UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) is moving towards digitisation of the immigration system in 2024. Your visa may be issued as a physical document, a digital document, or a combination of both, during this period.
- Biometric Residence Permit (BRP). A BRP is a physical ID card with your visa details printed onto it. Not everyone who is issued with a Student visa will have a BRP, and you do not need to apply for it separately. If you are issued with a BRP, this will only be valid until 31 December 2024 at the latest, and will be replaced by an eVisa. Your true visa end date will be shown on your visa decision letter (see below).
- eVisa. An eVisa is an online record of your immigration status. The eVisa will replace the need for physical visa documents.
- Vignette. A vignette is a visa sticker placed in your passport following a successful entry clearance application (an application made from outside the UK).
- Visa decision letter. Successful visa application decisions are issued via a letter (physical document accompanying your passport or PDF delivered via email). This states key information such as your visa expiry date and BRP collection location, if applicable.
If you are already in the UK and have a BRP, you will need to create a UKVI account to access your eVisa before 31 December 2024. After 31 December 2024, you will use your eVisa for travel purposes and to demonstrate your right to study, work and rent property in the UK. Please read follow the UK Visas and Immigration guidance on accessing your eVisa account.
When your visa is issued after applying in the UK (visa extension)
New Biometric Residence Permits are no longer being issued. Any new visa that you obtain will be issued as a digital status (eVisa), and you will be able to view your immigration status online. You will be able to generate a sharecode which you must provide to the University, so that we can verify your immigration status. If you are registering on a new course you will need to take your passport to in-person registration, and we will ask you to complete a Microsoft Form to provide your sharecode and your visa decision email from UKVI.
When your student visa is issued overseas (entry clearance)
If you are a national of an EU country, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland and you applied via the 'UK Immigration: ID Check' app, you will receive an eVisa only.
Students of other nationalities may receive both a BRP and an eVisa. From November 2024, no new BRPs are being issued.
If you are issued with an eVisa, you will be able to view your immigration status online. You will be able to generate a sharecode which you must provide to the University, so that we can verify your immigration status. If you are registering on a new course you will need to take your passport to in-person registration, and we will ask you to complete a Microsoft Form to provide your sharecode and your visa decision email from UKVI.
If you are issued with a BRP, please see below for guidance on collecting your BRP on arrival to the UK.
You will also receive a
visa decision letter which you should show to the border officer on arrival to the UK, along with your passport and vignette. This visa decision letter will state your visa expiry date, and if you have a BRP card to collect, and if you have an eVisa.
Collecting your BRP
New BRPs are no longer being produced, but if you have a BRP which you have not yet collected which is being delivered to the University, you can collect it at the same time as completing your in-person registration. Your appointment must place no later than three weeks after your course start date in order to meet the registration deadline. Please remember to bring your passport and visa decision letter.
If you have dependant family members whose BRPs have been delivered to the University, you should bring their passports and you can collect them at the same time.
Book an appointment to register on a new course and collect your BRP
Please only book one appointment. If you need to cancel or change the time of the appointment, there is a link to do so in the appointment confirmation email.
Appointments take place at Cherry Tree Lodge, building number 13 on the University Park campus map.
If your BRP collection location stated on your Visa Decision Letter is a Post Office, you should collect it from there and take it with you to your in-person registration appointment.
Current students
Students who are currently registered and contuining a course of study in the 2024/25 academic year, with a BRP being delivered to the University, can collect this from Cherry Tree Lodge by prior appointment. You must bring your passport and the passports of any Dependants for whom you are collecting a BRP.
Checking your BRP
It is essential to carefully check that the information on your BRP is accurate and promptly report any errors via the Home Office website, within 10 days of receiving it. You must correct any errors on the BRP card before setting up a UKVI account to access an evisa (if you do not already have an eVisa). Otherwise the error will transfer to your eVisa and it is a more complex UKVI process to get this corrected.
- Check your visa end date, which should include the full duration of your course plus a 'wrap-up period'. See our visa duration page for guidance on how long this should be. Make a note of your visa expiry date – if you need to apply for a new visa you will need to do this before your current visa expires.
- BRP holders studying a course of 12 months or more will see their BRP expiry date is 31 December 2024 as UK Visas and Immigration are moving all visa holders to an eVisa in 2024. You MUST check your visa decision letter or email for the true end date of your visa. See the information above on accessing your eVisa.
- Check the biographical details (such as name, date of birth and nationality) are correct.
- Check the sponsor licence number is correct - the University of Nottingham sponsor licence number is RFDX42DB2.
- Check how many hours you are allowed to work in the UK during term-time, which should be 20 hours per week, or 10 hours per week for students studying courses below degree level.
You also need to ensure that you understand and abide by the conditions of your visa (such as registering with the police, if applicable) as this is your responsibility.
If you report BRP errors and are issued with a new corrected BRP, you must take the new BRP card to Cherry Tree Lodge to be scanned.
Find out more about BRPs on the UK government website.
Book an appointment to have your BRP scanned
Keeping your BRP safe and when to carry it
You still need to carry your BRP with you if you are traveling and will be re-entering the UK prior to 31 December 2024. You should also ensure you have set up access to your eVisa account. Your BRP is a very important document, proving your rights to stay, study and work in the UK, so keep it in a safe place. Take a photograph of the front and back of your BRP for your reference.
You do not need to carry your BRP in your purse or wallet, and we strongly recommend keeping both your BRP and passport in your room instead, to avoid losing them. If you lose your BRP, you will need to apply and pay for a new one, which is costly and can take a long time. Each year we have students whose vacation time travel plans are impacted by having lost their BRP.
Only carry your BRP when you need to show it as proof of your immigration status. This includes:
You will be more likely to lose your BRP if you frequently carry it with you to use as proof of your age/ID. Consider applying for an alternative proof of age evidence so that you are not tempted to carry your passport and BRP around with you. One such scheme is the Citizen Card, which is endorsed by the Home Office.*
*We encourage you to do your own research about proof of age cards and the Visa and Immigration team cannot endorse or recommend a particular card or help with the application process.
Lost, stolen or damaged BRPs
Lost, damaged or stolen BRPs no longer need to be replaced.Instead, ensure you have set up access to your eVisa so that you can view and prove your immigration status.