eVisa UK Guide 2026: How to Apply & Manage Your Digital Immigration Status

If you hold UK immigration permission, your proof of immigration status is now a digital eVisa UK record rather than a card, sticker or stamp.

All biometric residence permits (BRPs) have now expired and have been replaced by eVisas, which are a digital record of your identity and immigration status. The transition to eVisas started to replace physical stickers and stamps by 2026. To see your online status, you need a UKVI account.

An eVisa is a free online record linked to a valid passport or another identity document. It is not a new visa category, it does not change your immigration permission, and it is not an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA).

At Axis Solicitors, our immigration team regularly helps clients who cannot see their record, or who find that the details are wrong in the UK’s visa system.

What Is an eVisa UK and Who Needs One?

An eVisa is a digital record of your identity, UK immigration status, visa type, conditions and rights, held by the Home Office within the UKVI system.

The Home Office began issuing eVisas in 2018 under the EU Settlement Scheme, and the digital immigration system has since replaced most physical immigration documents, stickers and stamps. Once you are signed in to your UKVI account, you can view your immigration permission, your expiry date and any conditions, such as whether you may work.

You need one if you hold limited or indefinite leave and are not a British citizen or Irish citizen. That includes:

• Workers and students: people on Skilled Worker, Student or Graduate routes, including those holding UK visas granted after entry clearance abroad.

• Families: spouses, partners, parents and children on family routes, each with their own account.

• Protection holders: refugees and people with humanitarian protection.

• EU Settlement Scheme holders: any EU citizen or family member with pre-settled status or settled status. Our guide to the EU Settlement Scheme explains how that route works.

• Visitors: people granted a visitor visa to travel to the UK now normally receive digital status too.

A British and Irish citizen, normally proves status with a British passport or Irish passport and does not need an eVisa. If you are unsure which group you fall into, our UK immigration lawyers can review your documents with you.

Transition from Biometric Residence Permits to eVisa UK

An expired biometric residence permit does not mean your immigration permission has ended. You might have a BRP if you were granted permission to live or work in the UK on or before 31 October 2024. The card was only evidence of your leave, and the Home Office moved to digital records because they are harder to lose, steal or forge.

The rule on using an expired card has changed since earlier guidance, so please check your dates carefully. If you have an expired BRP or biometric residence card and still have valid permission to stay, you need a UKVI account to reach your eVisa, and you might be able to use the expired BRP for 24 months after the expiry date printed on the card, or until 31 December 2026, whichever comes first. Older guidance referred to 18 months, which you may still see on some websites.

For most people, whose card showed 31 December 2024, the cut-off is therefore 31 December 2026. After that date you may need to use your passport and a visa application reference number instead. Our official guidance on how long a UK biometric residence permit is valid in 2026 covers the transition in more detail.

What an Expired BRP Can and Cannot Do

An expired card has a narrow use. You can normally use it to create a UKVI account, to sign in and get a share code, and to apply to extend your stay where the route allows.

It cannot be used as a travel document to the UK, and employers, landlords and banks will not normally accept it as a way to prove your immigration status. In most situations the document you need is your eVisa or a share code. Keep the card safely until your eVisa is visible and correct, because it may help with a later application.

If your card has a problem, such as damage or wrong id card details, do not rely on it. Check that you can access your eVisa and that the details are correct, and report issues if they are not.

Creating and Managing Your UKVI Account for eVisa UK

You must create a UKVI account before you can see your eVisa. To create a UKVI account is free on GOV.UK, through an official online form. Use only the official service, and do not pay anyone who offers to activate it for you.

You can create a UKVI account with the following:

• An email address and a mobile phone number you can access, as security codes are sent to them each time you sign in.

• Your personal details, including your name and date of birth, entered exactly as shown on your identity document.

• An identity document, such as your current passport with your visa application reference number (a global web form or UAN number), your passport with your BRP number, or an expired BRP within the time limit above.

If you already have an online account from the EU Settlement Scheme, a Student visa or a Graduate visa application, you should normally use that account rather than create a duplicate. Our page on the UK student visa explains how study routes work.

