BRP to eVisa Transition 2026: What Happened to Physical Residence Permits

Last reviewed: 14 May 2026 | Chandraketu Tripathi, finance editor

The biometric residence permit had a sixteen-year life on the UK immigration system, from its phased introduction starting in 2008 through to its final functional retirement at the end of 2025. For most of that period, the BRP was the default proof of status for anyone with leave to remain or leave to enter the UK for more than six months. The transition to the eVisa, announced by the Home Office in 2023 and implemented through 2024 and 2025, was the single largest operational shift in UK immigration documentation since the BRP itself replaced ink stamps and stickers. This page is about that transition: when it happened, why, what holders had to do, what the 31 December 2024 expiry date on most BRPs actually meant, and where holders who delayed account creation stand in 2026.

What this means for UK visa applicants in 2026

For an applicant whose UK leave was granted in 2025 or 2026, there is no BRP to worry about: the eVisa is the only status record from the start, and no transition action is required. For an applicant whose leave was granted before 2025 and who held a BRP, the transition required a one-time action: creating a UKVI account and verifying identity to anchor the leave to the digital record. For an applicant whose leave was granted before 2025 and who did not create the UKVI account by the end of 2024 or 2025, the transition is still completable in 2026 through the late account creation route.

The substantive position is that the underlying leave was not affected by the BRP phase-out. The Home Office grants leave through the visa decision, not through the BRP card. The BRP was the evidence of the leave; when the BRP was replaced with the eVisa, the leave continued unchanged. A holder of a Skilled Worker BRP granted in 2023 for 5 years still holds 5 years of Skilled Worker leave in 2026; the only change is that the leave is now evidenced by the eVisa on the UKVI account rather than by the BRP card.

2026 is the first year in which the BRP has no operational role for status proof. The transition completed at the end of 2025, and from 1 January 2026 only the eVisa proves status for employment, tenancy, banking, travel and any other purpose where status is verified. The BRP card, if retained, remains a useful identity document in some non-immigration contexts; it is not, however, a status document.

For holders who have not yet created the UKVI account, the practical risk in 2026 is the inability to prove status to third parties. A new employer cannot complete a right-to-work check on a BRP alone; a new landlord cannot complete a right-to-rent check on a BRP alone; an airline cannot verify status for re-entry on a BRP alone. The fix is to complete the UKVI account creation; the underlying leave remains intact and can be re-anchored to the eVisa.

How it worked: the 2024-2025 transition

The transition ran in three phases. Phase one, from early 2024, was the public communication and ID Check app rollout. The Home Office published the transition timeline, expanded the UK Immigration: ID Check app to cover BRP-anchored identity verification, and ran outreach campaigns to BRP holders through email, social media and partner organisations.

Phase two, through 2024, was active account creation. BRP holders were directed to set up a UKVI account on GOV.UK using their BRP number, date of birth and either the ID Check app for identity verification or an alternative passport-based verification route. The account creation linked the BRP-anchored leave to the digital record, generating the eVisa as the operative status evidence. The Home Office reported that millions of accounts were created through the year, but a meaningful tail of BRP holders had not completed the process by 31 December 2024.

Phase three, through 2025, was the operational transition. BRPs ceased to be the primary status proof; employers, landlords, banks and carriers were instructed to rely on the eVisa accessed through the UKVI account or through a share code. Grace periods extended into the early part of 2025 for some categories, but by the end of 2025 the BRP no longer functioned as status evidence in any operational context.

The communications around the transition emphasised that the BRP expiry date of 31 December 2024 was a transition artefact rather than an expiry of the underlying leave. BRPs printed before 2024 typically carried the 31 December 2024 expiry as a result of decisions taken when the transition timeline was set; the date was chosen so that all BRPs would functionally retire on the same day rather than rolling off at their original leave-aligned expiry dates. Holders were told that the leave continued and the action required was account creation, not visa renewal.

The 31 December 2024 expiry date and the underlying leave

The expiry date printed on a BRP was, historically, the same as the expiry of the underlying leave: a 5-year Skilled Worker BRP carried a 5-year expiry; a 30-month Spouse Visa BRP carried a 30-month expiry. From 2020 onwards, BRPs began to be issued with a 31 December 2024 expiry date regardless of the underlying leave expiry, because the Home Office was preparing for the transition and wanted all BRPs to functionally retire on the same date.

