The Home Office has extended the so-called ‘cliff-edge’ date of 1 January 2025 by which all biometric residence permit holders (and holders of legacy immigration status documents) were supposed to register for e-visas.
Biometric Residence Permits expired on 31 December 2024, but in this surprising (but welcome) U-turn, expired permits are still permitted for travel.
Those with visas and ILR should consider 31 March 2025 as the new Key Date until which they can use their biometric residence permit for travel.
The Home Office further recommend that holders of physical status documents keep hold of their paperwork even after it has expired.
Travellers might be asked for physical paperwork (if available) at the border, so it is best to take your documents with you when travelling overseas.
The deadline extension gives additional flexibility and much relief to many who may be trying to register for an e-visa. Technical issues with the e-visa system have been acknowledged by the Home Office, and, while there are channels to report a ‘problem with your e-visa’ due to the complexity of the system and magnitude of the data being managed, bugs will not always be quickly fixable.
E-visa holders must stay alert and keep their contact information, passport, and visa details updated in their UKVI account.
We strongly recommend bookmarking Home Office e-visa information pages and checking for news periodically or subscribing to UKVI updates.
INFORMATION
Online immigration status (eVisa)
Information on eVisas and why you need one.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/online-immigration-status-evisa
Online immigration status (eVisa): help videos
Videos explaining what an eVisa is and how to access and use one.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/online-immigration-status-evisa-help-video
Check your eVisa is correct before you travel
How to check your eVisa details are correct before you travel in or out of the UK.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/making-sure-your-evisa-is-correct-before-you-travel
UKVI ONLINE SERVICES
Get access to your eVisa
https://www.gov.uk/get-access-evisa
View and prove your immigration status: get a share code
https://www.gov.uk/view-prove-immigration-status
Update your UK Visas and Immigration account details
https://www.gov.uk/update-uk-visas-immigration-account-details
Report an error with your eVisa
https://www.gov.uk/report-error-evisa
