UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) is transforming the UK visa process by going digital. Physical documents such as Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs) and vignette/visa stickers or stamps are being replaced with eVisas, to provide individuals with a secure digital service when interacting with the UK immigration systems.

An eVisa is an online record of your UK immigration status. Anyone who holds an eVisa can access their immigration status and any conditions that may be attached to this status by logging into the View and prove service with their UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account. Please see further information on how to access an eVisa in the information below.

If you have a Student visa that is valid after December 2024, and your current Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) expires before this date, you will need to take action before your BRP expires.

To obtain an eVisa, you must create a UKVI account. If you do not create an account, you may encounter difficulties travelling in and out of the UK.

You can watch this video for useful information about eVisas

You can find information on how to create your UKVI account on the Gov.uk website. You will create your account by clicking on the green ‘start now’ button. You do not need to pay anything to create this account.

To create an account, you will need the following:

  • Access to a smartphone
  • A mobile phone number
  • An email address 
  • Your BRP card, a valid passport, or your Visa application number (your visa application number may start with (GWF) or (UAN) and can be found in any communication you received about your Student visa application

Please note you must ensure that the phone number and email address you provide in the application are ones that you can always access, as you will need them each time you access your eVisa to prove your immigration status.

When creating your account, you will be asked to download the Immigration ID check APP; please see information on how to use this app on the Using the UK immigration: ID check app webpage. 

If you have problems creating your account, you can ask Student Advice for help or contact UK visas and immigration.

If your eVisa details are not visible immediately after creating your UKVI account, there’s no need to worry. UKVI will email you directly once your eVisa is ready to view. While waiting, you can continue using your BRP to prove your immigration status.

If you require a share code, you can still obtain one; please see information on share codes below.

If you continue to have difficulties receiving your eVisa please get in touch with Student Advice.

Once you create your UKVI account, please check that your details are correct and that your eVisa has the proper visa expiry date.

Most student visas will include some extra time after the end of the course, sometimes called the ‘wrap-up period’.  Please see below how much extra time you should receive according to what you are studying.

Degree courses (Course duration: More than 12 months):

  • Most undergraduate and Postgraduate student visas should expire 4 months after the end date of your course, as confirmed in your CAS (Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies)
  • If you have applied for a new student visa outside the UK, or to extend your student visa in the UK, your course length is calculated from the original course start date to the new end date of your course. This means you are still considered to have studied for longer than twelve months

Examples

  • If your course end date in your CAS is September 2024, your eVisa should be valid until January 2025
  • If your course end date is July 2025, your eVisa should be valid until November 2025

Study abroad or pre-sessional students (Course duration less than 6 months):

  • Your student visa should expire seven days after the end date of your course, as confirmed in your CAS

Degree courses (Duration 6 to 12 months):

  • You should receive an additional two months after the end date of your course, as confirmed in your CAS

If you believe there is an error on your eVisa that you have not been able to correct yourself, please see the information below for further help.

Once you have created your UKVI account, your eVisa can be viewed by logging into the View and prove service.

When you have logged into the View and prove service, you can

  • View your eVisa, including the start and end dates of your visa
  • View any conditions attached to your UK visa
  • Update your personal details
  • Share your eVisa with others by generating a share code that provides time-limited access to the relevant data

To obtain a share code, you will access a different link, depending on who you need to prove your status to:

If you need to prove your immigration status to the University, employer, landlord or any third party that may ask you for confirmation of your UK immigration status, you can access your eVisa using the View and prove service and then generate a share code.

Once you have your share code, you can then send this code to any third party to whom you may need to prove your status. Anyone who will be checking your status, e.g., your employer or landlord, can then use an online checking service to confirm your immigration status by entering your date of birth and sharing the code that you have provided to them.

You should update your UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account if any of your personal details change.

To update your personal details on your UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account, follow these three steps:

  1. Sign into your UKVI account, you will need to use the identity document and contact details you gave when you applied for the account
  2. Navigate to the 'personal details' section
  3. Save the changes and ensure you receive a confirmation message

You should update your UKVI account if you’ve changed your:

  • Mobile phone number
  • Email address
  • Name
  • Identity documents, such as your passport or national identity card
  • Home address
  • Postal address

You can also:

  • Correct your date of birth
  • Add an extra nationality if you have dual nationality
  • Add an extra identity document
  • Change your photo, for example, if your appearance has changed and you can no longer be recognised from your photo

If you’re updating your name, date of birth or nationality, you’ll also need an identity document that proves the change is needed.

It’s crucial that you keep your personal details up to date to avoid any issues when travelling to the UK. Inaccurate or outdated information can lead to delays or complications at the airport/border control.

Please note that any updates you make may not be reflected on your account immediately. It might take some time for some changes to be processed and confirmed.

If you notice an error on the conditions attached to your eVisa, such as your visa start or end date of your visa, your work conditions or an incorrect sponsor licence number, please discuss this with Student Advice. There is a temporary eVisa correction process in place, in which we can request to have this corrected on your behalf. Please note that you will not be permitted to raise the error yourself, and it must be raised by the University.

You must always check your eVisa information using the View and prove service as explained above to check that your personal details, passport information are correct before travelling.

Give yourself plenty of time to check these details before travelling in case you need to change anything as it may take some time to update your details.

Your eVisa must be linked to the current passport that you will travel with, and if you have a BRP card, you must travel with this until it expires, even if you already have an eVisa.

Please watch useful information on travelling to the UK with your eVisa.

You may be a student who does not hold a student visa but has another UK visa where your BRP card expires in December 2024, and your UK immigration status continues after this date; you may also need to take action to replace your BRP with an eVisa please see advice for you explained on the Gov.uk website.

Further help and advice

If you have any questions about eVisas, please contact Student Advice via the Student Centre.