British Home Office to scrap biometric residence cards for Nigerians and replace them with eVisas

NIGERIANS living in the UK will no longer receive biometric residence cards (BRCs) or biometric residence permits (BRP) as from December 31 2024 as the Home office is replacing them with a new online eVisa system.

Part of a UK government programme to replace all physical migration documents with digital versions, the eVisa has been aggressively promoted throughout 2024 and by the end of the year, will replace the current hard copy visa regime altogether. What this means is that Nigerians who have BRCs and BRPs, will no longer need them as they will now get a digital version, which saves them having to carry any physical documentation around.

An eVisa is an online record of your immigration status and the conditions of your permission to enter or stay in the UK. Nigerians affected by the change will need to create a UKVI account to be able to access their eVisa. 

At a meeting with the Nigerian community leaders yesterday, Home Office officials were keen to stress that updating a physical document to an eVisa does not affect the immigration status or the condition of anybody's permission to enter or stay in the UK. During a four hour meeting with representatives from the Central Association of Nigerians in the UK (Canuk), the Nigeria in Diaspora Organisation (Nido) and high commission officials at the Home Office, a presentation was made on the new regime.

According to the Home Office: "In the future you’ll be able to use an eVisa to travel to the UK. You will not need to carry a physical document, except for your current passport, which must be registered to your UKVI account. Until the end of 2024 you will need to continue to carry your physical document when you travel, if you have one.

"All BRP holders should visit www.gov.uk/evisa now to create a UKVI account to access their eVisa. Holders of other physical immigration documents, including passports containing vignette stickers or ink stamps and BRCs, can also find information there  on what they need to do to create a UKVI account to access their eVisa.

"Once you have created your UKVI account you will be able to view the details of your eVisa online, for example your type of permission, when it expires and your conditions of stay in the UK.  Your eVisa will be linked to your passport in your UKVI account. You must keep your passport or ID card details up to date in your UKVI account and tell us about any changes, so that your immigration status can be easily identified at the UK border. You’ll still need to carry your current passport with you."

At the meeting, Home Office officials pointed out that eVisas will remain valid even when passports expire and new ones have been applied for. Anyone requiring more information on the matter should contact the Canuk welfare secretary Judy Akuta on 07904 262390.