UK eVisa 2027: How Your Digital Status Works

What a UK eVisa Is

If you live, work or study in the UK, your immigration status is now digital. A UK eVisa is an online record of your identity, your immigration status and its conditions, such as whether you can work or rent a home. It has replaced physical documents like the biometric residence permit (BRP) card, so you now prove your rights online instead of showing a card. It is not a new visa or a new application: it is simply a digital version of the permission you already have.

Who Needs a UKVI Account

Anyone with UK immigration permission needs a free UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account to see and use their eVisa. This includes people who had a BRP card, students, workers, family members and people with settled status. If you have permanent permission to stay shown only by an old stamp in your passport, you can apply for free to get your status in digital form. New visa holders usually get an eVisa automatically when their application is approved.

How to Set Up Your UKVI Account

Go to the official eVisa section of the GOV.UK website and create your account, which is free. You usually need your passport and, if you had one, your BRP card number, and you confirm your identity with a code sent to your phone or email. An expired BRP can still be used to create your account for a limited time, so do this as soon as possible. Once your account is ready, you can see your eVisa, its conditions and its expiry date.

Proving Your Status With a Share Code

When an employer, landlord or bank asks for proof of your status, you don’t show a card anymore. Instead, you log in to your UKVI account, choose why you need it, and get a share code that you give them together with your date of birth. Each purpose has its own type of code: a right-to-work code can’t be used by a landlord, and a right-to-rent code can’t be used by an employer. The person checking then views your status on the official GOV.UK service.

Travelling With an eVisa

You travel with the passport that is linked to your UKVI account, and airlines may check your eVisa before you board. If you get a new passport, update it in your UKVI account before you travel, because an unlinked passport is one of the most common reasons people are refused boarding. It is also a good idea to get a share code before your trip, in case the airline or border officers ask for it.

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