVI account independently or to generate share codes on demand. The Home Office has provided exemptions and assisted-digital services for these categories, including telephone support through a dedicated UKVI account helpline, in-person assistance at UKVCAS centres, and the option for a third party (such as a family member, support worker, or immigration adviser) to manage the UKVI account on the holder's behalf. The third-party access requires the holder's written authorisation and is typically used by elderly holders whose adult children manage their immigration status.
Refugees and those with humanitarian protection are a particular category of concern because they often do not have a valid passport and may have been issued with a BRP as their sole identity document. For these holders, the eVisa transition has been smoother than expected because the eVisa itself serves as the identity document — the holder can generate a share code that displays their photograph and status, providing a form of digital identity even without a passport. The Home Office has also continued to issue physical immigration status documents (ISDs) for refugees who need to travel and do not have a passport, though these are being phased out in favour of a Convention Travel Document that works alongside the eVisa. For victims of domestic abuse whose immigration status is dependent on their partner, the eVisa system provides a measure of security because the abuser cannot confiscate or control the digital status as they might have done with a physical BRP. The Destitution Domestic Violence Concession and the subsequent application for ILR under the Domestic Violence Rule (Appendix FM) operate through the eVisa system in the same way as other immigration applications.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. The 31 December 2024 deadline applied to all BRPs regardless of the printed expiry date on the card. The deadline was about the card stock and chip technology reaching end-of-life, not about your underlying immigration status. Even if your BRP has a printed expiry date of, say, March 2026, it is no longer valid proof of immigration status after 31 December 2024, and you must have a UKVI account and an eVisa to prove your status to employers, landlords, and at the UK border. Your underlying immigration status (the actual leave to remain) is unaffected — only the physical card is invalid.
Yes. You must update your UKVI account with your new passport details whenever you renew or replace your passport. The update is done through the UKVI account portal and typically takes 24 hours to process. If you do not update your passport details, the eVisa will not be linked to the passport you are travelling on, which can cause difficulties at airline check-in or at the UK border. Until the update is processed, you should carry both your old and new passports when travelling, and if your old passport is no longer valid you should consider carrying a printout of your share code summary as a backup. For dual nationals who hold two passports, the eVisa can be linked to both passports through the UKVI account.
No. The eVisa share code system is consent-based, meaning your employer or landlord can only access your immigration status with a share code that you have generated and provided to them. The share code is valid for 30 days and can be used only once, providing additional privacy protection. The system displays only the information necessary for the right-to-work or right-to-rent check — your photograph, your immigration status, and the conditions attached (such as the type of work permitted or the right to rent) — and does not display other personal information held by the Home Office. You can generate as many share codes as you need through your UKVI account, and you can see a log of which share codes you have generated and when.
For more, see our UK ILR eligibility guide and our UK ILR continuous residence rules, or try our UK ILR calculator to track your settlement date.
Last reviewed June 26, 2026. This article is informational and does not constitute legal, tax, or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional for guidance specific to your situation.