Biometric Card Expirations in the UK: What Legal Consumers Need to Know
Biometric Residence Permits And Biometric Residence Cards are set to expire on 31 December 2024. Do you have an e-visa? If you don’t, you need to be aware of the UK’s new digital immigration status system and how the change will affect you.
In this blog, our Immigration Solicitors explain the e-Visa, legal rights digital immigration status UK and the steps consumers must take if their BRP or BRC expires in December 2024.
UK Online and London-Based Immigration Solicitors
For immigration law advice call London-based OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
Our lawyers speak Arabic, Armenian, Farsi, French/Mauritian Creole, Spanish, Tamil Tagalog/Ilonggo, Urdu/Punjabi.
UK biometric card expiration issues
Many UK BRP and Biometric Residence Cards will expire before the visa holder's visa. If you are in that situation, the first point is that you don’t need to panic because the expiry date on your BRP does not mean your visa will end early. You therefore won't be classed an overstayer just because your BRC or BRP is no longer valid after 31 December 2024. You also don’t need to contact the Home Office to tell them your BRP is expiring.
Although the expiry of your BRP or BRC doesn’t class you as an overstayer it does lead to a practical problem; you can't use your expired BRP or BRC as evidence of your right to rent or right to work in the UK or on re-entry to the UK. There are several other reasons why you may need to prove your immigration status. That’s why you need to understand legal rights digital immigration status UK.
Immigration Solicitors expect UK biometric card expiration issues, especially for those with Indefinite Leave to Remain who may not be in employment, renting a property or regular holidaymakers and therefore unaware of the digital changes or the expiry date. Think back to some of the news headlines about the chaos that came with the deadlines for pre-settled status applications under the EU Settlement Scheme and you will realise how busy Immigration Lawyers will be with UK biometric card expiration issues in January 2025.
Whether you are planning on going on holiday overseas or going abroad on a business trip it is essential to understand UK digital immigration status travel requirements.
What is an e-Visa and who needs to apply for an e-Visa?
The e-Visa is the next generation BRP and BRC – the digital version as the UK moves towards digitalisation of its immigration services and government functions.
If you are a British citizen or an Irish citizen then you don’t need to act but anyone who currently uses a physical document to prove their immigration status needs an eVisa.
This includes:
- If you have a Biometric Residence Permit that expires on 31 December 2024. You need to create a UKVI account and access your eVisa before the expiry date of your BRP
- If you have a Biometric Residence Card and you don’t have status under the EU Settlement Scheme, British citizenship or immigration leave then the BRC won't be valid even if the date appears to be OK. You need to sort out your immigration status ASAP. If you have settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme you will already have an e-Visa
- If you are settled with Indefinite Leave to Enter or Indefinite Leave to Remain and currently prove your immigration status by a wet-ink stamp in your passport or a vignette sticker, you must make a No Time Limit application. You can then create a UKVI account to get digital confirmation of your UK immigration status
UK digital immigration status travel requirements
The Home Office wants people to use their e-Visas on entry and re-entry to the UK to reduce the administrative burden on the Home Office of processing BRPs and BRCs and speed up the travel process using eGates.
Experienced Immigration Solicitors and frequent travellers to the UK expect travel delays in January 2025 with travellers unaware of their BRP or BRC expiry, training issues with border control staff, airport and port employees and the potential for the eGates to be unable to cope with demand.
While UK Border Force and air, sea and rail carriers can automatically access the immigration status information on your UKVI account to check your status the digital access system will only work if your system is operational and all the relevant staff are trained to access the information they need.
To reduce the risk of travel problems our Immigration Solicitors recommend that you ensure personal information and your passport details in your UKVI account are up to date before you leave the UK. If you have dual nationality and more than one passport ensure that UKVI has all the relevant information and is updated.
Although the system has gone digital you will still require your passport to travel and you should take any physical evidence of your immigration status in case of problems and delays.
Share code immigration status UK
If you are someone who requires an e-Visa, you need to secure your e-Visa now by creating a UKVI account to check your immigration status and to create a share portal so you can evidence your status to third parties, such as employers or landlords as well as when travelling in or out of the UK.
To sort out your share code immigration status UK you will need three things:
- The identity document used to sign in to your UKVI account. This will be your passport, national identity card, Biometric Residence Card or Biometric Residence Permit
- Your date of birth
- Access to the mobile phone number or email address you used to sign in to your UKVI account
Any dependent children require their own UKVI account but parents can create one for each dependent child using your child’s identity documents and date of birth. The parent then needs to add their own phone and email details.
The UKVI will send you a code to sign into the account so you can check the details and your status. If necessary, you may need to update the details the UKVI hold so they remain accurate and you don’t encounter difficulties with airport staff or border officials on entry or re-entry to the UK.
Once you are confident that the information the UKVI hold about you and your immigration status is correct you can decide if you want to provide share code immigration status to a third party. For example, for your employer to carry out a further right-to-work check if you have time-limited leave to remain on a Skilled Worker Visa and repeat right-to-work checks are necessary to avoid your employer being in breach of illegal working legislation and facing massive civil penalties.
The UK digital immigration system is set up so that an employer or prospective landlord can only access information about your immigration status on a time-limited basis. This is because they will have no legitimate need to access information about you once they have completed their right to work or right to rent check.
The UKVI will automatically internally share information about your immigration status with other government bodies, such as Border Control or HMRC. UKVI won't ask you to provide share code immigration status to these bodies as they don’t need your authority.
How OTS Solicitors can help you
If you have questions about expired biometric card travel rights UK, legal rights digital immigration status UK or simply need help with your e-Visa, with a visa application, visa extension, visa switch application or Indefinite Leave to Remain application our expert Immigration Solicitors can help you with all your immigration law needs.
UK Online and London-Based Immigration Solicitors
For immigration law advice call London-based OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
Our lawyers speak Arabic, Armenian, Farsi, French/Mauritian Creole, Spanish, Tamil Tagalog/Ilonggo, Urdu/Punjabi.
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