Moving to online digital status (eVisas)

Moving to online digital status (eVisas)

The UKVI have changed the way you will evidence your permission to be in the UK, by moving away from physical documents such as vignettes and Biometric Residence Permits and replacing these with a digital status called an ‘eVisa’. In the future you won't need a physical document for travel to the UK but if you currently have a BRP card or other type of physical document, e.g., vignette in your passport, then you must continue to carry it with you until 1 June 2025.

Biometric residence permits (BRPs) have already been replaced by eVisas so instead of collecting a BRP once you arrive in the UK, you will create a UKVI account and generate an eVisa.

If you are issued with an entry clearance vignette (visa sticker in passport) you can use this to travel to and enter the UK. If you are not issued with a vignette you can use your eVisa to travel to the UK along with your current passport. Your account must be linked to the passport you will travel on. You should also get a share code to provide your immigration status before you travel as your carrier may ask for it. Instructions on how to do this will be included in the grant/decision email which you received when your visa was issued. A share code is valid for 90 days. 

Benefits of an eVisa

An eVisa is a digital online record of your immigration status and the conditions of your permission to enter or stay in the UK which you access by creating a UKVI account. Switching to an eVisa will not change your permission or the conditions of your permission in the UK, such as work restrictions or the length of time you can stay.

UKVI believe there are many benefits to an eVisa:

• they are secure and cannot be lost, stolen or tampered with, unlike a physical document
• you will not need to wait for, or collect, a physical document after your application is decided
• it will be quicker and easier to prove your status at the UK border, and share your status with third parties like employers and landlords.

Proving your status with an eVisa

Once you have generated your online digital status or eVisa you can prove your status by logging in to the ‘view and prove services’ using your UKVI account. 

Check that the details in your account are accurate and up to date. 

You should make sure your personal details are up to date before you travel. Make sure you do this in good time to travel. You may be delayed or denied boarding by carriers if your information is not correct.

You must link your current travel document to your account and make sure this is always correct and updated if you change document. If you do this shortly before travelling we recommend you carry the old document with you as well as your new passport.  If you do not link the passport you will travel with to your eVisa account you will face difficulties travelling. This is particularly important if you are holding more than one passport. 

Providing the University with your Share code

All new students registering with the university who have been granted more than six months permission to stay will need to provide a Share code. You will need to generate a Share code (choosing ‘something else’ not work or accommodation in the process) and provide it to us by completing the online Share code form.