The UK government is about to stop giving residence permits to foreign residents. The Home Office, which is responsible for migration, is instead providing access to an online eVisa. Physical residence permits will no longer be issued from 31 October 2024 and almost all existing ones have an expiry date of 31 December 2024.

What is an eVisa?

An eVisa is a digital record of a person’s immigration status. It can be viewed online and accessed by people and organisations who need to check someone’s status, such as:

UK Visas and Immigration, the part of the Home Office responsible for this project, says eVisas cannot be lost or stolen and are easier for holders to update, among other benefits.

Millions of people already have an eVisa. In particular, EU citizens who secured post-Brexit residence rights received an eVisa and no physical permit. Other people, such as those on the special Hong Kong visa route, have been getting eVisas as they move to the UK or extend their immigration permission.  

But many existing residents will need to sign up for an eVisa or they will not have access to one. This includes people with permanent residence rights (indefinite leave to remain) who did not expect to have to interact with the immigration system again. Some people who do not need to extend their immigration permission until 2025 or 2026 may also need to actively register for an eVisa.

Why does this matter to MPs and their constituents?

Migrants often need to prove that they have immigration permission when seeking employment, housing, welfare benefits and non-emergency hospital treatment. Carriers, such as airlines, also require proof of immigration permission (or exemption) before taking someone to the UK. Lacking this proof can therefore cause inconvenience or major hardship, as with the Windrush scandal.

Migrants’ rights organisations say that people who fail to set up their eVisa by the end of 2024, or who are affected by technical glitches, will inevitably experience such problems.

How do constituents get access to their eVisa?

By creating a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account online. The UKVI account gives access to the eVisa. Step-by-step guides are available on YouTube, both from the Home Office itself and reputable law firms. Creating an account is free.

Until August 2024, the Home Office advised people not to try to access their eVisa unless they had received an individual email notification. This is no longer the case and people should sign up for their eVisa now, whether or not they have been invited to.

Some people may already have a UKVI account as well as a physical permit. Such people are not required to take any action, but if travelling abroad should make sure that their passport is linked to the account.

How do constituents know if they already have an eVisa?

The Home Office says “Customers who are not sure if they already have a UKVI account and eVisa can either check here on GOV.UK or refer to their original grant email or letter”.

If someone already has an eVisa, do they still need a residence permit?

Yes. Residence permits will be in use, including for travel to the UK, until the end of 2024. Even beyond that, the Home Office says that people may be asked for an expired residence permit in future applications to extend their immigration permission.

Does this also affect people with ‘biometric residence cards’, as well as biometric residence permits?

Yes. There is separate information available for people with biometric residence cards, which were issued to non-EU citizens with immigration permission deriving from EU law.

What about people with permanent residence in an expired passport?

Some longstanding residents of the UK secured permanent residence rights before residence permits were introduced. Their proof of these rights would be a sticker or stamp in an old passport.

At present, people with older documents demonstrating their permanent residence need to apply for a biometric residence permit and then use that to set up their UKVI account. They cannot go directly to an eVisa. The Home Office says it intends to allow people with these older documents to skip the residence permit stage “by the end of 2024”.

People making these ‘no time limit’ applications need to prove that their right of permanent residence has not lapsed due to absences from the UK. At present, this means supplying passports showing travel since being granted permanent residence or documents (such as utility bills) showing continuous presence in the UK. Some people may struggle to do this. The immigration minister, Seema Malhotra, has said that the process will be simplified in future so that documentary evidence will not normally be required.

If a constituent’s immigration permission is expiring, should they apply to extend it or for an eVisa?

To extend it. eVisas and residence permits are separate from a person’s actual immigration permission (technically known as ‘leave to remain’, but which they may think of as just their ‘visa’). Applying for an eVisa but letting the underlying immigration status expire may have disastrous consequences.

Can people download and store their eVisa on a phone or computer?

No. The eVisa is an online record rather than the digital equivalent of a permit. Organisations with concerns about the system, such as Open Rights Group, think this is unsatisfactory. the3million, which represents EU citizens, says people should be issued with something more like a QR code instead.

Are eVisas replacing visa stickers for initial travel to the UK as well?

Eventually, yes, but visas stuck into passports – formally known as entry clearance vignettes – will continue to be issued beyond 2024, according to the law firm Bindmans. Broadly speaking, this means that for the time being foreign visitors to the UK will have a visa and foreign residents of the UK will have an eVisa.

Are other countries abolishing physical immigration documents?

While many countries are moving toward more digital proof-of-immigration-status issuance systems, at time of writing there was no other known example of a country entirely ceasing to issue both physical entry visas and residence permits, according to the international immigration law firm Fragomen.

What if constituents struggle to access their eVisa or experience technical glitches?

The government has highlighted some support measures, such as the Assisted Digital service to help people who do not feel confident using a computer.

It has also given grants to charities so that they can assist particularly vulnerable groups, such as disabled people or domestic abuse victims.

People having problems can use an eVisa webchat, call the UK Visas and Immigration resolution centre on 0300 790 6268 or +44 (0)203 875 4669, and/or lodge a complaint.

Helping someone else with their eVisa does not amount to providing immigration advice or services (which is a criminal offence if done by someone without a licence), according to the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner. This means that a charity worker, for example, could help someone with an eVisa so long as they do not stray into advice on immigration status.

Someone being incorrectly denied boarding onto a flight to the UK could ask the airline to call the Home Office’s Carrier Support Hub.

What happens to people who fail to get an eVisa by 31 December 2024?

For the time being, getting an eVisa is not compulsory for people who already have physical permits. The expiry of the permit after 31 December 2024 does not affect their underlying immigration status. The Home Office has also said that people will be allowed to prove their immigration status within the UK – for example, to employers – using their existing documents after 2024:

BRP [biometric residence permit] holders will still be able to use the online right to work and rent services to prove their rights once their BRP expires – provided they still have valid immigration status – although they are encouraged to register for a UKVI account and to use that to access those services.

But this may be phased out over time. 

In addition, someone whose permit expires on 31 December 2024 should not leave the UK and attempt to return after that date unless they have set up their eVisa, as they may be unable to return. Carriers, such as airlines, will not allow passengers to board without proof that the person is entitled to enter the UK. Government guidance to carriers says that physical residence permits can only be accepted instead of an eVisa if they are “valid”. Somebody who attempts to return to the UK in 2025 presenting only an expired residence permit might be denied boarding even if they do have valid immigration status.

UK Visas and Immigration says that people with “legacy paper documents”, such as a stamp indicating indefinite leave to remain in an old passport, will still be able to use them beyond 2024 both for proving their status within the UK as before and for travelling back to the UK. It nevertheless recommends strongly that they apply for an eVisa.

Related posts