eVisa UK Guide 2025: Access Your Online Immigration Status

An eVisa UK is a digital version of your immigration status, showing your right to enter or stay in the UK via your UKVI account instead of a physical document.

The eVisa is a modern, efficient way to manage your UK immigration permission, making travel and everyday checks smoother and hassle-free. This makes it easier and safer to prove your right to work, rent, or study in the UK.

Table of Contents

What is an eVisa?

An eVisa is a digital version of your immigration status that shows your permission to enter or stay in the UK. Instead of carrying a physical document, your immigration details are stored online. To access your eVisa, you'll need to create a UKVI (UK Visas and Immigration) account.

Switching from a paper visa to an eVisa doesn't change your immigration status or the rules that apply to your stay in the UK. It's simply a safer and more convenient way to prove your permission to be in the country.

When travelling to the UK, you must carry your current passport, which should be linked to your UKVI account. Additionally, it's important to get a share code before you travel. This code helps you prove your immigration status and is valid for 90 days. Carriers and border officials may ask for this code when you arrive.

Benefits of Using an eVisa

Using an eVisa offers many advantages compared to traditional paper visas. Here are some key benefits:

1. Enhanced Security

Your eVisa is stored digitally, so there's no risk of losing, damaging, or having your visa stolen like a physical document.

2. Instant Access

Once your application is approved, you can access your eVisa immediately online through your UKVI account, no waiting to receive a physical visa.

3. Simplified Travel

Proving your immigration status at UK borders becomes faster and easier. You just need your passport linked to your eVisa and a share code if requested.

4. Easy Sharing of Status

Need to prove your right to work or rent a home? You can quickly share your immigration status online with employers, landlords, or other organisations using a secure share code.

5. Environmentally Friendly

Going digital means fewer paper documents, reducing waste and supporting eco-friendly government services.

6. No More Physical Document Handling

You won't have to worry about losing your visa or carrying extra paperwork while travelling.

How Do I Access My eVisa?

Accessing your eVisa is simple and fully online. To get started, you need to create a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account. This account lets you view your immigration status and share important details, like your right to work or rent in the UK, through the convenient View and Prove service.

Here's how you can access your eVisa in three easy steps:

1. Create a UKVI account: Signing up is free and straightforward. You don't need to pay anything to set up your account.
2. Confirm your identity: You'll verify your identity to make sure your information is safe and secure.
3. Link your account to your eVisa: Connecting your UKVI account to your eVisa lets you see your immigration status anytime, anywhere.

Once these steps are done, you can easily check your eVisa online whenever you need it, no physical document required.

For extra help, there's a helpful video guide showing you how to create your UKVI account and access your eVisa step-by-step.

How Do I Use My UKVI Account?

Once you've created your UKVI account and linked it to your eVisa, you can easily view all the important details about your immigration status online. This includes the type of permission you have to stay in the UK, when it expires, and any conditions attached to your stay.

What You Can Do with Your UKVI Account

• Check your details: Make sure all the information in your UKVI account is accurate and up to date. This includes your name, immigration status, and passport or ID details.
• Report errors: If you notice any mistakes on your eVisa, like an incorrect name or status, report these errors to UKVI as soon as possible.
• Update your personal info: You can update your contact details or other personal information whenever needed.
• Keep your passport info current: Your eVisa is linked to your passport or ID in your UKVI account. Always keep these details updated, especially before travelling, to avoid delays at UK borders or with your carrier.
• Carry your passport: Even with an eVisa, you must carry your current passport when travelling. If you recently updated your passport details in your account but haven't yet received confirmation, it's a good idea to carry your old passport as well.

You can watch a video on how to travel with your eVisa.

Sharing Your Immigration Status

You can easily share your immigration status with employers, landlords, or other organisations by generating a share code using the View and Prove service. This code provides temporary access to your status and can be refreshed anytime you need a new one, so there's no need to remember a permanent code.

There are video tutorials available to help you learn how to travel with your eVisa and how to prove your immigration status online.

Automatic Information Sharing

Some government departments and public authorities will automatically receive relevant information about your immigration status, reducing the need for you to repeatedly prove your status online.

For Children

Each individual, including children under 18, must have their own UKVI account. If a child can't manage their own account, a parent or guardian can create and manage an account on their behalf.

Who Needs an eVisa?

An eVisa is needed if you've been granted permission to stay in the UK for more than 6 months or if you have indefinite leave to remain (also known as settlement). This digital visa helps you prove your identity and your right to live, work, or study in the UK.

Who Can Access an eVisa?

If your UK permission lasts more than 6 months or you have settled status, you can create a UKVI account to access your eVisa. If your permission is less than 6 months, you cannot create a UKVI account or access an eVisa.

What If Your Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) Has Expired?

You can still use your expired BRP for up to 18 months after expiry to create your UKVI account, access your eVisa, and generate share codes to prove your status. It's important to keep your expired BRP, as it may help with future applications or personal records. You should also carry your BRP when travelling to the UK before or on 1 June 2025.

What If You Don't Have a BRP?

Use your valid identity document, like a passport, along with your visa application reference number, to create your UKVI account and access your eVisa. BRP cards are no longer issued or replaced. If yours is lost, stolen, or damaged, check UKVI guidance on what to do.

If You Were Granted Permission Before 31 October 2024 Without a Valid ID

For those who were granted permission to stay in the UK on or before 31 October 2024 but don't have a valid passport or BRP, you can still create a UKVI account and access your eVisa.

If your permission was granted after 31 October 2024 and you don't have a valid passport, UKVI will create an account for you and send instructions on how to access it.

Using Other Physical Documents

If you currently prove your status with documents like a wet-ink stamp or vignette sticker and have indefinite leave to remain, you should apply for a free 'No Time Limit' (NTL) application.

After your NTL application is approved, you will get an eVisa. You can keep using your existing documents while your application is being processed and after it's approved.

EU Settlement Scheme & Late Applications

EU, EEA, Swiss citizens, or family members who lived in the UK before 31 December 2020 and had indefinite leave under other routes might be eligible for late applications to the EU Settlement Scheme. Successful applicants automatically get a UKVI account and eVisa access.

What If You Are Settled but Have No Proof of Status?

Check if you're eligible for the Windrush Scheme if you or your parents were settled before 1973 or arrived before 1988 to get evidence of your status.

Biometric Residence Card (BRC) Holders

• If your BRC was issued under the EU Settlement Scheme, you already have an eVisa.
• Carry your BRC when travelling to the UK until 1 June 2025 if it expires on or after 31 December 2024.
• If your BRC is no longer valid (e.g., you're not under the EU Settlement Scheme), you need to apply for immigration status quickly.

British or Irish Citizens

British or Irish citizens with valid passports do not need an eVisa or UKVI account. If you have the right of abode through British citizenship or Commonwealth status, you can prove your status with your passport or a certificate of entitlement.

Applying for New Permission

If you need to make a new application for permission to stay in the UK, simply follow the usual application process. During your application, you will be given instructions if you need to create a UKVI account to access your eVisa.

How Does the eVisa UK System Benefit Employers and Landlords?

The eVisa system allows you to generate a share code that gives employers and landlords temporary, secure access to your immigration status online. This simplifies right-to-work and right-to-rent checks, making the process quicker and more reliable.