What is a UKVI account?

A UKVI account is an online account with UK Visas and Immigration, part of the Home Office. You need it to view your eVisa, which records your UK immigration status, and to get a share code that proves that status to others. GOV.UK says setting it up and viewing your eVisa are free.

How a UKVI account works

UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) is part of the Home Office. It is responsible for decisions on who has the right to visit or stay in the UK.^{[7]Home Office, About us - UK Visas and Immigration} A UKVI account is your personal online account with it. You need the account to reach your eVisa, the digital record of your identity and immigration status.^{[1]Home Office, eVisas: Set up a UKVI account to access your eVisa}

The account is free. GOV.UK says you do not need to pay to set up a UKVI account or to access your eVisa.^{[2]Home Office, eVisas: access and use your online immigration status} You can also use the account to get a share code. A share code proves your immigration status to people such as employers or landlords. It lasts for 90 days and you can use it as many times as you need before it expires.^{[3]Home Office, eVisas: View your eVisa and get a share code to prove your immigration status}

If your partner and children are joining you in the UK as dependants, each of them needs their own UKVI account to reach their own eVisa.^{[1]Home Office, eVisas: Set up a UKVI account to access your eVisa}

Who needs one

You can use the service to access an eVisa if you have any visa for the UK or settlement, which is also called indefinite leave to remain. It also covers a digital record of exemption, for example for a diplomat, and a digital certificate of entitlement if you have right of abode.^{[1]Home Office, eVisas: Set up a UKVI account to access your eVisa}

Some people can choose. If you have a physical immigration document with no expiry date that proves settlement, you can decide whether to get an eVisa. If you have a valid visa vignette in your passport, the same is true.^{[1]Home Office, eVisas: Set up a UKVI account to access your eVisa}

You do not need an eVisa if you are visiting the UK with an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) or if you have permission to stay in the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or Gibraltar.^{[1]Home Office, eVisas: Set up a UKVI account to access your eVisa}

Setting one up

First check whether you already have an account. GOV.UK says you already have one if you have ever used the UK Immigration: ID Check app, created an account when applying for a visa, replaced a physical document such as a biometric residence permit with an eVisa or applied to the EU Settlement Scheme. If you already have one, you should not create another.^{[1]Home Office, eVisas: Set up a UKVI account to access your eVisa}

To create an account you need a phone number and an email address that you can use each time you sign in. You also need one of the following, if you have it:

• a valid passport and your visa application number
• a valid passport and your BRP number
• your expired BRP, within the dates GOV.UK gives

After you create the account you are asked to confirm your identity and link the account to your eVisa. You cannot see your eVisa until you have done both. You need a smartphone to install the app that confirms your identity. If you have no valid passport or expired BRP, or you cannot use a smartphone or the app, you can confirm your identity another way.^{[1]Home Office, eVisas: Set up a UKVI account to access your eVisa}

Once the eVisa is linked you can usually see it straight away, but it can take up to 24 hours.^{[2]Home Office, eVisas: access and use your online immigration status}

If you started a visa application and want to return to it, you sign in using the link in your registration email. You may not be able to sign in if you have not returned to your application for over 10 weeks. A password must be at least 10 characters long and contain at least 3 of these: an uppercase letter, a lowercase letter, a number and a symbol.^{[5]Home Office, How to sign in to continue your visa application}

Keeping it up to date

You should update your account if you change your passport or travel document, name, mobile phone number, email address, home address or postal address. You can also correct your date of birth, add or change a nationality, add another passport and change your photo.^{[4]Home Office, eVisas: Update your details in your UKVI account}

If your account is not up to date you might have delays when you travel or while you wait for a visa decision.^{[4]Home Office, eVisas: Update your details in your UKVI account} You cannot change your name or your passport or travel document while a visa application is waiting for a decision.^{[4]Home Office, eVisas: Update your details in your UKVI account}

If you travel, your account must hold the passport or travel document you will use. Your carrier may not let you travel if your details are wrong.^{[6]Home Office, eVisas: Travel with your eVisa}

Example

Kwame has a Skilled Worker visa and his wife Abena applies as his dependant. Each of them signs in to a separate UKVI account. Kwame’s account shows his eVisa and Abena’s account shows hers. Kwame later renews his passport. Before he flies, he adds the new passport to his account, so that it matches the one he will travel on.

What people get wrong

If you already have a UKVI account, GOV.UK says you should not create another one. People who have used the ID Check app, applied for a visa online or applied to the EU Settlement Scheme already have one.

If you are not sure, GOV.UK says you can try to sign in to view your eVisa.^{[1]Home Office, eVisas: Set up a UKVI account to access your eVisa}

The second mistake is leaving the details unchanged after a name or passport change. The account should hold the document you will travel with, and the personal details should match what you give your carrier.^{[6]Home Office, eVisas: Travel with your eVisa}

The bottom line

A UKVI account is the free online account through which you reach your eVisa and get a share code. Each person, including each dependant, needs their own. Check whether you already have one before you create another, and keep your passport and contact details current so that travel and applications are not delayed.