The Digitalisation of the Home Office The government has been gearing up for a border and immigration system that is digital by default for some time now, and the intention has been that physical documents are to be phased out by the end of the year. By 01 January 2025, physical documents like BRPs (biometric residence permits) and vignette visa stickers will have been replaced by eVisas. Below we will outline the implications of this, and the action required.
What does this mean for individuals?
If you are not a British or Irish citizen:
If you have a biometric residence permit, you need to act now, before your BRP expires on 31 December 2024. We provide lots of information below to help you.
To clarify, it is very likely your immigration status (e.g., Skilled Worker) is valid beyond 31 December 2024. When you received confirmation of your visa from the Home Office the expiry date will have been included in the letter. Your right to live and work in the UK will remain unchanged with the same expiry date. Action is required because the Home Office is digitalising its system, so how you prove your immigration status will change. Therefore, you must register your visa as a digital e-Visa in order to travel, evidence your right to live and work etc.
If you are a British citizen:
If you have become a British citizen since you were last issued with a BRP, you will have the right of abode in the UK. To prove your right to be in the UK, you can use a British citizen passport or a certificate of entitlement of right of abode.
If you have a British passport, you do not need to do anything.
If you have a certificate of entitlement you may need to take action in the future.
If you want to apply for one of these, or if you still have your BRP, you can find more information on what you need to do:
You will need to create a UKVI account via the link below. This will require:
Your date of birth
Your BRP number
Your passport (if you do not have a BRP)
Access to an email address and phone number
Access to a smartphone
The smartphone is required for two factor authentication and to access the UK Immigration: ID Check app to confirm your identity and scan your BRP and microchip. UKVI will then use this information to find a record of your immigration status, and then link the eVisa to your account. Once this process is complete, you will receive an email explaining how to access your eVisa.
If you cannot see your eVisa details as soon as you create your UKVI account, don’t panic! There is nothing you need to do – UKVI will contact you via email once your eVisa is available to view online. In the meantime, continue to use your BRP to prove your immigration status until the eVisa is available.
If you need help creating your UKVI account, you can get help here:
If you already have an eVisa along with your BRP, you do not need to create a new UKVI account. To check if you already have a UKVI account, look here:
What is an eVisa – how is this different to a BRP?
An eVisa is an electronic record of a person’s immigration status. A biometric residence permit (BRP) is a physical document (the size of a credit card). If your immigration status is valid beyond 31 December 2024, if you have a BRP the expiry date will be 31 December 2024 regardless of the duration of your immigration permission. You must therefore update your BRP to an eVisa before 31 December 2024, in order to have evidence of your immigration status.
How is a UKVi account different to an eVisa?
A UKVI account is a secure way for customers to log into online services such as view and prove, whereas an eVisa is an electronic record of a person’s immigration status. A person can have a UKVI account but no eVisa, e.g. where the application for permission to stay in the UK was refused or expired
The UKVI account is currently created automatically for everyone who uses the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check mobile App’ to make an immigration application.
How will updating my immigration status to an eVisa affect me?
Updating your physical document to an eVisa does not affect your immigration status or the conditions of your permission to enter or stay in the UK. Holding an eVisas is required as the physical document (BRP) will no longer be valid from 31 December 2024.
What are the implications if I don’t get an e-visa?
If you do not register for an eVisa and rely upon your physical document, you will likely experience serious complications. You must have the necessary evidence of your immigration status in order to travel in/out of the UK, show your employer you have the right to work in the UK, access education and health care etc.
What are the benefits of an eVisa?
They are secure and cannot be lost, stolen, or tampered with, unlike a physical document.
They can be accessed anywhere and in real time, which puts you in control of your own data.
You can easily update your details or documentation and tell the Home Office about any changes like a new passport issued by your home country, email, telephone number and postal address.
What if I already have an eVisa (as well as a BRP?)
