eVisa: How to View and Prove Your UK Immigration Status

This guide is for people who have just moved to the United Kingdom on a visa or with settlement and now need to show their immigration status to an employer, a landlord or anyone else who asks. By the end, you will know how to get into your eVisa, what it shows, and how to generate a share code that proves your status.

• What an eVisa is and who gets one
• Setting up your UKVI account
• Confirming your identity and linking your eVisa
• Viewing your eVisa and getting a share code
• Proving your right to work
• When something goes wrong
• FAQ

What an eVisa is and who gets one

An eVisa is a digital record of your identity and immigration status, such as the type of visa you hold or whether you have indefinite leave to remain. It also records the conditions attached to that status, for example whether you can work or study. According to the GOV.UK eVisa page, you receive one when you successfully apply for a visa or another type of permission to be in the UK, and eVisas have replaced physical immigration documents. Setting up access and viewing your eVisa costs nothing.

Older documents still have a role. A biometric residence card (BRC) may still be usable in some situations, and a visa vignette, the sticker in your passport, stays valid until it expires.

Not everyone needs an eVisa. Visitors with an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) do not, and neither do people whose permission to stay covers the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or Gibraltar.

Setting up your UKVI account

Access runs through a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account. The GOV.UK guide to getting access makes one point that families often miss: a partner and children joining someone in the UK as dependants each need their own UKVI account.

Plenty of newcomers already have an account without realising it. You will have one if you have ever used the UK Immigration: ID Check app during a visa application, created an account while applying (you would have received a confirmation email), replaced a BRP or BRC with an eVisa, or applied to the EU Settlement Scheme. The guidance says not to create a second account. Anyone unsure can try signing in to view their eVisa first.

Creating a new account requires a phone number and an email address that you can use every time you sign in. You also need one of the following, if you have them:

• a valid passport and your visa application number, known as a GWF or UAN number
• a valid passport and your biometric residence permit (BRP) number
• your expired BRP, which works for 24 months after the expiry date printed on the card or until 31 December 2026, whichever comes first

Confirming your identity and linking your eVisa

Once the account exists, the service asks you to confirm your identity and link the account to your eVisa. That link is essential, because you cannot see your eVisa until it is in place. If it was skipped during account creation, it can be added later.

Identity checks use a smartphone app. Another route exists for people who have neither a valid passport nor an expired BRP, and for those who cannot use a smartphone or the app.

Someone else can help create an account for a person who cannot use the internet, and can manage it when acting on their behalf, for example for their child or under a power of attorney. The helper signs up with their own phone number and email. When the person can manage the account themselves, or a child turns 18, GOV.UK says the details should be updated to that person’s own.

Viewing your eVisa and getting a share code

Your eVisa shows your identity, your status and the rights that come with it, such as working, renting or claiming benefits. To view your eVisa and get a share code, you sign in with the document details linked to your account: a passport, a national identity card, a BRC (valid or expired), an expired BRP or a UKVI customer number. You also need access to the mobile number or email address registered for sign-in.

A share code proves your status to employers, landlords and others, and it can be used when you travel. You give the other person the code together with your date of birth, without showing them the eVisa itself. They will see some of your personal details, and the service tells you which ones when it generates the code.

Each code lasts 90 days. It can be used as many times as needed before it expires, and a fresh one can be generated whenever you need it.

GOV.UK says the account should be updated before you get a share code if you have changed your name or nationality, or if you cannot be recognised from your current photo. Travelling on an eVisa also requires adding your passport or travel document details.

Proving your right to work

Employers need proof of your right to work before you start. The GOV.UK right to work guidance says that people who are not British or Irish citizens can use either a share code or their eligible immigration documents. The choice belongs to the worker, and an employer cannot reject an application because it received an eligible immigration document instead of a share code.

People with right of abode can use a certificate of entitlement, either a vignette in their passport or a digital certificate in their UKVI account shared through a share code. If a worker who is not British or Irish cannot prove their right to work, the employer can use the employer checking service.

When something goes wrong

GOV.UK asks you to report an error if your eVisa is wrong, for example showing the wrong date of birth or immigration status, or if you can view it but cannot get a share code. If the eVisa does not appear at all, the first check is whether account setup was finished. Separate services exist to prove your right to work or right to rent without an eVisa.

For sign-in trouble, there is a service to recover a UKVI account. Other questions can go to UKVI webchat, and GOV.UK publishes eVisa support videos. None of these services advise on individual cases. For a question about your own immigration position, the route is an adviser regulated by the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) or a solicitor regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

FAQ

Do I have to pay to get my eVisa?

No. GOV.UK states that you do not need to pay to set up a UKVI account or to access your eVisa.

How long does a share code last?

A share code lasts 90 days. You can use it as many times as you need before it expires and generate a new one whenever you need one.

Do my partner and children need their own accounts?

Yes. A partner and children joining you in the UK as dependants each need their own UKVI account to access their eVisa. A parent can manage a child’s account with the parent’s own contact details, which should be updated to the child’s when the child reaches 18.

Can I still use my expired BRP?

For creating a UKVI account, an expired BRP can be used for 24 months after the expiry date printed on the card or until 31 December 2026, whichever comes first. It is also one of the listed details for signing in to view your eVisa.

Official sources: gov.uk · gov.uk · gov.uk · gov.uk

Last verified: 26 September 2026 against the official pages linked above. Rules and fees change; the official page always wins.

This is general information, not legal or immigration advice. Immigration advice in the UK may only be given by advisers regulated by the OISC or by solicitors regulated by the SRA.