E-Visas and digital status

The UK Government (UKVI) is developing a digital immigration system that will replace physical documents such as biometric residence permits (BRP) and visa stickers printed inside passports with a digital e-Visa. Please watch this UKVI video about e-Visas.

An e-Visa is a digital record of your UK immigration status which you will access via your own personalised UKVI Account.

If you are currently in the UK with a time limited UK visa and BRP expiring on 31^st December 2024, you will need a digital e-Visa in order to travel and prove your immigration status from 1^st January 2025 onwards. How you obtain your e-Visa will depend on what type of immigration permission you have and where and when you applied for it.  Please read on and refer to the relevant section for your personal circumstances below.  

UKVI will be contacting a select group of visa holders over Spring/Summer 2024 to invite them to create a UKVI Account and e-Visa. Please check the email account you used to apply for your latest visa in case you receive an invitation, check your junk and spam folders. Don’t worry if you don’t receive an invitation, not everyone will receive one.

From late Summer 2024 UKVI will open up the e-Visa registration process for all remaining visa holders i.e. those who did not receive a personalised invitation. Once we have more information about this, we will update this webpage.

You must register for a UKVI Account and e-Visa to be able to continue proving your immigration status and to be able to travel in and out of the UK on or after 1^st January 2025.

The UKVI have said that Students applying for a visa overseas from June 2024 will be able to create a UKVI Account as part of the visa application process. Once granted, you should be able to view your immigration status including your visa expiry date on your personalised account.

Students applying overseas before October 2024 will still receive a BRP and this will need to be collected from the address provided in your decision letter on arrival in the UK.

Before starting your course, you will need to complete a right to study check where Swansea University staff will check your visa status and eligibility to study as part of the enrolment process. When attending your right to study check please bring with you the following documents:

• Your original passport
• Your original BRP (if not collecting from the University)
• Your visa decision letter - this will be sent to you by email when your visa is granted or it will be included with the documents returned with your passport from the visa centre.

If you intend to stay in the UK, you must apply for a visa extension before your current visa expires. If you need to make an extension to your Student visa or you hope to make a future application under the Graduate Route, please see our detailed information and guidance pages.

Extending your Student route visa in the UK - Swansea University

UK Graduate Route (post study work) visa - Swansea University

When applying to extend within the UK, you will be required to create a UKVI Account (or log back into an existing one) and if granted you will automatically be issued with an e-Visa if you use the UK Immigration: ID Check App to submit your application.

If you are intending to leave the UK or you are not eligible to make a new immigration application from within the UK, please make sure you exit the UK before your current visa expires.

If you applied for your current visa from within the UK using the UK Immigration: ID Check App you will have already created a UKVI Account and will have been issued an e-Visa when your visa was granted. Please refer back to the visa decision email received when the visa was granted where you will find instructions about using your digital immigration status and e-Visa.

UKVI have created this page explaining what you can do with your UKVI Account

If you hold a nationality on the UKVI visa national list you will have received both an e-Visa and a BRP. Until it expires, you should continue to carry the BRP whenever you travel outside the UK.

Before your BRP expires, you MUST update your UKVI Account with your current passport details and link your e-Visa to it because this will be the travel document you will use for international travel once your BRP expires on 31^st December 2024.  

Failing to keep your UKVI Account updated will result in delays at the UK border and difficulty proving your immigration status.

If you had to book an appointment and attend a UKVCAS visa centre to submit biometrics and original ID documents as part of your most recent visa application you will not have been issued an e-Visa.

You will need to create a UKVI Account and register for an e-Visa either when you receive an invitation from UKVI or when the registration process opens up to all visa holders later in 2024.

If you hold a UK visa (e.g. Study, Graduate, Skilled Worker), the vast majority of EU/EEA/Swiss citizens should have been able to apply for a UK visa overseas and in the UK using the UK Immigration: ID Check App.

If you applied in this way, you will already have an e-Visa which is linked to your passport. This this will have been confirmed in your visa decision email or letter.   You do not need to take any further action, other than to keep your personal, contact and ID document details updated on your UKVI Account.

If you had to attend a UK Visa Application Centre (VAC) as part of the overseas visa application, then you may not have been issued an e-Visa and might have a BRP instead.  If this applies to you, you will need to create a UKVI Account and register for an e-Visa.

 If you applied to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) and were granted either pre-settled or settled status you should already have a UKVI Account and a digital immigration status if you used the EU Exit App at the time you applied. Please refer instead to our EUSS webpages which includes information about accessing your digital immigration status.  

Please also remember to update your UKVI Account with any changes to your personal, contact or ID document details.  

If you have a BRP you will need to create a UKVI Account and register for an e-Visa either when you receive an invitation from UKVI or when the registration process becomes available to all visa holders later in 2024.  You can still apply even if your BRP itself has expired.

If you hold a different type of physical immigration document such as a vignette or ink stamp inside your passport that proves your ILR status (but not a BRP), you will first need to apply for a BRP via the ‘no time limit (NTL) application route. To apply for a BRP, you must Apply online and follow the instructions for ‘switching from a paper document to a biometric residence permit (BRP)’. This application can be made free of charge but there may be some charges for booking and attending a visa centre (UKVCAS). Although the UKVI website says an application for a BRP can take up to 6 months, we hope that UKVI will prioritise these applications so they are completed by the end of 2024. Please contact International@CampusLife if you need further advice and support.

Once you have been issued with a BRP you will then be able to register for a UKVI Account and e-Visa.  

There are four steps to completing this process. 

Step 1 - create your UKVI Account. You can do this either on a laptop or your smart phone/tablet If you can, use your smartphone or tablet for all four steps – this will save you having to sign in multiple times as you switch between devices.

Step 2 - verify your identity using your ID document and the UK Immigration: ID Check App. You can only use a smartphone or tablet for this part.

Step 3 - link your e-Visa to your UKVI Account

Step 4 – Once your e-Visa has been issued and is ready to view, you will need to update your UKVI Account with your current passport details and link your e-Visa to it.

Most visa holders should find the process quick and straight forward.

We have created this step by step guide to e-Visas to help you with each step.

Keep the log in details for your UKVI Account somewhere safe where you can access them when you need to. It is very important that you keep your UKVI Account up to date at all times with your current personal, contact, and ID document details. Please see the section below for guidance.

You will use your account to view your e-Visa and to prove your immigration status to 3^rd parties such as the University or employers, as well as using it to travel in and out of the UK once your BRP expires.

The UKVI has published guidance on using your UKVI Account  

Your e-Visa is linked to the travel ID document used to create your UKVI Account. For most people this will have been their BRP. You must continue to carry your BRP when you travel in and out of the UK for as long as it remains valid.

When you arrive in the UK at the airport, ferry or railway terminal you will have your ID document scanned at the immigration desk. The e-Visa needs to be linked to that travel ID document for the immigration officer to be able to see your immigration status.

Before your BRP expires you MUST update your UKVI Account with your current passport details and link your e-Visa to it because this will be the travel document you will use for international travel once your BRP expires on 31^st December 2024.