Current, solicitor-led guidance on UK eVisas and UKVI accounts, including creating and accessing an account, linking passports, proving immigration status, generating share codes, travelling with an eVisa and resolving incorrect or inaccessible digital status.
The UK immigration system has moved decisively towards digital immigration status.
An eVisa is the Home Office’s digital record of a person’s identity, UK immigration status and the conditions attached to that status. It can show, for example, the type of immigration permission held, whether the person has settlement and whether they are permitted to work or study in the UK.
A UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account is the online account used to access and manage that digital status.
The distinction is important:
The digital system has become even more important during 2026. From 1 July 2026, UKVI stopped issuing visa vignette stickers to successful new visa applicants coming to the UK. Successful applicants now generally receive an eVisa instead, subject to the specific arrangements applying to their case.
This means applicants increasingly need to understand not only whether they have immigration permission, but also whether they can access it correctly, link it to their current passport and use it when travelling or proving their status.
The Knights & Shah Solicitors eVisa & UKVI Account Help guide explains how the current system works and what to do when something goes wrong.
An eVisa is a digital record maintained by the Home Office.
It records:
For example, an eVisa may show whether you have temporary immigration permission or Indefinite Leave to Remain and whether you have permission to work or study.
The Home Office confirms that eVisas have replaced physical immigration documents as the principal way of recording immigration status.
This digital transition has included the replacement of Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs) and the progressive replacement of other physical evidence.
Importantly, moving from a physical document to an eVisa does not itself change your immigration status or the conditions attached to your permission.
The digital record is evidence of the underlying status; it is not a new immigration application.
A UKVI account is the online account through which a person can access their eVisa.
The account can be used to:
Creating a UKVI account and accessing an eVisa is free.
A UKVI account should therefore not be confused with making a new visa application.
Someone may already hold valid immigration status but need assistance obtaining or restoring access to the UKVI account through which that status is displayed.
Many people already have a UKVI account without necessarily thinking of it by that name.
According to current Home Office guidance, you are likely already to have one if you have previously:
If you already have an account, the Home Office says you should not create another one.
Instead, you should attempt to sign into your existing account or use the appropriate account-recovery process.
Duplicate accounts can make an already complicated digital-status problem more difficult to understand.
Current Home Office guidance allows UKVI account access for people holding a UK visa or settlement, including Indefinite Leave to Remain.
The system can also provide access to certain other digital records, including a digital record of exemption from immigration control or a digital certificate of entitlement for someone with the right of abode.
There are some situations where an eVisa is not required.
For example, someone travelling to the UK solely using an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) does not require an eVisa for that purpose. Permission relating to the Channel Islands, Isle of Man or Gibraltar also operates differently.
An ETA and an eVisa should not be confused.
An ETA is permission to travel for eligible non-visa nationals. An eVisa records immigration status or permission.
To create a UKVI account, you will generally need:
Depending upon your circumstances, the Home Office may ask for:
Current guidance also allows certain expired BRPs to be used for account creation for 24 months after the expiry date printed on the card or until 31 December 2026, whichever occurs first.
After creating the account, the applicant will normally need to confirm their identity and link the account to the eVisa.
The Home Office provides a current account-creation service and updated support material.
Yes, where family members have their own immigration status.
Current Home Office guidance specifically states that partners and children joining someone in the UK as dependants need their own UKVI accounts to access their own eVisas.
Parents or representatives can assist another person.
For example, a parent can manage an account for a child, and someone acting under an appropriate power of attorney may be able to manage an account for another person.
Where a child later becomes able to manage their own account, including when they reach adulthood, the contact information should be updated appropriately.
A family should therefore not assume that everyone is covered by the principal applicant’s account.
Once the UKVI account has been properly created and linked, the holder can sign in to view their immigration status.
The digital record should show information such as:
Applicants should check this information carefully.
Do not assume that because the visa application was approved, every piece of information displayed in the eVisa is necessarily correct.
If the digital record shows the wrong status, expiry information, personal details or conditions, the error should be addressed promptly.
This is particularly important before starting employment, renting property or travelling internationally.
A UKVI account is not something that should simply be created and forgotten.
Current Home Office guidance states that account holders should update the account when they change their:
Keeping these details current is important because they affect both access to the account and how the eVisa operates in practice.
An outdated telephone number or email address can create sign-in problems.
More importantly, an old passport that has not been correctly linked to the account can cause problems when travelling.
The Home Office warns that an account that is not up to date can lead to travel delays or difficulties while waiting for an immigration decision.
Your current passport or travel document should be correctly associated with your UKVI account.
This is particularly important for international travel.
If you renew your passport after receiving your immigration status, you should check the UKVI account and update the passport information where required.
Before travelling, the Home Office says the passport or travel-document information held in the UKVI account should be correct and should match the passenger information supplied to the airline or other carrier.
A mismatch can potentially result in:
Updating a passport should therefore be treated as an important immigration administration task rather than something to deal with only if a problem occurs at the airport.
International travel is one of the areas where eVisa accuracy matters most.
