BRP - Biometric Residence Permits

Biometric Residence Permits or BRP cards are immigration documents. They are a similar size to a photo-driving license or a credit card and contain your personal (name, date of birth, gender etc.) and biometric (scanned photograph and fingerprints) information. BRP cards are issued to individuals who have permission (a visa) to remain in the UK for more than 6 months.

This is an example of a BRP card.

BRP card example for immigration webpages

Visa granted

When your Student visa is granted, you will be issued with a vignette (a sticker inside your passport) which is valid for 90 days. Your actual visa, in the form of a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP), will need to be collected on arrival in the UK. It is very important that you travel to the UK within this 90 days period or you will be required to re-apply for a BRP Vignette Transfer. When you receive your visa, you will also receive a visa decision letter sent as an email attachment that contains important information about your BRP collection and what to do when you arrive in the UK. You must bring it with you when you come to the UK.

Course shorter than 6 months

However, if you are coming to study a course with less than six months’ duration i.e. a Pre-Sessional course, you will be issued with the vignette (a sticker inside your passport) showing full-length of your visa – a BRP will not be required in this case.

Collecting your BRP

If you are applying for a Student visa from overseas, you should not use the University’s ACL code and address in your online visa application. You must instead collect your BRP card from a UK Post Office. The location of the Post Office will be determined by the correspondence address you use in your Student visa application. You can also collect your BRP from the Huddersfield Post Office – see address and postcode below:

Huddersfield Post Office

65-67 New Street,

Huddersfield,

West Yorkshire

HD1 2BQ

See the Post Office website for further detail including opening times .

BRPs for dependants

If your dependants (spouse/partner and children) are applying for their visas at the same time as you and will be coming to the UK with you, you can also collect their BRPs at the post office via the above process.

However if your dependants are applying separately and they will be joining you later, please attend one of the Immigration Drop-in Sessions to get advice from our team.

If your BRP expires on 31 December 2024

All BRPs now expire on or before 31 Dec 2024 as the Home Office or UKVI are moving away from the BRP system to a digital immigration status for visa holders. This means from 1 Jan 2025 all visa holders will be able to prove their immigration status online, without a BRP. However, your visa decision letter should have your actual visa expiry date. UKVI will provide further update on the GOV.UK website in early 2024. For now, you don’t need to do anything as the expiry date on your BRP card will not affect your immigration status, travel or your part-time work entitlement.

Error on your BRP

If you think that there is an error on your BRP, for example on your name, date of birth or visa expiry then you can report this to the Home Office within 14 days of receiving your BRP or seek advice from an immigration adviser by attending one of the Immigration Drop-in Sessions.

Report an error on your BRP (in the UK).

Get a ‘share code’ to prove your immigration status

Share codes allow you to view and prove your immigration status, right to work and rent in the UK. At present you can only prove your immigration status via a share code for the EU Settlement scheme, or if you applied for a visa and used the UK Immigration: ID Check app. However, from 1 January 2025 this service will be extended to all visa holders.

View and prove your immigration status (Gov.uk website)

Our step-by-step guide to generate a share code (for immigration status).

The online services to prove your right to work (to an employer) or prove your right to rent (to a landlord) are different from proving your immigration status. See Gov.UK weblinks below for detail.

Prove your right to work

Prove your right to rent

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