UK Residence Permit

Limited Leave to Remain

Limited leave to remain allows a person to stay in the UK for a set period. Historically, this permission was evidenced by a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) card showing an expiry date and any conditions on the person’s stay. Today, those details are recorded in a digital eVisa instead.

Common visa routes that grant limited leave to remain (now evidenced by an eVisa and previously by a BRP card) include:

• Skilled Worker visa — for employment sponsored by a licensed UK sponsor
• Global Talent visa — for leaders and potential leaders in science, arts, or digital technology
• Student visa — for those enrolled at an approved UK educational institution
• Family visa — for family members joining a British citizen or settled resident
• Graduate visa — for international students who have completed a UK degree

Indefinite Leave to Remain

Indefinite leave to remain (ILR) grants a settled status in the UK without a fixed time limit on the permission itself. In the past, ILR was evidenced by a BRP card that had to be renewed periodically, but it is now shown by a digital eVisa instead.

To apply for indefinite leave to remain, an applicant must have lived in the UK for a qualifying period on an eligible visa route. For most routes, that means five years as of now, but it may increase going forward. Suitability requirements also apply, such as good character, a clean immigration history, and passing both the English language and Life in the UK tests.

The Home Office charges a per-person fee for indefinite leave to remain. Priority and super priority services are available at extra cost for faster decisions. Once ILR is granted, the status sits in an eVisa rather than on a physical BRP card. The holder proves it online through their UKVI account.

Most people do not have to apply for a residence permit separately. It comes with the visa. In the past, approval meant that a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) would be delivered to your residential address. Now it means an eVisa: a digital record rather than a card.

In practice, the process now looks like this:

• Submit an online visa or ILR application and provide biometrics either at a visa application centre or via the UK Immigration: ID Check app, where available

• If the application is granted, your permission is recorded as an eVisa linked to your passport and UKVI account
• You sign into your UKVI account to view your status and generate share codes to prove your right to work, rent, and study in the UK
• There is no physical BRP card to collect or renew, but you must keep your passport details and contact information up to date in your UKVI account so that your eVisa remains valid

Overview

The UK government has replaced Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs) and Biometric Residence Cards (BRCs) with eVisas. Physical documents were phased out as of 31 December 2024. New grants are recorded digitally, and no card is issued.

The switch from physical BRP cards to eVisas is part of the Home Office’s broader push toward digital immigration status. Your status lives online now, not on a plastic card. UKVI says this reduces document fraud and makes it faster for employers or anyone else checking to confirm your status in real time, and records are updated centrally, so there’s no need to reissue a card every time something changes.

It also means the system can shift to new rules or visa routes without the cost and delay of printing and mailing out physical documents.

An eVisa is an online record of a person’s permission to stay in the UK, held in a personal UKVI account. Holders generate share codes from that account to prove their immigration status to employers, landlords, or universities.

Biometric Residence Permit vs eVisa

Setting Up a UKVI Account

Anyone who previously held a Biometric Residence Permit is expected to move to a UKVI account so that their status can be shown as an eVisa.

If you have not yet set up your account, you can follow these steps:

• Visit the UKVI account page on GOV.UK to create or access your account
• Verify your identity, either using the UK Immigration: ID Check app or by following the instructions given in the Home Office email or letter
• Link your existing immigration permission to the account using your BRP details or other reference numbers provided
• Access your eVisa through the UKVI account dashboard once your identity has been confirmed

Once your UKVI account is active, you can generate share codes at any time.

A share code is a temporary reference you give to a third party, such as an employer, landlord or educational provider, so they can check your current immigration status directly with the Home Office.

Report it to the police (if stolen)

Get a crime reference number if your BRP was stolen. You may need it later, both when reporting the loss to the Home Office and, where it still applies, when applying for a replacement card.

Report to the Home Office

Report a lost or stolen BRP to the Home Office as soon as you can, through the UKVI online service. Delay it, and you risk compliance problems that could follow you into future applications.

Applying for a replacement Biometric Residence Permit

Lost your BRP in the UK, with valid leave still in place? You’ll likely need to apply for a replacement online through UKVI.

Expect to provide:

• Your personal details and current immigration status
• A police crime reference or lost property number, if you have one
• An explanation of how the card went missing
• A new passport-style photo

Lost it outside the UK instead? Report it to the Home Office first, then apply for temporary entry clearance to re-enter the country.

You’ll need a police report and your passport to apply at a visa application centre.

If your status is now held as an eVisa

No BRP, and your status is already digital? You won’t get a replacement card.

Log in to your UKVI account instead to view and prove your status, and check the latest Home Office guidance if you run into access problems.

For most people, the goal after obtaining indefinite leave to remain is British citizenship.

It means a British passport, life in the UK free from immigration controls, and the ability to pass on nationality to children.

To apply through naturalisation, applicants must have held indefinite leave to remain, or EU settled status, for at least 12 months, lived in the UK for a qualifying period (5 years for most routes, with limits on absences), and met the good character requirement.

The Life in the UK test and an English language requirement also apply unless an exemption applies to the applicant.

The Home Office decides on citizenship applications. Once approved, applicants attend a citizenship ceremony and receive a certificate of naturalisation.

From that point, they are British citizens – no longer subject to immigration control, and no longer in need of a UK residence permit.

A few problems recur with both physical Biometric Residence Permits and the eVisa system.

Incorrect Personal Details on a BRP or UKVI Account

The correction process depends on where the error appears, on the physical BRP, in the eVisa record, or in the UKVI account, and whether the Home Office or the applicant caused it.

Expired Passport Linked to a BRP

If the passport used to obtain a BRP has since expired, the BRP remains a valid evidence of immigration status as long as the underlying permission remains current.

When renewing a passport, update the details in the UKVI account so the eVisa record matches the new document. A new passport does not cancel a current BRP or eVisa.

Problems Setting Up the UKVI Account

The most common difficulties reported during the transition from physical Biometric Residence Cards to eVisas include:

• Name or date of birth mismatches between the BRP and the identity verification app
• BRP card number not being recognised during UKVI account setup
• Delays in receiving account confirmation emails
• Technical errors in the ID Check app during identity verification
• Difficulty linking old immigration documents, such as paper letters, to the eVisa system

If these persist after contacting UKVI, immigration lawyers can help escalate the issue. The underlying immigration permission does not change, but an unresolved account issue can disrupt right-to-work and right-to-rent checks, as well as travel.