Customers who are not sure if they already have a UKVI account and eVisa can either check here on GOV.UK or refer to their original grant email or letterIf you already have an eVisa along with your BRP, you do not need to create a new UKVI account. You can check if you already have a UKVI account.
If I already have a UKVI account, will that mean I have an eVisa?
A person can have a UKVI account but no eVisa, for example, where the application for permission to stay in the UK was refused or expired
What if I have changed my name since my BRP was issued?
If you already have an eVisa, then you are able to update your details online via your UKVI account.
If you only have a BRP, you will need to apply for an updated BRP straight away. N.B. you can be fined up to £1,000 or have your stay in the UK shortened if you do not report such a change within 3 months.
What if I have lost my BRP?
You will need to 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. Once you have a BRP, you can then create your UKVI account for your eVisa.
What if I have a different type of document to prove my immigration status?
If you have indefinite leave to enter remain (also known as settlement or settled status) and you currently prove your rights through a different type of physical document, such as a wet-ink stamp in your passport or a vignette sticker, then you should make a ‘no time limit’ (NTL) application to replace your document with a BRP. Once you have a BRP, you’ll be able to create a UKVI account to access your eVisa, following the instructions above.
What do I need to know regarding travel in/out of the UK?
During 2024, you should continue to carry your in-date BRP when travelling internationally until it expires. From Summer 2024 onwards, if the passport or national identity document you are travelling with is linked to your UKVI account, airlines and other carriers will be able to digitally check that you have permission to come to the UK. You should update your UKVI account with any passport you wish to use for travel, to avoid unnecessary delays when travelling internationally.
What information must I update on my account?
You will need to update your details if there are changes to:
• your ID document, passport, or travel document
• your account sign in details (email address and phone number)
• your name or nationality
• your home or postal address
It is important that you keep your personal details on your UKVI account up to date so you can continue to access your account, and to avoid any unnecessary delays at the UK border. You can update your details through the ‘update your UK Visas and Immigration account details’ service or by using the ‘update details’ function in the View and Prove service.
What do I do if I have more than one passport or travel document?
If you hold multiple travel documents, for example a passport and an identity card, or two passports, you should ensure that you register all the documents that you intend to use for travel purposes.
What if my BRP expires 31 December and I have not yet created a UKVI account?
Individuals will still be able to create an account post-2024, using their expired BRP if needed, following the process outlined above. BRP holders will still be able to use the online right to work and rent services to prove their rights once their BRP expires – provided they still have valid immigration status – although they are encouraged to register for a UKVI account and to use that to access those services.
What records must we have for Home Office compliance regarding right to work checks:
The government has been gearing up for a digitalised border and immigration system for some time now, and the intention has been that physical documents are to be phased out by the end of 2024. On The Home Office started adding 31 December 2024 as the expiry date to biometric documents, on 1 January 2020. This was regardless of the actual expiry date of the holder's immigration permission - 31 December 2024 refers to the expiry of the document only, and not to the holder’s immigration status. What this means for you as an employer is that you may have evidence of right to work which has an expiry date that does not match the actual expiry date of the immigration permission and associated right to work.
If an employee provided you with a share code to prove their right to work, their online profile will display the expiry date of their immigration permission, rather than the physical BRP card expiry date of 31 December 2024. In this case, you will already have what you need on record.
If, however you only have a copy of the BRP on your records, you will need to update your records and conduct an online check before 31 December 2024 (or earlier, if the expiry date is before this date).
The Home Office changed the requirements for employers from 06 April 2022. From that date onwards, employers had to conduct online right to work checks. Therefore, providing you were following the rules at the time, you will only need to take action as a result of an employee's move to an eVisa (by conducting an online follow up check) for employees who started before 06 April 2022.
N.B. This is based on correct processes - i.e., that ALL non-UK employees provided evidence of their right to work via an online check from 06 April 2022 onwards. If this is not the case, and BRPs may have been used to provide evidence of right to work from 06 April 2022, then we advise checking what records you have for your non-UK employees. For anyone whose records show a BRP without an online check, a follow up check must be carried out.
