UK eVisa Explained 2026: The Digital Immigration Status Replacing BRPs

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

The UK ended new Biometric Residence Permit issuance on 31 December 2024 and stopped supporting the BRP as evidence of status from the end of 2025. From 2026 onwards, UK immigration status is digital: every applicant who is granted leave to remain, leave to enter, settled status or pre-settled status holds that status as an eVisa on a UKVI account, with no plastic card. The eVisa is not a separate document; it is the digital record of the leave the Home Office has granted, accessible through the GOV.UK view-and-prove service and linked to the passport the holder travels on. This page is the foundational explainer: what the eVisa is, what it replaces, how it works at the border, what it does for the right-to-work and right-to-rent checks that govern employment and housing access, and what an existing BRP holder needs to do to remain in good standing.

What this means for UK visa applicants in 2026

The eVisa is the digital equivalent of a vignette plus a BRP combined: it records the route on which leave was granted, the date the leave started, the date it expires, and the conditions attached (right to work, study, public funds and so on). For practical purposes, the eVisa is the only operative proof of immigration status for an applicant granted leave in 2026; there is no second physical document that has to be carried.

The transition completed in two stages. The first stage was the end of new BRP issuance on 31 December 2024: anyone granted leave from 1 January 2025 received a digital eVisa rather than a plastic BRP. The second stage was the end of BRP validity as proof of status by 31 December 2025: BRPs in circulation that bore expiry dates of 31 December 2024 (a deliberate artefact to drive the transition rather than a real expiry of the underlying leave) ceased to function as status evidence. The leave itself was not affected; only the medium of evidence changed.

The practical implications for 2026 are threefold. First, every BRP holder had to create a UKVI account by 31 December 2024 to anchor their leave to the digital record; those who had not done so risked being unable to prove status. Second, the operational checks that previously relied on the BRP (airline carrier checks before boarding, employer right-to-work checks, landlord right-to-rent checks) now rely on the eVisa accessed through the UKVI account or through a share code generated by the holder. Third, the documentation required for travel changes: the passport on which the eVisa is anchored becomes the document that must be carried; the BRP, if still held, no longer needs to travel with the holder.

For new applicants granted leave in 2026, the eVisa is generated automatically once the application is granted. The applicant signs into the UKVI account using the email used on the application, verifies identity through the passport details and a verification code, and the eVisa appears as the status entry on the account. No physical document is dispatched.

How it works: the 2026 process

The eVisa runs on a five-element architecture: the UKVI account, the passport link, the status record, the share-code service and the carrier-check service. Each element has a specific operational role.

The UKVI account is the personal account each holder creates on GOV.UK. The account stores the holder's contact details, the linked passport, the leave record, the conditions, the expiry and the share-code generation function. The account is accessed at view-and-prove on gov.uk; sign-in requires the passport number (or, transitionally, the BRP number) plus the date of birth plus a verification code sent to the registered email or phone.

The passport link is the connection between the digital status and the physical travel document. The passport recorded on the UKVI account is the document the holder travels on; airlines check the passport at boarding and the digital status is verified against the passport number through the carrier-check service. Where the holder renews the passport, the UKVI account must be updated to reflect the new passport number, otherwise carriers cannot verify status at boarding.

The status record is the digital evidence of leave: the route (Skilled Worker, Spouse Visa, Student, ILR, Settled Status), the start date, the expiry, the conditions (right to work, no public funds, study restrictions where they apply). The record is generated by UKVI when leave is granted and updated when leave is extended, varied or surrendered.

The share-code service lets the holder generate a temporary code (valid for 90 days) that gives a third party (employer, landlord, university) a read-only view of the relevant subset of the status record. Three share-code types exist: right-to-work, right-to-rent and a general status check. The third party enters the code on the view-prove-immigration-status service together with the holder's date of birth and sees the leave details relevant to their check.

The carrier-check service is the back-end interface that airlines and shipping carriers use to verify status before boarding a passenger to the UK. The holder does not need to do anything during travel beyond carrying the passport on which the eVisa is anchored; the carrier checks the eVisa automatically by passport number.

How the eVisa replaced BRPs and what BRP holders had to do

BRPs were physical plastic cards issued from 2008 onwards to non-EEA nationals granted UK leave to remain or leave to enter for more than 6 months. The card carried the holder's name, date of birth, photograph, biometric chip and the route and expiry of the leave. From 1 January 2025, no new BRPs were issued; from 31 December 2025, the BRP no longer functioned as proof of immigration status.

