eVisa instead of BRP: UKVI account, share codes and fixing status problems 

All biometric residence permits (BRPs) have now expired, and immigration status in the UK is proved through an eVisa — a digital record held in your UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account. To work, rent and cross the border without delays, you need a UKVI account, a valid passport linked to it and the ability to generate a share code — the code that lets a checker see your status. This page explains how to set everything up, what to check in your account and what to do if an airline, landlord or employer cannot see your status.

What an eVisa is and why a BRP no longer proves your status

An eVisa is a digital record of your identity and immigration status. It shows the type of visa you hold or whether you have indefinite leave to remain (ILR), together with the conditions of your status — for example, whether you are allowed to work or study. You receive an eVisa when an application for a visa or other permission to be in the UK is approved and, as the official guide eVisas: access and use your online immigration status confirms, eVisas have replaced physical immigration documents.

BRPs were issued to people granted permission to live or work in the UK on or before 31 October 2024. According to the Home Office page on BRPs, all of these cards have now expired. An expired BRP can only be used for three purposes: to create a UKVI account, to sign in to view your eVisa and get a share code, or to apply to extend your permission to stay. It can be used in this way for 24 months after the expiry date printed on the card or until 31 December 2026, whichever comes first. For everything else, your status is proved through your eVisa.

The reasoning behind the change is easy to understand: instead of a card that can be lost or damaged, the checker sees data taken directly from Home Office systems in real time. When your status is extended or changed, the record is updated after the decision, and no new document has to be produced. The flip side is that everything now depends on how accurately your account is set up: the passport, name, date of birth and nationality in it must match the documents you present.

An eVisa should not be confused with an ETA (electronic travel authorisation). An ETA allows people who do not need a visa to travel to the UK for up to 6 months, whereas an eVisa confirms a status you already hold as a resident, worker, student or family member. If you have a valid visa vignette (sticker) in your passport, it remains valid until it expires, and a biometric residence card (BRC) may still be usable in some situations.

In practice, the main difficulty is not the technology itself but mismatched data and small oversights that surface at the worst possible moment.

An eVisa gives visa and ILR holders digital proof of status without a plastic card, but it only works when the UKVI account is set up correctly and its details match the passport. The accuracy of this record matters for visa extensions, a future ILR application and British citizenship, so it is better to find an error early rather than at an airport check-in desk. Imperial & Legal specialists review the account, help update the details and support communication with UKVI.

Vasily Kluev

Client Service Director, Immigration Adviser (IAA)

If you were granted status after 31 October 2024, you probably never had a BRP, and your eVisa has been your only proof of status from the start. If you did have a card, you needed to complete the move yourself, and this is the group that most often runs into questions.

Who the move to eVisas affects

Almost everyone with UK immigration status needs a UKVI account and access to an eVisa. The GOV.UK guidance covers the following groups:

• holders of any UK visa — for example, a Skilled Worker visa, an Innovator Founder visa, Global Talent or a family visa;
• ILR holders, including those whose status was shown on an expired BRP;
• family members joining a main applicant as dependants — each partner and child needs their own UKVI account;
• people with status under the EU Settlement Scheme — they already have an account from their application;
• people with a digital certificate of entitlement to the right of abode and those exempt from immigration control, such as diplomats.

A separate group is ILR holders whose status is shown by a stamp or vignette with no expiry date in an old passport. For them, an eVisa is optional: the physical document remains valid, but a digital record makes travel and checks easier. It can be obtained through a free no time limit (NTL) application, described below.

You do not need an eVisa if you visit the UK with an ETA or if your permission to stay was granted in the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or Gibraltar. Nor do British or Irish citizens need one, even if they hold another nationality: they travel on a British or Irish passport or on a passport containing a certificate of entitlement. You can read more about combining nationalities on the dual citizenship page.

If someone cannot use the internet, another person can create and manage their account — for example, a parent for a child or someone acting under a power of attorney. In that case the helper uses their own phone number and email address, and once the child turns 18 or the person can manage the account themselves, the contact details should be changed to their own. The sooner the whole family completes the set-up, the lower the risk of unpleasant surprises at the next check.

Benefits of seeking support with the move from BRP to eVisa

• Review of every family UKVI account, including children and other dependants
• Comparison of name, date of birth, nationality and passport with eVisa data
• Assessment of cases where the Home Office set up an account you cannot access
• Preparation of an eVisa error report with a clear description of the problem
• Support with a no time limit application for ILR stamped in an old passport
• Explanations for landlords and employers on checks with a share code
• Planning of visa extensions and ILR applications around eVisa data

Even if you are confident that your account is set up, it is worth working through the steps below: most problems arise not from a missing account but from out-of-date details in it.

