Insights
Moving from a BRP to an eVisa
What a UKVI account is, how to prove your status online and what to do if the details are wrong.
Published by WLIS Admin
Immigration status in the UK is now held digitally. The plastic biometric residence permit has given way to an eVisa: a record linked to your UKVI account and your passport, which you share rather than hand over. Since 1 July 2026, UKVI has also stopped issuing visa vignettes (stickers) to successful new applicants, so people coming from overseas receive an eVisa too.
What you actually need
- A UKVI account, created once and then kept for the whole time you hold status.
- A current passport or travel document linked to that account.
- The email address and phone number attached to the account, kept up to date because they are used to recover access.
Proving your status
Instead of showing a document, you generate a share code and give it to the employer, landlord or other checker, who uses it with your date of birth to view what they are entitled to see. Codes are time limited and specific to the purpose, so a code generated for renting is not the one an employer needs.
You do not need to give anyone your account login. Anybody asking for it does not understand the system.
Travel
Carriers check status electronically against the passport linked to your account. If you travel on a different passport from the one in the account, or the account has not been updated after a renewal, that is where problems appear. Update the account before you book, not at the airport.
When the details are wrong
Errors do happen: the wrong expiry date, the wrong conditions, a missing dependant, or status that does not appear at all. These are correctable, and there is a route for reporting an error, but it takes time. The moment to deal with it is when you notice it, not the week you need to prove your status to a new employer.
Practical points
- Create the account before you need it, not on the day you need a share code.
- Keep your expired BRP. It is no longer proof of status, but it is useful evidence if something has to be corrected.
- Update the account immediately after renewing a passport.
- Check what the record says about your conditions, not just the dates.
How WLIS can help
- 1 We check that the route suits your plans and that the matter is a straightforward one within our IAA Level 1 authorisation.
- 2 We review your eligibility and your documents, and explain plainly anything that needs attention.
- 3 We give you a document checklist written for your circumstances rather than a generic one.
- 4 We prepare the application form and supporting documents, and you check and approve the final information before anything is submitted.
- 5 We help with submission, biometrics or identity steps, and your eVisa and UKVI account after the decision.
Questions clients often ask
Is my expired BRP still proof of my status?
No. Status is proved through your UKVI account and a share code. Keep the card even so, because it records details that help if a record has to be corrected.
What if I cannot get into my UKVI account?
Recovery uses the email address and phone number linked to the account, which is why keeping them current matters. Where recovery fails there is a support route, but it takes time, so start before a deadline rather than after one.
Have a question about your own case?
General guides cannot cover every situation. Tell us what has happened and we will confirm whether we can help.
The enquiry form is on this site and reaches us directly. Please do not send identity documents until we ask for them.