Before travelling to or from the UK, the Home Office advises individuals to check that:
When travelling, you must use a valid passport or travel document that has been added to the UKVI account.
The eVisa can then be checked when:
The country being visited may have separate visa or entry requirements. A UK eVisa only demonstrates UK immigration status.
One of the most important developments in the UK’s digital immigration transition occurred on 1 July 2026.
UKVI stopped issuing traditional visa vignette stickers to successful new visa applicants. Successful applicants now generally receive an eVisa as their UK immigration evidence.
For some applicants, a Form for Accompanying an eVisa (FAV) may be issued. Where applicable, this may need to be collected from the Visa Application Centre and used alongside the linked eVisa for travel.
Before travelling to the UK following a successful application, applicants should therefore sign into their UKVI account and confirm that they can see the eVisa and that the permission shown is correct.
This is now an important part of post-decision immigration preparation.
There was another important digital change in March 2026.
From 11 March 2026, Home Office travel documents began being automatically linked to UKVI accounts. The travel-document number can therefore be displayed alongside the eVisa.
Where a new Home Office travel document is issued, the Home Office states that it should appear within the UKVI account within two working days after the decision.
The physical Home Office travel document continues to be issued and should still be carried when travelling overseas.
This distinction is important: the travel document itself remains physical even though its information can be linked digitally to the immigration account.
A share code allows an individual to give another person or organisation controlled access to information about their immigration status.
Share codes can be used for purposes such as:
Rather than handing an employer or landlord unrestricted access to a UKVI account, the person generates the appropriate share code.
The recipient can then use the relevant Home Office checking service.
Different share-code processes can apply depending upon what the person is trying to prove.
For travel purposes, current Home Office guidance states that a share code is valid for 90 days.
Many migrants now prove their right to work digitally.
An individual can use their UKVI account and eVisa to generate the appropriate evidence for an employer.
The employer then completes the relevant Home Office online right-to-work check.
The digital status can show:
It is important that the correct share-code process is used.
An employer should not simply rely upon a screenshot of an eVisa where the statutory right-to-work process requires the Home Office online checking service.
Where the statutory right-to-rent scheme applies, eligible individuals can similarly use digital immigration status to demonstrate their position to a landlord or letting agent.
A share code can allow the landlord to complete the appropriate online Home Office check.
Again, the underlying immigration status and the evidence used to prove it should be distinguished.
The eVisa records the person’s status.
The share-code system provides a controlled method for a third party to verify relevant aspects of that status.
Digital records can contain errors.
The Home Office provides a specific service for reporting an eVisa error where:
Examples can include an incorrect:
The problem should be reported rather than simply relying upon the decision letter indefinitely.
Current Home Office guidance states that UKVI aims to resolve most reported eVisa issues within five working days.
More complicated cases can take up to 15 working days.
If the problem is likely to take longer than 15 working days, or further information is required, UKVI says it will contact the person.
These are target times rather than absolute guarantees.
Where an error is creating an urgent employment, housing or travel problem, the circumstances should be documented carefully and the appropriate Home Office support route used.
Account-access problems can arise because:
The correct solution depends upon whether the problem concerns:
or
These are not the same problem.
The Home Office provides an account-recovery process where someone cannot sign in because they have lost access to their telephone or changed email address.
Applicants should use the appropriate recovery process rather than automatically creating another account.
This is one of the more serious practical problems because it can arise shortly before travel.
The Home Office issued dedicated carrier guidance on 23 July 2026 explaining what travellers can do where an airline or other carrier cannot verify UK immigration status.
Before travel, check:
Where the carrier still cannot verify the status, current Home Office guidance states that the carrier can contact the UK Border Force carrier support hub.
Leaving these checks until airport check-in can create avoidable stress and delay.
People granted settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme use digital immigration status.
Many EUSS applicants will already have a UKVI account because one was created as part of the EUSS application process.
Where the eVisa displays another immigration status instead of the person’s pre-settled status, the Home Office directs users to the specific process for proving EUSS status rather than the ordinary eVisa-error process.
EUSS status should therefore be checked carefully, particularly before travel, employment or a significant immigration application.
People with Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) can also access an eVisa.
Some individuals have very old evidence of settlement, such as a passport containing an indefinite leave endorsement or another physical immigration document with no expiry date.
Current Home Office guidance allows people with qualifying historic settlement evidence to obtain digital access, which may involve making a No Time Limit application depending upon their circumstances.
An old physical document should not simply be discarded.
Where there is uncertainty about historic settlement, the underlying immigration status should first be established before attempting to resolve the digital record.
The most common problems include:
These problems should be diagnosed carefully.
The appropriate solution for an incorrect passport number may be completely different from the solution for an incorrect immigration status.
At Knights & Shah Solicitors, we can assist individuals experiencing difficulties with their eVisa or UKVI account.
We can help with:
The first step is to identify whether the problem concerns the immigration status itself, the eVisa record, the UKVI account or the document linked to that account.
That distinction can prevent unnecessary applications and delays.
If you require advice contact Knights & Shah Solicitors.
We provide clear, solicitor led advice, strategic case planning and robust court representation to protect our clients.
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