This had two consequences. The first was confusion among holders, who looked at their BRP and saw a 31 December 2024 expiry and assumed their leave was about to expire. The Home Office published clarifying guidance explicitly stating that the BRP expiry was not the leave expiry; the underlying leave continued until the date set in the decision letter. The second consequence was the trigger for the account-creation push: BRP holders had to complete the digital transition before their BRP expired, otherwise they would lose the status evidence even though the leave continued.

For 2026, the practical position is that the BRP expiry date is no longer relevant. Whether the BRP carried a 31 December 2024 expiry, a 31 December 2025 expiry or a leave-aligned expiry, the card itself is no longer the status evidence. The eVisa, accessed through the UKVI account, is the only operative record, and the eVisa correctly reflects the underlying leave expiry (the date the Home Office decision actually granted up to).

Where the UKVI account shows an unexpected expiry date that does not match the original visa decision letter, the holder should use the GOV.UK update-your-details service to report the discrepancy. Common explanations for an unexpected expiry include leave variation through a switch route, leave shortening following a refusal of an extension application, or simple administrative error that can be corrected on evidence.

Late UKVI account creation and the 2026 holdouts

Not every BRP holder created the UKVI account on the published timeline. Some did not engage with the transition communications and discovered the operational consequence in 2026 when a new employer's right-to-work check failed or a new landlord's right-to-rent check failed. Others were aware of the transition but delayed for reasons of digital literacy, lack of access to a compatible smartphone, or temporary issues with the verification process.

The Home Office's published guidance accepts late account creation. A holder who did not create the account by the end of 2024 can still do so in 2026; the leave underlying the BRP is not retroactively forfeited, and the eVisa is generated when the account creation completes. The verification step may require additional evidence where the BRP is no longer in date, but the route remains open.

The practical steps for a late account creator in 2026 are: go to GOV.UK view-and-prove, follow the create-an-account flow, provide the BRP number (still valid for verification even after the card has ceased to be status evidence), provide the date of birth, complete identity verification through the UK Immigration: ID Check app or the alternative passport-based route, and register the email and phone number that will become the account contacts. Once the account is verified, the eVisa appears as the status record and share codes can be generated immediately.

Where the BRP has been lost or destroyed, the late account creation requires alternative identification: the passport on which the original leave was granted, or, where the passport has been replaced, the new passport with evidence of the connection to the original leave. The UKVI customer service contact route handles cases where standard verification cannot be completed.

Costs, timings and what to budget

UKVI account creation is free. The eVisa is free. Share-code generation is free. There are no fees attached to the transition itself; the action required is administrative, not a fresh application.

Timings: a standard account creation through the UK Immigration: ID Check app takes 10 to 20 minutes from start to completed verification. An alternative route through the passport-based verification takes a similar period. UKVI customer service involvement in late account creation cases is processed within 5 to 10 working days in most cases.

What the transition does not cost: no fresh visa fee, no fresh IHS payment, no fresh biometric appointment. The transition is a documentation refresh, not a leave variation. The cost-free nature of the transition is one of the Home Office's stated design principles; the transition was a switch in evidence medium, not a regulatory change.

Hidden costs that some holders have encountered: lost income from a delayed start at a new job where the right-to-work check failed before the account was created, lost tenancy deposits where a right-to-rent check failed at viewing stage, and travel disruption where carrier checks blocked re-entry before the eVisa was active. These costs fall outside the transition itself and are avoidable by completing the account creation.

Worked example: A late account creator finalising the transition in early 2026

Consider Bao, a 41-year-old Vietnamese national living in London on a 5-year Skilled Worker visa granted in 2022 with a BRP carrying a 31 December 2024 expiry date. Bao did not create the UKVI account in 2024 or 2025 because he was working long hours and assumed the BRP expiry was the end of his leave, which he then assumed had been renewed automatically since he had not been told to leave.

In February 2026 he applies for a new role at a different London employer. The new employer requests a right-to-work share code at the offer stage. Bao goes to his old GOV.UK account, finds it was never created, and realises his BRP no longer functions as status evidence. He panics briefly, then signs into GOV.UK and follows the create-an-account flow.

