The majority of Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs) issued to overseas nationals to evidence their immigration permission and EU Settlement Scheme Biometric Residence Cards (BRCs) are set to expire on 31 December 2024 as part of the Home Office’s transition towards a fully digital immigration system.
This is the case even where an individual's underlying permission to stay in the UK continues beyond this date.
In a recent Parliamentary statement, the Home Office has addressed the growing concerns regarding BRP and BRC holders travelling outside the UK after 31 December 2024 and the fear that they may encounter difficulties re-entering the UK. While many BRP and BRC holders will now have access to their digital eVisa, not everyone has created their digital UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) accounts and accessed their eVisa and therefore some overseas nationals are still relying on their BRPs and BRCs as the only proof of their immigration permission.
To ease these worries, the Home Office has announced that BRPs and BRCs expiring on or after 31 December 2024 may still be used to evidence an individual’s permission to re-enter the UK until at least 31 March 2025.
Individuals should therefore retain their expired BRPs and BRCs and continue to carry these when travelling outside of the UK. We recommend that travellers also carry printed copies of their:
- Home Office approval letters; and
- eVisas (if available).
Nonetheless, those who have not yet created their online UKVI accounts and accessed their eVisas should still do so as soon as possible, using this link.
Further information is available here: Written statements - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament
Kerry Garcia
Grace King