UK eVisa Glasgow: Access and Prove Your Digital Immigration Status 2026

What is a UK eVisa?

A UK eVisa is the digital record of your immigration status in the United Kingdom. It is not an email, not a PDF, and not a document you print out. Your status is held in a UKVI account, accessible through the Home Office website. When an employer in Glasgow asks whether you have the right to work, or a landlord in Paisley asks for proof of your right to rent, you do not hand over a physical card. You log into your UKVI account, generate a nine-character share code, and give that code to them. They enter it on the Home Office checking service and see your current status and conditions on screen.

The eVisa is the successor to the Biometric Residence Permit. Since 2 June 2025, all UK immigration status is held digitally. Every foreign national living in the UK who is not a British or Irish citizen now has their status recorded this way, whether they applied for it recently or held a BRP that was converted to a digital record.

For Glasgow residents and those across the west of Scotland, this change is practical and immediate. It affects whether you can start a new job, sign a rental agreement, or board a flight. Understanding how your UKVI account works is no longer optional. This page explains the system, what you need to do to access it, and how we help when something goes wrong.

The end of the Biometric Residence Permit

Biometric Residence Permits were the standard physical proof of UK immigration status for non-EEA nationals from 2008 onward. They have now been replaced. Since 2 June 2025, the BRP is no longer the primary record of your status. The Home Office converted existing BRP holders to the eVisa system, and new grants of leave are issued digitally without a physical card.

Your old BRP is not valid for international travel. If you attempt to board a flight using an expired BRP as your only proof of status, you risk being refused boarding. You must use your current valid passport for travel, and the eVisa linked to that passport in your UKVI account handles your status check at the border.

There is a transitional period running for roughly 18 months from 2 June 2025. During this period, an expired BRP may be accepted for some purposes, such as helping to set up a UKVI account or as a supporting document for an in-person status check in certain circumstances. But for digital right-to-work and right-to-rent share code checks, the share code from your UKVI account is what an employer or landlord in Glasgow should be accepting. The BRP is not a substitute.

If you held a BRP and have not yet created a UKVI account, you should do this as soon as possible. Your immigration status itself has not changed. What has changed is how you access and prove it.

How to create your UKVI account

You create a UKVI account at gov.uk. The process runs through the Government Gateway, which is the single login system the Home Office uses for online services. If you already have a Government Gateway account, you use those credentials. If not, you create one with an email address.

To link your immigration status to the account, you need a biometric document (your current passport or, if you have one, your BRP) and a reference number from a previous immigration application. The Home Office identity verification step uses either the UKVI app on a smartphone, which reads the chip in your passport, or an alternative document verification route if you do not have a compatible device.

Once your account is set up, your current leave, its conditions and its expiry date should be visible. You should check that what is showing matches your actual permission. If the dates or conditions are wrong, do not ignore it. Incorrect status will cause share code failures at exactly the moments you need them: starting a job in Glasgow, signing a lease in Paisley, or boarding a flight home for a family visit.

Common points where the setup process fails include: using the wrong reference number, an identity verification failure through the app, and email addresses that are no longer accessible. We help Glasgow clients through each of these problems.

Share codes: proving your status to employers and landlords

A share code is a nine-character reference you generate from your UKVI account. You give it to the person who needs to check your status, along with your date of birth. They enter both on the Home Office online checking service and see your current immigration status on their screen. The check is instant and the result is definitive.

There are three types of share code, and using the wrong one is a surprisingly common problem:

• Right-to-work share code: for employers carrying out a statutory right-to-work check before hiring you. This is the code a Glasgow employer will ask for.
• Right-to-rent share code: for landlords and letting agents carrying out a statutory right-to-rent check before you sign a tenancy agreement anywhere in England. Note that right-to-rent checks apply in England only; they do not currently apply to tenancies in Scotland, including Glasgow and Paisley, but landlords may still ask for status evidence voluntarily.
• Travel or carrier check code: for airlines, ferry operators and Eurostar, who may need to verify your status before boarding.

Each share code is valid for 90 days from the date it is generated. You generate a new code each time one is needed. You do not give an employer or landlord your UKVI account login. You do not share screen access to your account. You generate the code and pass only that nine-character reference.

If a Glasgow employer or letting agent insists on seeing a physical BRP rather than accepting a valid share code, they may be operating on outdated guidance. The Home Office right-to-work and right-to-rent checking services are the compliant method for digital status holders. We can provide a written explanation of the correct procedure to any employer or letting agent that needs it.

What to do when you renew your passport

Your eVisa is linked to the travel document you registered when you created your UKVI account. When you renew your passport, the link in your account still points to your old passport number. If you do not update it, share codes fail, because the document an employer sees in the check does not match the passport you hand over. You may also be unable to check in for international travel, because the eVisa linked to your old passport number is what the carrier checks against.

The fix is straightforward but must be done promptly. Log into your UKVI account as soon as you receive your new passport and update your travel document details. The update takes effect immediately. Once it is done, generate a test share code and check it returns your correct status before you next need it for a job start or a tenancy in Glasgow.