He provides his BRP number, his date of birth, and downloads the UK Immigration: ID Check app on his smartphone. The app scans his Vietnamese passport chip and captures a verified facial image; the verification completes within 15 minutes. His UKVI account is generated and his eVisa appears as the status record, showing his Skilled Worker leave with the original 2027 expiry (the underlying leave was never affected by the BRP expiry).

He generates a right-to-work share code and emails it to the new employer's HR coordinator together with his date of birth. The HR coordinator runs the check, sees the active Skilled Worker leave through to 2027, and proceeds with the right-to-work statutory excuse record. Bao starts the new role two weeks later with no further documentation issue. He retains his BRP card for use as a non-immigration identity document, recognising that it no longer proves status.

Getting regulated help: OISC, IAA and SRA advisers

The transition itself is administrative, not legal. Most holders complete the late account creation without regulated advice. Where advice is appropriate is in cases where the leave underlying the BRP is in genuine doubt (the holder may have been an overstayer at some point, the leave may have been varied or revoked, the original grant may have been short-dated), where the account creation cannot be completed through standard routes, or where the eVisa appears with conditions or expiry that the holder did not expect.

A Level 1 adviser can confirm the position on the underlying leave by reviewing the original decision letter. A Level 2 adviser is appropriate where the leave has been varied, where prior refusals are in the file, or where the holder is concerned about administrative overstaying during the transition.

Verify any adviser's current authorisation on the OISC register at oisc.gov.uk/register or the SRA register at sra.org.uk/consumers/register.

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

The transition produced a recognisable set of avoidable mistakes that holders can correct in 2026. The first is assuming the BRP expiry on 31 December 2024 was the end of the underlying leave. It was not; the leave continued under the Home Office decision letter. The fix is to look at the leave expiry date in the UKVI account or the original decision letter, not the BRP.

The second is destroying the BRP without completing the account creation. The BRP number is one of the standard verification inputs for late account creation; while alternative routes exist, the BRP makes the process simpler. The fix is to retain the BRP at least until the UKVI account is created and verified, then store it as a non-immigration identity document.

The third is presenting the BRP to employers, landlords or banks as status evidence in 2026. The BRP no longer proves status; only the eVisa accessed through the UKVI account or through a share code does. The fix is to generate the appropriate share code for every status check.

The fourth is delaying account creation in the belief that the transition does not affect specific holders. There is no carve-out for any category of BRP holder; the transition applied universally to all BRPs in circulation. The fix is to complete the account creation regardless of which leave route the BRP relates to.

The fifth is creating multiple UKVI accounts in successive attempts that did not complete. Where a previous attempt fragmented the account record, the holder should contact UKVI customer service rather than create a third account; multiple accounts complicate identity verification. The fix is to recover any partially-created account through the customer service route rather than starting fresh.

The sixth is failing to update the passport linked to the UKVI account after passport renewal. A renewed passport means the BRP-era passport details on the account are out of date; carrier checks at boarding may fail. The fix is to update the passport details on the account at every passport renewal and to do so before any planned travel.

How Kaeltripton verified this article

The transition timeline, the BRP phase-out mechanics, the 31 December 2024 expiry date treatment and the late account creation route described in this article are drawn from the Home Office published transition guidance on the eVisa rollout, the GOV.UK view-and-prove service pages, the Identity Check app guidance and the UKVI customer service guidance. The position on the underlying leave continuing after BRP phase-out is drawn directly from the published Home Office guidance to BRP holders. The right-to-work and right-to-rent regimes are drawn from the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 and the Immigration Act 2014 frameworks respectively. The OISC tier framework is drawn from the Immigration Advice Authority's Code of Standards.

No timeline, fee or service description on this page has been estimated. Where the late account creation arrangements have changed since the last review, holders are referred to the GOV.UK view-and-prove service for current confirmation.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• GOV.UK - Biometric residence permits: eVisa transition
• GOV.UK - UK eVisa: digital immigration status
• GOV.UK - View and prove your UK immigration status
• GOV.UK - UK Immigration: ID Check app
• GOV.UK - Update your UK Visas and Immigration account details
• GOV.UK - Right to Work checks: an employer's guide
• Legislation.gov.uk - Immigration Act 2014
• Immigration Advice Authority - Immigration Advice Authority (formerly OISC)