Important information for BRP holders

The UK Government are changing the way that people who were not born in the UK and do not have citizenship will need to demonstrate their right to be in the UK. At present, people are provided with a Biometric Residency Permit (BRP) which a physical ID card. These are being phased out and everyone will need to transition to an online eVisa. Employers, landlords and statutory services will be able to access the right to work and live in the UK through gov.uk rather than physically seeing the cards.
The change from a physical BRP to eVisa should be complete by 31 December 2024.
We are writing to all guests, and their hosts on how this will affect them, and the steps they need to take now. We are not suggesting that hosts provide support to their guests to complete the transition to eVisas, as the government has funded a number of organisations to provide this expert support. More support providers are being announced, in order that people can access support for this transition locally.
Useful Links
- The UK Government have commissioned a number of service providers to offer support and guidance to people making the transition from BRP to eVisa. We strongly suggest guests seeking help access these services.
- If your guest has received an email from UKVI (UK Visas and Immigration) to transition to an eVisa, they should follow the instructions in the email. If no email invite has been received, they will be able to set up their own eVisa account here. They do not need to wait for an invitation and can do so now.
- Right to Remain have updated their toolkit to assist people applying for their eVisa.
- Lancashire County Council have produced ‘how-to’ guides in several languages.
Please note that if you are a Ukrainian guest, or are hosting a Ukrainian guest, they must retain their physical BRP once they have an eVisa. This will be needed for the forthcoming Ukraine Permission Extension scheme (due to be launched early 2025).
Lastly, you can read about the extension of physical BRPs as valid travel documents until March 2025 and the continued access to Right to Work and Right to Rent checks using BRPs here.

