The United Kingdom Home Office is introducing a significant change in the way permission to enter and stay in the United Kingdom is given to some visa holders. From 15 July 2025, main applicants of all visa types will no longer receive a physical 90-day vignette (sticker) in their passports. Instead, they will receive a digital immigration status, an eVisa. This is one of the government’s ambitious plans to digitise the immigration system, hence making it more efficient, secure, and accessible to visa holders and organisations that need to check their immigration status.
→ Who will get to see the effect?
As of 15 July, the following groups of primary applicants will be given an eVisa only instead of the regular 90-day passport vignette: Students, including those on short-term courses of study lasting up to eleven months, Global Business Mobility applicants, Global Talent visa holders, international sportsmen, Trained workers such as those under the Health and Care Worker visa, Temporary Employees, Youth Mobility Scheme Participants.
This change only impacts primary applicants. Their dependents and children, if applicable, will continue to receive both a vignette and an eVisa, at least in the short term.
→ What Do Students and Workers Need to Do?
After their eVisa is approved, the applicants must undertake a series of required steps to authenticate their online immigration status and associate it with their travel and identification documents.
The following is what all students and workers need to do when they get their visa decision:
- Obey directions in the decision letter once their visa is approved:
- The applicants will be given a decision letter. The letter will have all the information required to set up a UKVI account. The account is needed to access and manage the eVisa.
- Verify and access the eVisa when they sign up with their UKVI account:
- Applicants must log in and download their eVisa, the official electronic immigration record. All personal and visa data must be verified to ensure they are accurate. Discrepancies must be reported immediately to prevent travel or compliance problems.
- Link Passport or Travel document before making their journey to the United Kingdom:
- The applicants must link their present passport or travel document to their eVisa. This is because UK immigration officials will confirm their immigration status through this detail. The process can be done online by visiting the following guidance page published by the UK government. Make sure your eVisa is correct prior to departure.
- Create a Share Code for Employers or Education Providers.
- The students and workers will also be required to have their immigration status verified at their school or their workplace. It is achieved through setting a share code, which, together with their date of birth, enables the school to access their immigration information.
→ Share code can be accessed at:
View and Prove Your Immigration Status
→ What is an eVis, and why the change?
An eVisa is a digital record of the immigration status of an individual, which is maintained by the UK Home Office. In many cases, it replaces the use of a physical vignette or a biometric residence permit. It helps in minimising loss of documents, avoids potential fraud and makes it easier for employers, universities, as well as border authorities, to confirm status.
Under the new system, the passengers will be able to update their status online and have the facility to make all the required updates, including passport number amendments, via their UKVI account.
→ Last Travel Reminder:
Travellers to the United Kingdom on the above-mentioned visa categories should ensure that all the above procedures are completed before leaving for their flight. The United Kingdom border control will utilise the attached passport and eVisa to verify your right of entry.
Organisations such as universities and employers will also ask you to show a valid share code to verify your right to study or work within the United Kingdom. This shift is a big development in the United Kingdom’s immigration reform. From 15 July 2025, most applicants will no longer even notice a visa sticker in their passport but will only use their eVisa and digital UKVI account. Staying up to date and taking prompt action after being given one’s visa decision is more crucial than ever. If you are to apply under any of the impacted visa categories, ensure you know about these new requirements and are prepared to go digital!
For more info, visit the official UK government site:
→ https://www.gov.uk