UKVI account: how to create it, sign in and link your passport

Before creating an account, check whether you already have one. You will have a UKVI account if you have ever used the UK Immigration: ID Check app to confirm your identity when applying for a visa, created an account during a visa application and received a confirmation email, replaced a BRP or BRC with an eVisa or applied to the EU Settlement Scheme. You should not create a second account: duplicates are a common reason why an eVisa cannot be found.

What you need to create an account

You will need a phone number and email address that you can use each time you sign in, plus one of the following:

• a valid passport and your visa application number — a global web form (GWF) number or unique application number (UAN);
• a valid passport and your BRP number;
• your expired BRP — for 24 months after its expiry date or until 31 December 2026, whichever comes first.

Confirming your identity and linking your eVisa

After creating the account, you need to confirm your identity and link the account to your eVisa — the record will not open until both steps are complete. Identity is confirmed through an app on a smartphone. If you do not have a valid passport or an expired BRP, or cannot use the app, there is another way to confirm your identity. Access to the eVisa is usually available straight away once it is linked, but it can take up to 24 hours.

Updating your account details

Your account needs to be kept up to date: if you change your passport, name, phone number, email address, home or postal address, update the details through the Update your UKVI account service. You can also correct your date of birth, add a nationality or another passport and change your photo if you can no longer be recognised from the current one. An important restriction: while you are waiting for a visa decision, you cannot change your name or passport in the account, so it is better to link a new passport before you apply.

If you lose access to your account

If you have changed your phone number or email address and cannot sign in, the Home Office offers a separate account recovery process, and UKVI webchat can help with other eVisa questions. If the Home Office set up your account and you have never been able to sign in, this is treated as an eVisa error and should be reported through the dedicated form.

ILR stamped without an expiry date: the no time limit application

If your ILR is shown by a stamp or vignette with no expiry date rather than a BRP, you can get an eVisa through a free no time limit (NTL) application. You will need a phone number, an email address and the passport you used when you last entered the UK, as well as the physical document proving your status if you still have it. After applying, you give your fingerprints and photo at a UKVCAS service point and provide supporting documents. Processing can take up to 6 months, and you can keep using the physical document in the meantime. If your status is shown on an expired BRP or under the EU Settlement Scheme, you should not make an NTL application — access to the eVisa works differently. You can read more about the status itself on the ILR in the UK page.

Share codes: what they are and how to use them

A share code is a code that lets a third party view your status in Home Office systems. You generate it in your UKVI account and give it together with your date of birth; you do not need to show the eVisa itself. When you get the code, the service tells you which of your details the checker will see. A share code lasts for 90 days, it can be used as many times as needed during that period, and you can get a new one at any time.

Different checking services are used for different purposes, so it is important to choose the right type of code and explain to the recipient where to enter it.

Before generating a code, check that your name and nationality are up to date and that your photo still looks like you; if something has changed, update the account first. If you can view your eVisa but cannot get a share code, this is also an error that should be reported to UKVI.

Timescales and costs

Creating a UKVI account and accessing your eVisa are free, and there is no fee for a no time limit application. The main cost is time: waiting for errors to be corrected and for UKVI to respond, and, in the worst case, rearranging a trip or the signing of a tenancy agreement. Below are the official reference points from GOV.UK guidance.

UKVI timescales are a guide rather than a guarantee: if an issue is complex, the answer may take longer, and UKVI will say so by email. That is why it makes sense to check your account several weeks before a trip, a move or an extension application. The cost of support from Imperial & Legal depends on the situation — from a one-off account review to resolving eVisa errors for the whole family — and is discussed at the consultation.

How the support works: 5 stages

The work is organised so that at every step it is clear what has already been checked and what remains to be done. Below is a typical client journey from the first contact to using the eVisa with confidence.

If it turns out that the problem is not technical but concerns the status itself — for example, the eVisa shows the wrong length or conditions of the visa — an immigration lawyer becomes involved. In such cases an administrative review or a new application may be needed, and this is discussed separately.

eVisas at the border: how to avoid problems when travelling

The most stressful eVisa stories happen at airports. Your status is checked when you leave and enter the UK — by a Border Force officer or at the eGates — and by the carrier when you check in to return to the UK. As the guide Travel with your eVisa warns, if your details are wrong, your carrier may not let you travel and you may be delayed at the UK border.

What to check before you fly

• your UKVI account shows correct personal details and the valid passport you will travel with;
• your eVisa shows the right immigration status and expiry date;
• the details in your account exactly match the passenger information you give the airline;
• you have a share code for travel — it lasts 90 days, so you can generate it in advance.

