What is an eVisa?

Your eVisa and a job

• Proving your right to work: you give the employer a share code from your UKVI account and your date of birth, not the eVisa itself. The employer enters them on GOV.UK’s right to work service, which shows the work you’re allowed to do and how long for.
• While an application is waiting for a decision, such as a switch from a Graduate visa to Skilled Worker: if your permission (your current visa and its end date) runs out while you wait and you can’t prove your status online, GOV.UK says the employer asks the Home Office to check it instead.
• After a new visa is granted: your eVisa shows the new permission and its conditions.
• Changing employer on a Skilled Worker visa: you need a new certificate of sponsorship and an application to update your visa. GOV.UK says not to start the new job until the new permission is confirmed.

What to check in your UKVI account before applying for jobs

• You can sign in, with the phone number or email address linked to the account.
• The passport linked to the account is the one you hold now.
• The date your current permission ends, which an employer will also see.

Then get a share code to see that it works. GOV.UK describes the eVisa as a digital record of your identity, your immigration status and its conditions, issued when a visa or other permission is granted.

eVisa, BRP and visa stickers

An expired BRP can be used for those three things for up to 24 months after the expiry date on the card, and not after 31 December 2026 (GOV.UK: BRPs).

How to get your eVisa: set up a UKVI account

You see your eVisa in a free UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account. Partners and children need their own accounts. You may already have one, for example if you used the UK Immigration: ID Check app or applied to the EU Settlement Scheme. To set one up you need:

• a phone number and email address
• a valid passport with your visa application number or BRP number, or an expired BRP

GOV.UK says to update the account when your passport, name, phone number, email or address changes. You can’t change your name or passport while an application is waiting for a decision.

Travelling with an eVisa

Add the passport you travel on to your UKVI account. Your eVisa is checked when you leave and enter the UK and when you check in to come back. GOV.UK says you could be delayed at the border or refused boarding if your details are wrong.

Common questions