Asylum seekers will continue to use the Application Registration Card (ARC). An eVisa will not be issued if you are in the asylum process. An eVisa is for those who received permission to stay in the UK (leave to remain). If you are granted leave to remain following a positive asylum decision, you will need an eVisa at that point. If you are awaiting a decision on your asylum claim, provide your phone number and email address to the Home Office as soon as possible using the asylumcentralcommunicationshub@contactus.homeoffice.gov.uk inbox. Those acting on your behalf, such as your solicitor (if the Home Office doesn’t have an up-to-date Letter of Authority) should also use the inbox and attach a Letter of Authority to the email address. 

The UK government has plans to replace physical ARC with a digital format in 2026. However, there is no clear timeline for this. Until then, ARCs will continue to be issued to individuals claiming asylum. 

Keep your expired BRP card safe with you as a personal record. You may need your BRP for future applications to stay in the UK.

If your BRP is lost or stolen, you can no longer get a replacement BRP. You must report it to the Home Office if your BRP is lost or stolen. If you have a passport and visa application number, you can use these to create your UKVI account/eVisa. If you don’t have a passport then you may need to attend a video interview with the Home Office to verify your identity. If you have no passport and your BRP is lost/stolen/ damaged complete the online form: Request your reference number or book a video appointment to get access to your eVisa.

Try contacting the Home Office Resolution Centre on 0300 790 6268 or webchat first. You may be directed to set up your eVisa access without a BRP instead. You may be asked to go to: Get access to your online immigration status (eVisa). On that page select the option: ‘I was last granted permission to come to or stay in the UK before 1st November 2024’. When asked ‘Have you ever had a biometric residence permit (BRP)’, select the option: ‘I am waiting for my first BRP’. Follow the next questions. If you don’t have a visa application number or a passport the form will take you to another form: Request your reference number or book a video appointment to get access to your eVisa.

Complete the form by answering the questions and providing as much information as possible. You will be asked for details about yourself, your email or postal address and you will need to upload a photo. The form has a question ‘Is there anything else you can tell us that may help us find your record?’. Add as much detail here as you can, including the date of your asylum claim, the date of the decision or any reference numbers. Once you submit the form, take note of the request number. The Home Office stated that they will review the request and email you, which can take up to 10 working days. In practice, it often takes longer than 10 days. 

Currently it is not possible to use a Home Office issued travel document such as a refugee travel document to create a UKVI account. You will need to use your BRP to set-up eVisa access and apply for a Home Office issued travel document.

If you are travelling and returning to the UK after 31 December 2024, use your eVisa and travel document. Examples of travel documents include a national passport or a Home Office issued travel document, such as a Refugee Travel document. If you have an eVisa make sure to check all the details are correct: Check your eVisa is correct before you travel.

If you have an eVisa, before travel you should:  

• Check all your details are correct: Check your eVisa is correct before you travel

• Get your share code before travel and save the share code number  

• Carry your expired biometric residence permit and travel document 

If you don’t have an eVisa yet, the Home Office advised passengers travelling to and from the UK to carry their expired BRP card until 31 March 2025 as long as their leave to remain (permission to stay in the UK) has not expired. Carriers (e.g. airlines) should accept BRP cards expired on 31 Dec 2024 as evidence of permission to travel until 31 March 2025.  Find out more information on GOV.UK Media factsheet: eVisas. You may still get into complications or delays if you travel without an eVisa and an expired BRP card. 

If you have an eVisa/ UKVI account, you need to get the share code from the online service: view and prove your immigration status: get a share code. Once you sign into your UKVI account, you will have a ‘Get a share code’ option. The online service will ask you why you need a share code. You will have three options to choose from, these are:

• ‘To prove my right to work’
• ‘To prove my right to rent in England’
• ‘To prove my immigration status for anything else’

Make sure to choose the right option. For example, if you are using the share code to open a bank account, choose ‘To prove my immigration status for anything else’ option to generate a share code. Give the share code and your date of birth to the checker. They will use the online service: check someone’s immigration status: use their share code to check your immigration status. 

The share code is a 9-character unique code made up of numbers and letters. It is valid for 90 days. You can reuse it as many times in that 90-day period. 

A share code is a 9-character unique code made up of numbers and letters that verifies your right to work in the UK. You need to generate a share code first and then give this to your employer who will check your right to work. 

If you have an eVisa/ UKVI account, you need to get the share code from the online service: view and prove your immigration status: get a share code. Once you sign into your UKVI account, make sure to select ‘To prove my right to work’ option to generate a share code.  

If you have a BRP but not a UKVI / eVisa account, you need to get the share code using the online service: prove your right to work to an employer. You can use your BRP card to generate a share code until the end of 2025, provided your leave to remain is still valid.

Give the share code to the employer along with your date of birth. Once the employer has the share code and date of birth from you, they will check your right to work online. 

You may find it hard to set-up e-Visa access on your own. This could be due to your age, disability, mental health condition, homelessness, English language skills, or other vulnerabilities such as being a victim of domestic abuse or human trafficking. The Home Office has funded organisations across the UK to help you set-up your eVisa.

In Scotland, organisations that can help you set-up eVisa are:  

• Citizens Advice Scotland: can provide a face-to-face appointment with an interpreter to help you with your eVisa. Use the online postcode tool to Find your local Citizens Advice Bureau and contact them to check if they can help you.
• Positive Action in Housing (PAIH)
• Citizens Rights Project

You can find their contact details from the list of organisations who can support you with eVisa.

There are also other community groups and organisations who are helping people set up their eVisa. If you would like to help someone else with their eVisa, check out the Right to Remain information on how to support someone with the transition to eVisas.

There are different ways to contact the Home Office and report a problem with your eVisa. 

• If any details on your eVisa are incorrect (like your name, date of birth, or leave to remain status), please report an error with your eVisa
• If you have problems viewing or proving your immigration status or right to work, you can call the Home Office Resolution Centre: 0300 790 6268 
• You can also use the webchat function to get answers for low level issues and questions. A chatbot will respond to these 
• If you are unhappy with the Home Office service, you can make a complaint: UKVI complaints procedure