Each family member needs their own account, including children. A parent can normally help a child to set theirs up using their own contact details.

Using the UK Immigration: ID Check App and Identity Documents

Most people confirm their identity with the UK Immigration: ID Check app, sometimes called the immigration ID check app. The app scans the biometric chip in your passport, or reads the details from your BRP, and then asks for a live photo of your face.

If you do not have a smartphone or a valid identity document, there is an alternative route for confirming your identity, and some people can visit a visa application centre for help with biometrics. Refugees and people with humanitarian protection should not use a home-country passport if that would conflict with their protection claim. They should use another valid identity document or ask for alternative documents to be considered.

After you submit your details, the eVisa can take a few days to appear. Keep checking your inbox, including your junk folder, for the email telling you it is ready. If you cannot sign in or recover your account, the UKVI Resolution Centre can assist with account-related issues.

If you struggle with technology, illness or disability, our immigration team at Axis Solicitors can help you access your eVisa securely. We can also explain how UKVI now accepts digital copies of supporting documents if you have lost originals.

How to Access Your eVisa UK and Check Your Immigration Status

Use the View and Prove your immigration status service to see your online immigration status. Sign in with your UKVI account details and the security code sent to your phone or email. The digital status shown is the same record the Home Office holds on its own systems.

Your eVisa should show your personal details, your type of permission, your expiry date and the conditions of your stay. Check every detail carefully against your decision letter, because the Home Office responsible for the record can only correct what you report.

Generating and Using a Share Code

A share code is a temporary code that lets someone else check your status online. You give it to them with your date of birth, and you do not need to hand over any physical immigration documents.

1. Sign in to the View and Prove service with your UKVI account.

2. Choose the reason: right to work, right to rent or something else.

3. Generate the share code.

4. Give the code and your date of birth to the person checking.

A share code lasts 90 days, and you can use it as many times as you need before it expires. The codes are purpose-specific. They begin with W for work, R for rent in England and S for other status checks, so a right to rent code will not work for an employer.

Proving Your Right to Work, Rent and Access Services

You now use your eVisa to prove your immigration status for work, housing and services. Employers must complete immigration checks through the government online service when you use an eVisa, or through the Employer Checking Service where needed. A screenshot of your eVisa or a photocopy of an expired BRP is not normally a valid check.

Landlords and letting agents in England usually check your right to rent digitally in the same way, and our guide to right to rent checks in England explains their duties. Banks, universities and benefit offices may also ask for a share code.

Travelling With Your eVisa

You can travel with your eVisa after you add your passport or travel document details. eVisas streamline border crossings by linking directly to a passport, and airlines, ferry and train operators check your permission digitally using the passport details on your booking. The passport in your account must match the one you travel on.

Before you travel, sign in, confirm you can see your eVisa, and check your current passport is linked. Generating an S share code as a backup is sensible, and it is also needed if you are travelling on to Ireland. Please note this is different from an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), which applies to some visitors who do not hold UK status.

Updating and Correcting Your eVisa UK Record

You must keep your UKVI account up to date. Update it when you get a new passport, change your name or nationality, or change your mobile phone number, contact details or email address. Your new passport details should be linked before any new identity document is relied on for travel.

Add a new passport promptly and before you book travel, and keep your old passport details until the update is confirmed. If you change your name, nationality or photo, update your account before generating a share code.

If your eVisa shows the wrong date of birth, conditions or expiry date, use the official report an error service on GOV.UK. Keep the reference number you are given, as Home Office records are only changed after the error is checked. If the error affects your work, housing or travel and is not fixed, our team can help you escalate it.

Indefinite Leave, EU Settlement Scheme and Older Status Documents

Some people hold indefinite leave to enter or indefinite leave to remain evidenced only by a wet ink stamp, a vignette sticker or a paper document. Visa vignettes and stamps in an old passport are being replaced, so if your proof has no expiry date, you do not yet have an eVisa, and you must make a no time limit (NTL) application to get one.

GOV.UK says this can take up to 6 months, your status does not change while you wait, and you can keep using your physical document during that time. Our page on Indefinite Leave to Remain explains settlement in more detail.

