Are you travel-ready? A checklist for eVisa holders

Long gone are the days of standing at the airport, holding a travel wallet filled with passports, tickets, foreign currency and physical immigration paperwork. Showing boarding passes and tickets on our phones has been around for a while, however, the adjustment to a digital-only immigration status remains new territory for many.

From 25 February 2026, entry to the UK border will be much stricter. The Home Office has announced it will be enforcing its ‘no visa, no travel’ policy and confirms that carriers (i.e. airlines, ferries and international trains) will be checking people before they travel.

Almost everyone with a UK visa (including ‘leave to remain’ and ‘permission to stay’) now holds their status digitally, through an eVisa. This means you will not have received an endorsement (vignette) in your passport or a Biometric Residence Permit/Card when your immigration status was granted.

Your eVisa immigration status can easily be checked by carriers and border officials when you travel as long as your UKVI account is up to date. Passing these checks will mean being able to enter or return to the UK relying on your UK visa.

What checks should I do before travelling with my digital immigration status (eVisa)?

To ensure any checks can be completed smoothly, the following actions should be taken before you travel internationally:

1. Log in to your UKVI account. Check your personal information is up to date, including your name, contact details and nationality.

2. Use the same full name for your travel bookings as appears on your current passport and eVisa to avoid a mis-match of details.

3. Check that your current passport matches the document linked to your account. If the document does not match, you must update your account with the new details before travelling. If you have more than one nationality, make sure you carry the correct passport when you travel.

4. View your eVisa. Double check your immigration status remains valid and the expiry date has not passed.

5. Generate a ‘Share Code’ and save the details. This is a nine digit alpha-numeric code which an immigration official or carrier can use, along with your date of birth, to check your immigration status. Each code is valid for 90 days. Having this ready to go is recommended by the Home Office and avoids any difficulties with internet connections overseas.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to get in touch.