BRP holders entering the 2026 transition were required to create a UKVI account to anchor their leave to the digital record. The account creation step required the BRP number, date of birth, identity verification through a mobile phone with the UK Immigration: ID Check app or through the alternative passport-based verification, and registration of contact details. Where the BRP expired on 31 December 2024 (the standard artefact for BRPs issued before 2024), the underlying leave was not affected, but the holder had to complete the UKVI account creation to retain functional proof of status.

A significant number of BRP holders did not complete the account creation by the end of 2024. UKVI extended limited grace periods through 2025 and 2026 for late account creation; the practical risk for holders who delayed was an inability to prove status to employers, landlords or carriers during the gap. Where this caused operational issues (an employee whose right-to-work check could not be completed, a tenant whose right-to-rent check failed), UKVI's contact routes provided emergency status verification while the account was being set up.

Existing BRPs still in circulation in 2026 remain useful as identity documents in narrow contexts (some non-immigration government services accept them, some commercial identity checks accept them) but they are not proof of UK immigration status. Holders are not required to surrender BRPs after the transition; they can be retained or destroyed at the holder's discretion.

What the eVisa does at the border and in everyday life

At the UK border, the eVisa is checked by Border Force during the entry inspection. The Border Force officer scans the passport, and the system retrieves the digital status linked to the passport number. The holder presents the passport on arrival; no additional document needs to be shown. Where the system is unable to retrieve the status (a network failure, a mismatch between the passport on file and the passport presented, or a UKVI account that has not been kept current), the holder may be referred to a separate verification process and may experience delay.

Airline and shipping carrier checks are conducted before boarding through the carrier-check interface. Where the eVisa is in good standing and the passport on the booking matches the passport on the UKVI account, boarding is permitted. Where the system cannot verify status, the carrier may refuse boarding pending UKVI confirmation; the holder then needs to contact UKVI through the published contact route to resolve the issue before travel.

For right-to-work checks, employers in the UK rely on a share code generated by the employee at view-prove-immigration-status. The employer enters the code together with the employee's date of birth on the employer-side service, and sees the leave details relevant to employment rights. The check produces a statutory excuse against illegal-working liability for the employer where the leave conditions support the role.

For right-to-rent checks, the landlord or letting agent requests a share code in the same way; the tenant generates the code from their UKVI account, the landlord uses it to confirm right to rent under the Immigration Act 2014 regime. The landlord retains evidence of the check for the duration of the tenancy.

For university enrolment, banking, NHS administration and many other interactions, share codes are increasingly the standard way to prove status. The combination of the UKVI account and the share code generation function replaces the operational role that the BRP played from 2008 through 2024.

Costs, timings and what to budget

The eVisa itself is free. Creating a UKVI account is free. Generating a share code is free. Updating passport details on the account is free. There is no annual fee, no renewal fee for the eVisa itself, and no charge for any of the digital services that surround it.

Costs that surround the eVisa relate to the underlying immigration application: the visa fee at GOV.UK, the IHS, any Priority service, the biometric appointment fees (where any apply), translation costs, TB testing where required. These costs are unchanged by the digital status mechanism; the eVisa is the evidence of the leave granted, not an additional fee event.

Timings: a new eVisa is generated automatically when leave is granted and is accessible through the UKVI account within hours of the grant. A passport renewal update to the UKVI account is typically processed within 1 to 5 working days. A share code is generated instantly when requested. The eVisa itself has the same validity period as the leave: a 5-year Skilled Worker eVisa is valid for the 5-year period; an ILR eVisa has no expiry and continues until conditions change.

The carrier-check service operates in real time at the carrier's side; the holder does not pay for the check. Border Force entry inspections are free. Right-to-work and right-to-rent share-code checks are free for the holder; some services charge employers and landlords for the check function but the cost falls on the verifier, not the visa holder.

Worked example: A pre-2025 BRP holder transitioning to the eVisa for a 2026 Schengen trip

Consider Adaeze, a 34-year-old Nigerian national living in London on a Spouse Visa granted in 2023 with a BRP carrying a 31 December 2024 expiry date. Her underlying Spouse leave is valid until 2028. In late 2024 she created her UKVI account using her BRP number, her Nigerian passport and the UK Immigration: ID Check app; her account confirmed her Spouse leave to 2028 and her right-to-work status.

