The rollout of Evisas has begun. The Home Office is aiming to replace all physical documents with Evisas by 2025.
Please note: the Government will cease issuing new BRPs on 31st October.
From 17th April 2024, the Home Office will begin to send emails to all those with physical immigration documents, called biometric residence permits (BRPs), inviting them to create a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account to access an eVisa. This is digital proof of their immigration status.
As part of the Government’s strategy to fully digitise the UK border by 2025, the Home Office is switching from physical immigration to documents to eVisas. This accompanies the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) for visitors on short-term visas.
Currently, digital status only exists for people on select visas, including the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) and the Hong Kong BN(O) visa, but this will be expanded to all migrants, regardless of which visa they are on, by the end of 2024.
How will this affect my proof of status?
Instead of sharing physical visa documents, like a Biometric Residence Card or Permit, proof of status will be shown by signing in to the ‘View and Prove’ service. This service is also accessible if someone has a Certificate of Application for a certain visa route.
In order to prove right to work or rent, people will be able to generate a share code, where an employer or landlord will be able to check the individual’s name, immigration status, and any dates or conditions for their visa’s validity. This is shared through View and Prove.
What else changes?
People will have to upload a new photo of themselves every 5 years if under 16 and every 10 years if 16 or older. The maximum age this needs to be updated is 70 years old. People will also have to update their photo if they think their appearance has changed significantly. This is self-judged. The updated image is automatically compared against and matched with the existing photo. If the images are not automatically matched by the Home Office’s system, then a manual check may have to be performed by a Home Office caseworker.
How do I switch to an eVisa?
The expansion will be rolled out throughout 2024. If you have a biometric residence permit (BRP) that expires on 31 December 2024, the Home Office tell you how to create a UKVI account and access your eVisa before the expiry date of your BRP.
If you have a biometric residence permit (BRP) that expires on 31 December 2024, you can now create a UKVI account and access your eVisa. You should do this before the expiry date of your BRP. You can use your travel document, such as a passport, or visa application reference number to create your UKVI account if you have lost your BRP card.
You should only request a replacement BRP if it has been lost or stolen and you have no other form of identity document to create a UKVI account. However, the Government states that you should keep your expired BRP card for help with future applications to stay in the UK and to retain it for your personal records. Information on what to do if your BRP card has been lost, stolen or damaged can be found here.
If you have permission to stay in the UK, once you’ve created your UKVI account you will be able to sign in to the view and prove service to access your eVisa. More information on eVisas can be found here.
If you have already been contacted to create an account, either by email or in a decision letter, you can now follow the instructions the Home Office sent you to create a UKVI account.
Confusion and anxiety around the eVisa rollout
You can also find more of our work on the Digital Hostile Environment here.