If you hold pre-settled status or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, your digital status is already held online. You still need a UKVI account to view it and generate a share code. Further guidance on the scheme is available through our ILR news and 2026 changes page.

Common Problems with eVisa UK and How to Resolve Them

Most eVisa problems are about access or accuracy. They include being locked out of your UKVI account, losing the email address or phone number on the account, forgotten sign-in details, error messages, or an identity document number that the system does not recognise.

• Cannot sign in: check you are using an accepted document and that you can still receive codes at your contact details. If either has changed, use the official account recovery option or contact the Resolution Centre.

• Record not visible: check your decision letter and confirm you have completed every step, including the declaration. It can take a few days.

• Wrong details: report an error on GOV.UK and keep the reference.

• Employer or landlord refusing a code: ask them to use the official GOV.UK checking service with your code and date of birth.

Travel Difficulties and Airline Checks

Airlines and ferry companies check digital records against Home Office data at booking or boarding, usually with a passport scan. A mismatch between your booking and your account is the most common cause of delays.

If a carrier cannot see your eVisa, offer a share code. Sort out any new passport or name change in your account well before you travel, not at the airport.

Keeping Your Data Secure

Treat your UKVI account like online banking. Use a strong password and an email address you will keep for years, and never share your sign-in details.

Sign in only through GOV.UK and not through links in messages. Report suspected fraud quickly.

Your eVisa UK Checklist for 2026

Use this short list to check that your digital status is working and that you can prove your immigration status when asked.

1. Create or recover your UKVI account, using your own contact details.

2. Confirm your identity in the ID Check app and link your current passport.

3. Sign in and check your name, date of birth, expiry date and conditions remain valid and correct.

4. Generate a share code once, to confirm the process works.

5. Keep your expired BRP, decision letters and reference numbers safe.

6. Update your account whenever your passport or personal details change.

Please note that rules and cut-off dates can change, so check the UK government guidance on GOV.UK before you act on any deadline.

How Our Immigration Team Can Help With Your eVisa and Digital Status

Axis Solicitors is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA No. 653526), with offices in Manchester, London and Birmingham. We are an independent law firm and are not affiliated with UKVI or any government body. These services fit the most common eVisa problems.

• UK Immigration: advice on account access, record errors, travel concerns and the next application you may need.

• Indefinite Leave to Remain: help checking settlement evidence and applying for an eVisa if you hold only older physical proof.

• Immigration Appeals: support where a refusal or an incorrect decision affects the status shown on your record.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to apply separately for an eVisa UK if I already have a valid visa?

Usually, no. If you have current permission, you normally only need to create a UKVI account and link it to your record. People with indefinite leave shown only by a stamp or sticker may need a No Time Limit application.

What happens if my BRP has expired but my eVisa is not visible yet?

An expired BRP does not end your permission. Check your Home Office decision letter, try signing in to View and Prove, and use the report an error or recovery options if your record is missing. Seek legal advice if it is urgent.

Can my employer keep a copy of my old BRP instead of using my eVisa?

No, not normally. Employers are expected to use the online right to work check with your share code, or the Employer Checking Service where needed. A photocopy of an expired BRP is not usually enough.

How does an eVisa affect people with pending appeals or judicial reviews?

Your record may show limited information or an application in progress. Work rights and reporting duties depend on your case history, so speak to our team before relying only on the digital screen.

Is my data safe in the eVisa and UKVI account system?

Yes, the Home Office states that records are protected by secure systems and login checks. You should still use strong passwords, keep your email and phone secure, and never share your sign-in details.

Do I have to pay to create a UKVI account or get an eVisa?

No. Creating a UKVI account and viewing your eVisa is free on GOV.UK. Avoid any website or agent that charges for activating your eVisa.

Speak to a Solicitor About Your eVisa

If you cannot access your record, or your details are wrong, our UK immigration lawyers can review your documents and explain your options. If you also need to prove your status to an employer or landlord, we can help you understand which share code and checks apply to you.

To discuss your situation, please contact Axis Solicitors and speak to a solicitor.