If you have more than one nationality

Add the passport you will travel on to your account — you can add more than one passport. A common mistake is flying on one country’s passport while the account holds another: the system cannot match the passenger to the eVisa, and the check takes longer. If one of your nationalities is British or Irish, you do not need an eVisa, but you must travel on a British or Irish passport or on a passport with a certificate of entitlement.

If your passport changes while you are abroad

To return, you need to update your UKVI account or ask UKVI to update it for you. With a biometric passport, you can update your passport number and expiry date, name and nationality yourself. Without a biometric passport, you can only update the passport number and expiry date. Other changes are made by UKVI, and you may need to give your biometric information at a visa application centre — time that is easy to leave out of travel plans.

What to do at the airport if your status cannot be seen

If the carrier or a border official asks for additional proof, show a share code or a physical document proving your status if you have one: for example, an ILR stamp or sticker in an old passport, a certificate of entitlement or a Home Office travel document. If the carrier cannot check your eVisa, ask them to contact the UK Border Force carrier support hub — this is the official channel for such cases.

The best protection is to check your account several weeks before a trip rather than the night before: correcting an error takes working days, not hours.

Renting a home and starting a job: landlord and employer checks

The second area where eVisas most often raise questions is right to rent and right to work checks. Both checks are required by law, and the checker is responsible for getting them right, so landlords and employers often play it safe and ask for things they are not entitled to demand.

Right to rent in England

Right to rent checks apply only in England — there are none in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. A landlord must check all adults who will live in the property and must not check only the people they think are not British citizens. As the guide Prove your right to rent in England explains, you choose how to prove your right: with a share code or an eligible original immigration document. A BRP or BRC can no longer be used, and a share code is needed instead.

If you have an eVisa, the landlords’ code of practice requires the check to be carried out through the official Home Office online service using your share code. A screenshot of the eVisa from your own account is not sufficient — the landlord must use the checking service and keep a record of the result. For time-limited status, the check is made within the 28 days before the tenancy starts and is then repeated just before the later of two dates: the end of your permission or 12 months after the previous check.

The stakes for landlords are high: under the code of practice in force from 1 October 2026, the penalty for a first breach is £5,000 per lodger and £10,000 per occupier, rising to £10,000 and £20,000 for a repeat breach within three years. That explains the caution. If your share code does not work because of a technical problem, the landlord can request a check through the Landlord Checking Service, which replies within 2 working days, but your Home Office reference number is needed. You can read more about the rental market in the article on renting property in the UK.

Right to work

When you start a job, you can also choose between a share code and eligible immigration documents, and, as the guide Prove your right to work to an employer stresses, the employer cannot reject you because of the option you choose. If your right to work cannot be confirmed, the employer can use the Employer Checking Service. Employers are especially careful: they face a civil penalty of up to £60,000 for each illegal worker, as set out on the page on penalties for employing illegal workers.

If a landlord or employer will not accept your share code

First, make sure you gave a code of the right type and the correct date of birth and that the code has not expired. Then check that the details in your eVisa match the passport the checker can see. If everything is correct but the service shows an error, report it to UKVI and suggest that the landlord uses the Landlord Checking Service or that the employer uses the Employer Checking Service. A short letter with links to the official guidance, explaining that BRPs are no longer used and that checks are made online, often helps.

Documents and details to prepare

To manage your account and contact UKVI, gather the following in one place in advance:

• your current passport and, if you have them, previous passports with visas or stamps;
• your expired BRP, if you still have it, or its number;
• previous visa application numbers — GWF or UAN — and your UKVI customer number, if you have one;
• documents confirming a change of name or nationality, such as a marriage certificate or new passport;
• Home Office decision letters on your applications;
• access to the phone number and email address linked to your UKVI account.

If your BRP is lost or stolen, you must report it even though it has expired: you can be fined up to £1,000 if you do not, and the Home Office will contact you within one working day of the report. If there is a problem with your expired card, you cannot use it and must destroy it, cutting through your personal details, the royal coat of arms and the chip. Before any important date, it helps to run through a short checklist.

The checklist looks simple, but in real cases the problem almost always lies in one of these points.

Practical examples: typical eVisa situations

Below are generalised situations that people most often seek help with. Details have been changed, but the mechanics of the problems are typical.

A new passport and refused boarding

A Skilled Worker visa holder renewed their passport but did not update their UKVI account. When checking in for the return flight, the airline could not match the passenger to the eVisa. The solution is to link a new passport in advance and keep a share code for travel to hand, and if the passport changes while abroad, to update the account straight away.

A landlord asking for a plastic card

A family with Global Talent visas found a flat in London, but the letting agent asked for a BRP. An explanation referring to the official rules, a share code for the right to rent check and a check through the Home Office online service resolved the issue the same day.

A wrong date of birth

The eVisa showed an incorrect date of birth, so the share code did not match the passport details and the employer’s check failed. An error report with a copy of the passport was needed; until the record was corrected, the employer verified the right to work through the Employer Checking Service.