If the passport update does not work correctly, for example because the identity verification step fails with the new document, contact us. This is a fixable problem, but it needs to be fixed before a job or a rental falls through because of it.

eVisa and the EU Settlement Scheme

EU, EEA and Swiss nationals with EU Settlement Scheme status have always held their immigration permission digitally. EUSS settled status and pre-settled status were never issued on a BRP or a physical card. Your EUSS status has always been accessed through a UKVI account and proved through share codes.

If you have EUSS status and have not yet created a UKVI account, or if you moved to a new email address and can no longer log in, you should act now. Employers in Glasgow and landlords across Scotland are familiar with share codes for EUSS holders. The process is the same as for any other eVisa: log in, generate the right code, pass it to the person checking.

If your EUSS status is showing incorrectly, for example it shows pre-settled status when you have already been granted settled status, or it shows an old grant rather than an updated one, that is a status accuracy problem rather than an access problem. We advise on the correct route to request a correction and, where needed, refer to a qualified representative for a formal status dispute. See our EU Settlement Scheme page for more on EUSS rights, late applications, and the family reunion route.

Indefinite Leave to Remain and eVisa

Holders of Indefinite Leave to Remain also have their settled status recorded in the eVisa system. If you hold ILR and have set up your UKVI account, your account should show that your leave is indefinite, with no expiry date. Share codes generated from an ILR eVisa confirm permanent right to work or rent.

If you hold ILR that was granted before the eVisa transition and have not yet set up a UKVI account, your ILR is not at risk. But without an active account you cannot generate share codes, which means you cannot complete digital right-to-work checks for employers in Glasgow or right-to-rent checks for landlords in England. Set up the account using your most recent travel document and your ILR application reference number.

For the full route to ILR via the partner route, the five-year continuous residence requirement, and the absences and English tests that apply, see our Indefinite Leave to Remain page.

Common eVisa and UKVI account problems

Most problems we see from Glasgow and west of Scotland clients fall into one of five categories:

• Status not showing: your UKVI account is active but your current leave is not displaying. This often happens when the linking step used the wrong reference number, or when a new grant of leave has not yet been linked to the account.
• Locked account: three failed login attempts locks the Government Gateway account. Recovery is through the Government Gateway itself using the email address registered to the account. If that email address is no longer accessible, the fix is more involved.
• Share code failure: the share code generates but the Home Office checking service returns no result or an incorrect result. Usually caused by a passport number mismatch after a renewal, or by a status-not-linked issue.
• Wrong status displayed: the account shows a different grant, wrong expiry date, or wrong conditions than you actually hold. This needs a status correction, not just an account fix.
• Passport link failure after renewal: the most common practical problem we see, and the one most likely to cause an urgent job-start or tenancy problem. Fixed by updating the travel document in UKVI account settings.

For each of these, the right approach is different. We diagnose the cause, advise the correct fix, and where a problem needs direct UKVI Helpline contact, we liaise on your behalf. Glasgow clients often need this resolved quickly because a job offer or a tenancy is waiting.

Guidance for Glasgow employers and landlords

If you are an employer in Glasgow or a landlord anywhere in Scotland and you need to check a worker or tenant’s immigration status, the share code system is how you do it for eVisa holders. The Home Office has published separate online checking services for right-to-work and right-to-rent checks.

For a right-to-work check: ask the employee to generate a right-to-work share code from their UKVI account. They give you the nine-character code and their date of birth. You enter both on the Home Office online right-to-work checking service. The result shows you the person’s current permission, whether they can work, and any conditions on their work.

Keep a record of the check. The Home Office recommends a screenshot or printed copy of the result with the date recorded. This is your defence against a civil penalty if a question arises later about the check you conducted.

If a worker or tenant cannot generate a working share code, do not proceed on the basis of a physical BRP alone. An expired BRP is not a compliant right-to-work check under current Home Office guidance. Contact the Home Office Employer Checking Service for cases where status cannot be confirmed online, or ask the worker to resolve the account issue with our help first.

We provide a specific advice service for Glasgow employers and landlords who need a clear explanation of their checking obligations and how the eVisa system meets them. Call 0141 496 0321.

Entering the UK and travelling with an eVisa

Your eVisa is checked electronically at the border when you arrive in the UK. Your passport is scanned, and your eVisa linked to that passport number is retrieved. You do not print anything or carry a separate document. This is why keeping your UKVI account passport details up to date after any renewal matters: if your account still shows your old passport number, the border check may not locate your eVisa correctly.

When you book a flight or travel on a ferry or Eurostar, some carriers may ask you to check your eVisa status before travel, particularly for routes from outside the UK. You can generate a carrier share code from your UKVI account to confirm your status. Carriers who need to verify your leave before boarding use this code in the same way an employer uses a right-to-work code.

If you are travelling to a country that requires a visa, and that country’s embassy asks for evidence of your UK immigration status, a screenshot of your UKVI account status page or a printed share code result may be acceptable. Check the specific requirements of the embassy or consulate involved. We can advise on how to obtain and present your status evidence in a form that is useful for a third-country visa application.

