What you need to do if there is an error with your UK e-Visa

Table Of Contents

1. What can you use your eVisa for
2. How to view and access your eVisa
3. What to do if there is an error with your e-Visa
4. How long does UKVI take to fix an error in your eVisa
5. When you should not report an error
6. Summary

Many BRPs (Biometric Residence Permits) expired on 31 December 2024 because the UK shifted toward converting and issuing digital status for someone’s immigration status. The expiry date on the BRP often did not mean your immigration permission in the UK ended. 

BRPs have largely been replaced by eVisa. No new BRPs are issued now. Instead, successful visa applicants obtain an eVisa. An eVisa is an online/digital record of:

• your identity and immigration status – for example, the type of visa/ immigration status you have or if you have ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain -also known as ‘settlement’) in the UK

• the conditions of your permission – for example, if you have been given work rights or study rights in the UK

eVisas will also replace BRCs (Biometric Residence Cards) – a physical immigration document issued by the UK Home Office mainly to non-EEA family members of EEA or Swiss nationals living in the UK, and wet ink stamps or vignettes (stickers) in your passports. A wet-ink stamp or vignette sticker in a passport is a physical form of immigration permission or travel endorsement placed directly into the passport by immigration authorities.

What can you use your eVisa for?

You can use an eVisa to prove your immigration status online in the UK. You can use your eVisa to:

• prove you have right to work in the UK, 

Show your immigration status to colleges or universities

• prove your right to rent property, 

• demonstrate your right to access some services or benefits, for example, access to healthcare through the NHS (National Health Service), opening bank accounts, or applying for a NI (National Insurance) number, 

• confirm your permission to travel abroad and re-enter the UK.

How to view and access your eVisa?

You can log in to your UKVI online account to check or manage your eVisa digitally.

To sign in to your UKVI account, you will need the details you use. For example, 

• Your passport

• Your national identity card

• Your BRC (Biometric Residence Card) – valid or expired

• Your Expired BRP 

• Your UKVI customer number

You will also need access to the email address or mobile phone number you use to sign in to your UKVI account.

You must have an online account with UKVI to see and use your eVisa. 

But if you do not have a UKVI account, you can set up one.

You are not required to pay anything to set up a UKVI account or access your eVisa.

What to do if there is an error with your e-Visa?

If there is an error with your eVisa, you should report it to UKVI. You should report an error with UKVI if:

• Details of your eVisa are wrong – for example, wrong date of birth or immigration status

• You are able to view your eVisa, but you cannot use it to get a share code (share code is a temporary online code generated from your eVisa account that allows another person or organisation, such as employers, landlords, or universities, to check your UK immigration status).

• You are unable to view your eVisa due to a technical error when you are signed into your UKVI account

• The Home Office set up your UKVI account, and you have never been able to sign in to it

To report an error, you will be required to give:

• An email or a UK mailing/postal address that UKVI can use to contact you – UKVI may use this to send updates, ask for additional documents, or confirm the correction

• Your name, date of birth, and nationality

If you are reporting an incorrect or wrong name, DoB (Date of Birth), or nationality, you will need to give them as they appear in your eVisa.

UKVI will ask you to give one of the following:

• Your passport number

• Your expired BRP number

• GWF or Global Web Form number (it is a reference number given by the UKVI when you submit an online UK visa or immigration application) from your visa application

• UAN or Unique Application Number (it is a reference number used by UKVI to identify a specific immigration or visa application) from your visa application• UKVI customer number – this is a reference number used by UKVI to identify you or your contact history within the UK immigration system.

You can also ask someone else to report an error

You do not always have to contact the UKVI personally to report an error in your eVisa. Instead, you can ask someone else to report the error with your eVisa for you, for example: 

• a legal representative – a solicitor, immigration adviser, or lawyer helping with your immigration matter

• an employer – your company or HR department may help if the error affects your right to work.

• a friend or colleague – someone you trust can assist if you are unable to handle the process yourself

• a member of staff at a university or charity – they sometimes help students, migrants, or vulnerable individuals communicate with UKVI.

How long does UKVI take to fix an error in your eVisa?

UKVI usually aims to fix most issues, including eVisa errors, within 5 working days. However, it can take up to 15 working days if the issue is complex.

You will receive an email if it is likely to take more than 15 days to fix or if you are required to provide more information.

After UKVI updates the record, log back into your UKVI account and confirm the information is correct.

When you should not report an error?

Instead of reporting an error to the UKVI, you can update your UKVI account details to change your name, address, email address, passport details, or photo, recover your UKVI account if you have problems signing in, or prove you have EUSS – Pre-settled status, if your eVisa is showing your other immigration status.

Summary

If there is an error with your eVisa, you should report it to UKVI (UK Visas and Immigration) as early as possible so the mistake can be corrected.

Common eVisa errors include incorrect/wrong name, date of birth, nationality, visa expiry date, missing immigration status, or passport details not linked properly.

You can report the error online yourself or through a legal representative, an employer, a friend or colleague, or a member of staff at a university or charity. 

UKVI has an online service for reporting eVisa mistakes.