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The UK moved immigration status off physical Biometric Residence Permit cards and onto digital eVisas, with all outstanding BRPs expiring on 31 December 2024 — this guide covers why the change happened and who it affects; if you already have someone showing up with an expired card, see our expired BRP action guide instead.
Why the transition happened
Physical cards can be lost, forged, or become outdated the moment a status changes. A digital record linked to a UKVI account updates in real time and can be checked instantly via a share code, without waiting for a replacement card to be printed and posted.
Who was affected
Anyone who held a BRP as their proof of status — most non-EU visa holders and some EU Settlement Scheme members who hadn't yet linked their status to an online account before the cutover.
How eVisa checks work in practice
An eVisa isn't a document that sits in someone's inbox — it's a record held against a UKVI account, and it's proved to a third party through a share code generated from that account rather than by showing anything physical. For right to work purposes, an employer runs the code through the Home Office's online checking service the same way they would for any other digital status, and our guide on right to work share codes covers how that check is done and what to keep as evidence. The key difference from a BRP check is that there's no card to photograph — the evidence trail is the check result itself, not a copy of a physical document.
Common issues during the transition
Not every case moved across cleanly. Some people who held a BRP had never created or verified a UKVI account, so their status existed on Home Office systems without a working digital record they could actually access. Others ran into problems where a passport had been renewed since the original visa was granted and the new document wasn't linked to the eVisa account, producing a share code check that didn't match the ID being presented. Older BRPs issued before online accounts were standard, and cases involving a change of name, are also more likely to need manual account recovery rather than a straightforward first-time login. None of these are right to work refusals in themselves — they're account access problems that need resolving through UKVI, not evidence that someone's status has lapsed.
What employers should check now
Any right to work file still showing only a BRP copy as evidence is running on a superseded document type. It doesn't need an emergency re-check, but the next natural review point is the time to update it with fresh eVisa-based evidence.
Should you re-check everyone on the books?
Re-running a right to work check on every existing employee purely because the transition happened isn't required, and doing so on a blanket basis isn't the efficient approach either — a statutory excuse obtained correctly under the rules in force at the time of the original check generally still stands. The more useful approach is to refresh the evidence at a natural trigger point: a visa extension, a role change, an internal audit, or a scheduled compliance review. That way the file is brought current without generating a wave of unnecessary checks on people whose status hasn't changed at all.
Digital exclusion and accessibility
Not everyone who held a BRP finds the eVisa system straightforward. Older applicants, people without regular internet access, and anyone uncomfortable managing an online account can genuinely struggle to complete the account setup or generate a share code unprompted. Employers can't create or manage a UKVI account on someone else's behalf, but pointing a struggling employee toward the Home Office's dedicated assisted digital support, rather than assuming they'll sort it out eventually, avoids a right to work gap that has nothing to do with their actual immigration status. A share code also expires a short time after it's generated, so a code obtained weeks before it's actually needed for a check will have gone stale — it needs to be generated fresh, close to the point the employer runs the verification.
Keeping evidence of the eVisa check
Because there's no physical card to retain a copy of, the record an employer keeps is the outcome of the online check itself — the profile information returned, the date the check was carried out, and ideally a saved copy or screenshot of the result screen. Storing that consistently matters more with eVisas than it did with BRPs, since there's nothing else in the file to fall back on if the original check result isn't retained. Our guide on secure document management covers how to keep this kind of digital evidence organised and retrievable if it's ever needed for an audit.
FAQ
Do BRP holders need to apply for a new visa?
No — the underlying immigration status didn't change, only how it's evidenced. No new application is needed purely because of the card's expiry.
What if someone never linked their BRP to a UKVI account?
They can still recover access — see our guide on what to do with an expired BRP for the recovery route.
Can an expired BRP still be used as right to work evidence on its own?
No — an expired card alone doesn't establish current status; the check needs to run through the eVisa system to confirm what's actually valid now.
Does an EU Settlement Scheme member need to do anything different from a work visa holder?
The share code mechanism is the same, but Settlement Scheme members who hadn't linked their status before the cutover are more likely to need account recovery first — worth checking early rather than at the point a check is urgently needed.
Related: Expired BRP guide · UKVI Login
GOV.UK references: Biometric residence permits
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