ILR stamped in an old passport

A client’s ILR was shown by a stamp in a long-expired passport. A digital record was more convenient for travel and job changes, so a no time limit application was made, and the client continued to use the physical document while it was processed.

Experience shows that immigration questions rarely exist separately from relocation, renting and work. Below are real stories of Imperial & Legal clients involving visas, relocation and housing in the UK.

Client stories about visas, relocation and housing

Success stories

6 min

How we helped Diego and Marina move to UK: visas and new accommodation

Diego is the owner of a successful business. His income allowed him to live a comfortable life in Mexico, where he was born and raised. But the...

Success stories

5 min

Moving to UK with short-term accommodation rental

Our client Robert works as a private consultant, his areas of interest are mining, processing, technological line configuration, and production cycle optimisation. The order that came from the UK...

Success stories

5 min

Obtaining UK Skilled Worker Visa after Your Employer Changes Their Sponsorship Licence

Li Qian is an experienced chef. He had been working in one of the well-known restaurants in West London for a year. Then the owner decided to set up a...

Success stories

5 min

Helping EU Nationals Get a UK Passport

Brexit transition period ended on 31 December 2020, and on 01 January 2021, the UK officially left the EU. Thousands of Europeans living in the UK had been advised to apply for the EU Settlement...

Success stories

5 min

Moving to UK for permanent residence with your family and pet

See how a South African couple moved to the UK with their dog, finding pet-friendly housing and avoiding quarantine with expert legal guidance.

Status questions often surface when looking for a home. One client described how her story began:

We have been living in the UK for four years. My husband has a successful business with prospects for growth. Mohammed's income is enough to fully support our family. We are gradually building up a good credit history. But recently, the landlord said he did not want to renew the lease. And it is difficult to find good accommodation in London.

Nazira, 37 years old

Mohammed's wife

Clients’ names and photos have been changed

With a new tenancy, the landlord checks the right to rent again, and if your status is shown through an eVisa, you will need a share code. If you are planning a move, it is worth looking at how relocation support in the UK works together with the search for a home.

Common mistakes when moving from a BRP to an eVisa

Most eVisa problems are predictable. The most frequent mistakes are:

• creating a second UKVI account instead of signing in to the existing one;
• linking an old passport and travelling on a new one that has not been added to the account;
• a phone number or email address for signing in that no longer works — especially after moving abroad;
• a wrong name, date of birth or nationality in the eVisa that nobody has checked;
• no separate accounts for children and other family members;
• relying on an expired BRP after 31 December 2026, when it can no longer be used;
• checking the account the day before a flight or tenancy signing, when there is no time left to fix an error.

Each of these mistakes can be fixed, but corrections take working days and sometimes weeks. It therefore makes sense to check the whole family’s accounts in advance and decide who will do what if something goes wrong.

eVisa support

Help with your eVisa and UKVI account

UKVI account review

Review of the details, passport and status conditions in the eVisa

Access recovery

Help after a change of phone, email or loss of access

Error correction

Preparation of reports to UKVI and follow-up on responses

Support with checks

Explanations for landlords and employers on share codes

Book a consultation

Even if everything works today, the move to an eVisa is not a one-off action but a new habit: the account needs to be kept in order just as the expiry date of the card used to be.

BRP and eVisa compared

To see clearly what has changed, here is a comparison of the old card and the new digital record on the key points.

The key difference is that responsibility for keeping the data accurate now lies with the account holder. The card was issued once, whereas the digital record needs to be maintained: updating the passport and contact details and checking that the status shows correctly after an extension. If you are planning a route to permanent status, it is worth reviewing the latest changes too: they are covered in detail in the article on the ILR reform, and the next step is described on the British citizenship page.

What to do before 31 December 2026

If you had a BRP but have still not created a UKVI account or linked it to your eVisa, it is best not to delay: after 31 December 2026, an expired card can no longer be used even to sign in, and the set-up becomes more complicated. Those who already have an account should spend half an hour reviewing their details and checking the passport.

Key takeaways

• an eVisa is the main way to prove status in the UK, and BRPs are no longer valid;
• a UKVI account and eVisa access are free, and each family member needs their own account;
• a share code lasts 90 days and can be used for work, renting and travel;
• before travelling, the passport in your account must match the passport you fly on;
• eVisa errors are corrected through UKVI, usually within 5–15 working days;
• landlords and employers cannot reject you for choosing between a share code and an eligible document.

If your situation is more complex than usual — several nationalities, a change of name, ILR shown by a stamp or errors in the record — it is sensible to discuss it with a specialist. Answers to common questions are collected below, and the full range of visa services is on the UK immigration page.