Records Required:
Employment Start Date Before 06 April 2022:
Right to work check before employment commenced - BRP (possibly with an expiry date of 31 December 2024, regardless of their actual immigration permission). It could also have been conducted via an online check as the system was available, but it wasn't mandatory to use at this time.
Follow up check (via the online view and prove service) undertaken by 31 December 2024 to evidence the e-visa and record the correct end date of permission to work.
Further follow up check required at time of actual immigration permission expiry.
Employment Start Date 06 April 2022 onwards:
Online right to work check (mandatory for any employees starting from 06 April 2022 onwards) undertaken before employment commenced.
Follow up check when employee’s permission is due to expire. This is because the online profile will display the correct expiry date of their immigration permission.
N.B. If for any reason your processes/records were not in line with Home Office requirements (i.e., you only have a copy of a BRP on file for an employee who started after 06 April 2022), you will need to conduct a follow up check to ensure you have evidence of their right to work.
How to do a follow up check for someone with an eVisa:
Request a share code from your employee.
Access the UKVI View and Prove service, enter the share code and date of birth.
Check the photograph is of the individual presenting themselves either in person or online.
Save the evidence of the online check to the employee record.
Make a note of their visa expiry date, to ensure a follow up check is undertaken in time.
What are the implications for us as employers if an employee does not get an e-visa?
Risk of penalties: If an employer does not have the correct records to secure the statutory excuse against a penalty, they are at risk of a fine of up to £60,000 per illegal worker.
Business disruption: Employees without a valid eVisa may face difficulties proving their right to work, leading to potential business disruption.
Travel complications: Employees who need an eVisa, but who have not registered for one may encounter issues when travelling and/or when returning to the UK. They must have the necessary digital proof of their immigration status; without this they may experience delays and complications at Border Control. This may directly impact on your workforce if they are required to travel for work purposes.
What does all this mean for us as a student sponsor?
Since January 2020, BRP cards with an expiry date of 31 December 2024 have been in circulation where the holder has permission to stay in the UK that ends after that date. The holder’s rights and entitlements are unaffected; the date refers to the expiry of the document only, and not to the holder’s immigration status. What this means for you as a sponsor is that you may have evidence of a student’s right to study which has an expiry date that does not match the actual expiry date of their immigration permission and associated right to study. This will be the case if you only have evidence of their BRP. If you have conducted online checks using the view and prove system, you will have a check which confirms the actual expiry date of their immigration permission.
Action Needed
For all records identified to only have a BRP copy:
An online right to study check will be needed for these students before 31 December 2024.
You should note the expiry date of their permission to enable a timely follow up check.
Tips for how to identify who needs an online check before 31 December 2024:
If you have never used the online view and prove service to verify a student’s right to study, (and only have BRPs on file) you will need to update records of all non-UK students.
If you use the view and prove service, but are not sure when you started doing so, work on the basis that any student issued a BRP from 01 January 2020 will likely have an expiry date on their BRP of 31 December 2024. Therefore, use January 2020 as your starting date to identify records that need updating.
If you are confident when you started using the view and prove service to verify a student’s right to study, identify the non-UK students who joined you between 01 January 2020 and the time you started online checks. Your records for these individuals will only be a BRP, and will need updating.
How to do a follow up check for someone with an eVisa:
Request a share code from your employee.
Access the UKVI View and Prove service, enter the share code and date of birth.
Check the photograph is of the individual presenting themselves either in person or online.
Save the evidence of the online check to the employee record.
Make a note of their visa expiry date, to ensure a follow up check is undertaken in time.
What are the implications if a student does not get an e-visa?
Risk to sponsor licence: If a student does not have the correct records to evidence their right to study, it could jeopardise your sponsor licence.
Travel complications: Students who need an eVisa, but who have not registered for one may encounter issues when travelling and/or when returning to the UK. They must have the necessary digital proof of their immigration status; without this they may experience delays and complications at Border Control.
