Why does my Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) card expiry date on 31/12/2024?

After you have been granted a UK visa and receive or collect your BRP card, you may notice that the BRP card expiry date is 31/12/2024. This is despite your UK leave/permission having been granted for a longer period.

This is due to the UKVI plans to phase out the use of physical BRP cards in 2024 and move to an electronic record keeping system. Therefore, 31/12/2024 is likely to be only the expiry date of the card and not of your visa. Your status and its conditions will not be affected as a result. You do not need to report this to the UKVI who intend to provide further information to those affected by 2024. You should refer to the expiry date stated in your decision letter or email received at the time of grant of your latest visa.

As a BRP visa holder, you may also use the specified government pages to prove your right to rent or right to work which reflect the actual duration of your leave in the UK.

 

How will you prove your status after 31/12/2024?

Since the UKVI will be replacing physical BRP cards with a new system by this date, instead you will have access to a personal UKVI online account with the details of your immigration status which can also be used to prove your rights in the UK such as working, studying, and renting in the UK. This is expected to be a similar system to the currently available to EU nationals under the EU Settlement Scheme, who do not hold a BRP card and instead can view their UK status via the government website.

This change reflects the Home Office intentions of moving the majority of its operations to an online system which we have observed in the recent years, with the introduction of the UKVI ID verification app available for some applicants and the ‘share code’ verification system in place for some visa routes and/or nationalities.

This is by all means a welcome change and should avoid having to correct details on BRP’s, paying for replacements when lost and updated documents when personal details change such as to a married name. These details will be reported and reflect electronically instead.

In conclusion, the UKVI will provide more information in 2024 and you do not need to report the expiry on 31/12/2024 or do anything at this stage.

If your BRP card expiry date is anything other than 31/12/2024 which does not look correct or where it does not match your decision letter/email, please contact us for advice as this may be an error requiring a correction report to the UKVI.

 

Contacts

Branch Austin McCormick are global immigration specialists in assisting organisations and individuals.

For further information on the issues raised, please contact Sofia Marques Anaya.

sm@branchaustinmccormick.com

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