In April 2026 she plans a one-week Schengen trip to Paris from London. She does not need to do anything additional for travel: her UK eVisa is anchored to her Nigerian passport, which she renewed in 2024. She had updated the renewed passport details on her UKVI account at renewal. The Schengen entry rules require a Schengen visa for her trip, which she obtains separately from the French embassy; the UK eVisa has no role in Schengen entry.

At the airport on departure from London, her airline conducts a routine carrier check by scanning her passport; the eVisa confirms her right to re-enter the UK, which is the airline's concern under the carrier-liability rules. She travels to Paris on the Schengen visa, spends a week there, and returns to London five days later. At the UK border on return, Border Force scans her passport, retrieves her eVisa from the digital record and admits her on the basis of her active Spouse leave. She enters without delay; no separate document is requested.

She does not need to carry her old BRP for any part of the trip. The BRP, if she retained it, has no operational role in 2026 travel; her passport with eVisa anchoring is the only document required.

Getting regulated help: OISC, IAA and SRA advisers

The eVisa system is administrative, not legal. Most holders manage account creation, passport updates and share-code generation without regulated advice. Where regulated advice is appropriate is in cases where the eVisa does not show the correct leave (status mismatch, missing conditions, incorrect expiry) or where the underlying leave is in doubt and the digital record reflects an outcome the holder did not expect. A Level 1 adviser can confirm the position; Level 2 advisers handle cases involving paragraph 320/322 character concerns, prior refusal history or complex leave categories.

The Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 framework applies: any paid immigration advice in the UK must come from an Immigration Advice Authority adviser, an SRA solicitor or a barrister.

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 eVisa transition has produced its own recurring errors that holders can avoid with planning. The first is failing to create the UKVI account before the BRP transition window closed. Holders who delayed account creation through 2025 risked being unable to prove status to employers, landlords and carriers. The fix for any holder who has not yet created an account is to do so immediately through the GOV.UK view-and-prove service.

The second is failing to update the UKVI account when the passport is renewed. The carrier-check service relies on the passport number on the account matching the passport on the booking; a mismatch can lead to refused boarding. The fix is to update the passport details on the UKVI account as soon as the new passport is issued.

The third is treating the BRP as still operative for status purposes in 2026. BRPs no longer prove immigration status from the end of 2025; only the eVisa accessed through the UKVI account does. Holders who present a BRP to an employer for a right-to-work check may have the check rejected. The fix is to generate a share code from the UKVI account for every right-to-work, right-to-rent or general status check.

The fourth is generating share codes without checking they are the right type. Right-to-work, right-to-rent and general status are three separate share-code types; using the wrong code for the wrong purpose can produce an incomplete status report. The fix is to read the share-code service description carefully before generating.

The fifth is sharing the share code beyond the intended recipient. A share code gives any holder of the code and the date of birth a read of the status record; codes are valid for 90 days. The fix is to generate codes for specific recipients on a need-to-know basis rather than sharing one code widely.

The sixth is travelling on a passport not linked to the UKVI account. Where the holder has multiple passports (Overseas Citizen of India card and Indian passport, dual-national passports), the carrier-check operates on the passport linked to the UKVI account; travelling on a different passport from the linked one can cause boarding issues. The fix is to update the UKVI account before travel on the passport that will be used.

How Kaeltripton verified this article

The eVisa architecture, the BRP transition mechanics, the UKVI account creation process, the share-code service and the carrier-check operation described in this article are drawn from the UKVI eVisa transition guidance published on gov.uk, the GOV.UK view-and-prove service pages, the share-code generation guidance and the carrier-check operational pages. The BRP phase-out timeline is drawn from the published Home Office announcement and the subsequent transition guidance. The right-to-work and right-to-rent check arrangements are drawn from the Immigration Act 2014 framework and the supporting Code of Practice for employers and landlords published on gov.uk. The OISC tier framework is drawn from the Immigration Advice Authority's Code of Standards.

No timeline, service description or status arrangement on this page has been estimated. Where individual service interfaces 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 - UK eVisa: digital immigration status
• GOV.UK - View and prove your UK immigration status
• GOV.UK - Biometric residence permits: eVisa transition
• GOV.UK - UK Immigration: ID Check app
• GOV.UK - Prove your right to work to an employer
• GOV.UK - Prove your right to rent to a landlord
• GOV.UK - Right to Work checks: an employer's guide
• Immigration Advice Authority - Immigration Advice Authority (formerly OISC)