For those applying for entry clearance from abroad, including dependants of Glasgow sponsors who are joining their family in the UK, see our entry clearance page.

What to do if you have no BRP and cannot set up your account

If you never received a BRP, or you lost it before the eVisa transition, you can still create a UKVI account. You need a biometric passport and a reference number from a previous immigration application. Acceptable reference numbers include the GWF number from a previous application, the case reference from a decision letter, or the reference from a visa vignette.

If you have none of these, the Home Office has a process for tracing your immigration history and issuing a status verification letter. The process can take time. If you are facing an urgent right-to-work or right-to-rent deadline in Glasgow, contact us. We can advise whether the Employer Checking Service or the Landlord Checking Service provides a short-term solution while the account is being set up.

For people who only ever held a visa vignette in a passport and were never issued a BRP, the UKVI account setup uses the vignette details and the application reference. If the vignette passport has expired, you should still be able to use the vignette reference alongside your current passport. We handle this type of account setup regularly for Glasgow clients.

Cost of creating a UKVI account and accessing your eVisa

Creating a UKVI account and accessing your eVisa is free. The Home Office charges no fee to set up an account, view your status, or generate share codes. If you are being charged by a third party to “obtain” an eVisa, that is either a scam or a misrepresentation of what the service is. The account is yours to create at gov.uk at no cost.

Our service fees cover advice, guided account setup, problem resolution, and employer or landlord briefing. These are professional assistance fees, not Home Office fees. We are transparent about what we charge before any work begins. For most account setup and problem-resolution work, our fees are modest because the underlying process is straightforward once you know the steps. The cost is in knowing which step went wrong and how to fix it.

If your UKVI account problem turns out to be a status error that requires a formal correction from the Home Office, the correction itself is handled by the Home Office at no fee to you. Our fee covers the work of identifying the error, drafting the correction request, and following it through.

The eVisa transition: what changed in 2025 and 2026

The move from BRPs to eVisas was phased over several years. The key date is 2 June 2025, from which all UK immigration status has been held digitally. Existing BRP holders had their status converted. New grants of leave are digital from the outset.

The transitional window of roughly 18 months from 2 June 2025 means that for certain purposes an expired BRP may still be used as a supporting document, particularly during the initial phase of account creation. The Home Office has not published a precise end date for the transitional period, so the position may be clarified by further guidance before the window closes.

For employers and landlords, the practical effect has been a shift in checking procedures. Some businesses in Glasgow and across Scotland took time to update their onboarding processes. Anyone still using pre-transition checklists that require a physical BRP should update their procedures. The Home Office guidance on online right-to-work and right-to-rent checking is the authoritative reference.

We monitor Home Office guidance on the eVisa transition and update our advice accordingly. If you are unsure whether a recent development affects your account or your rights, call 0141 496 0321 for an up-to-date assessment.

If your status is disputed or incorrect

Most eVisa problems are technical: access issues, account errors, passport mismatches. These are resolved administratively. But some clients face a more serious situation: the UKVI account shows a status that does not match what they were granted, or they believe their leave has been curtailed or cancelled without proper notice.

If your status is showing as expired when you believe it is still valid, or if your conditions have changed without explanation, do not generate share codes and hope for the best. A right-to-work check done against an incorrect status could create problems for both you and your employer. The first step is to get a clear picture of what the Home Office records show and why.

As a registered immigration practice we advise on what your current status means, whether the UKVI record is correct, and the appropriate route to request a correction or clarification. Where a status dispute requires a formal legal challenge, such as a judicial review of a curtailment decision, we refer to a qualified representative with the authority to bring those proceedings. Our role is to make sure you understand your position, know your options, and reach the right person for the next step.

How UK Visa Assistance helps Glasgow clients with eVisa

UK Visa Assistance is based in Glasgow and works with individuals, families, employers and landlords across the city and the wider west of Scotland, including Paisley, Renfrew, Clydebank, East Kilbride and beyond. The eVisa transition has created a new category of practical problem for the immigrant communities we serve, including Glasgow’s Pakistani, Indian, Nigerian, Chinese, and Eastern European communities. The problem is rarely the underlying immigration status. The problem is access to it.

We help with:

• Setting up a UKVI account for the first time, from Government Gateway registration through to a verified live share code
• Diagnosing and resolving account access problems: locked accounts, linked email issues, identity verification failures
• Passport updates after renewal, including verifying the new document is correctly linked
• Share code generation and explaining to Glasgow clients which code an employer or landlord actually needs
• Advising employers and landlords on the correct checking procedure and what a compliant check looks like
• Status accuracy reviews, where the UKVI account does not correctly reflect the leave granted
• Preparing the written material needed to request a status correction from the Home Office

There is no Home Office fee for any of this. Our fixed service fees are agreed in advance. To speak to a Glasgow immigration adviser about your eVisa or UKVI account, call 0141 496 0321 or request a callback from our contact page.