What should I do if I’ve lost my UK visa BRP? eVisa: 3 emergency steps

Home Office A 56-page internal guide was updated in September.

Full name is "eVisas: applying the Code of Practice about the sanctions for non-compliance with the biometric registration regulations", released on September 17, 2026, version 2.0, which discusses how to deal with non-compliance with biometric registration regulations. The most directly related provision to losing a card: the fine is not £1,000 at first. The accompanying Code of Practice comes into effect on March 27, 2025 (SI 2025/262), with sanctions categorized by the number of violations, where £1,000 is the maximum for a single violation; those who meet the conditions can have the fine reduced by half.

My judgment: Losing BRP in the UK in 2026 affects how you prove your identity, not the identity itself. It's not worth paying any agency fee for this. If you are overseas and your ticket is within a few days, the £154 single-entry visa should be bought earlier, instead of wasting time trying to log in repeatedly.

On the day you lose your card, follow these steps in this order

In terms of the sequence, logging in comes before reporting a loss.

Open your UKVI account to see if you can log in. If you cannot log in, use the ‘Forgotten your login details?’ option on the login page to confirm which document you used to register. You can create an account even without an BRP number—the instructions for opening an GOV.UK account state that you can use a travel document (passport) or the visa application number (GWF or UAN). A common oversight at this stage is that the BRP card number is merely an optional form of identification for registration; it is not the key to your account.

Step two: Check that the passport linked to your account is the one you currently have in your possession.

Updating your identity documents in your account is a free online service. It is more urgent than reporting a lost passport, and the reason lies at the boarding gate: the carrier verifies the correspondence between the passport you are travelling with and the eVisa record; if your account still shows your old passport number, you may be prevented from boarding the flight on the spot. GOV.UK contains a page specifically titled ‘Check your eVisa is correct before you travel’; before departure, use this to check your name, date of birth, document number and expiry date.

The third step is to report the card as lost. The obligation to report a lost card remains in force at all times; even expired cards must be reported, in accordance with the registration requirements set out in the Immigration (Biometric Registration) Regulations 2008. Once you have reported the loss, do not wait to receive a new card – there is an older provision that must be considered separately: the rule stating that “ must apply for a replacement within three months, otherwise they will be fined and required to leave the country” applies to the BRP era when cards were still being issued. From 31 October 2024, Home Office will no longer issue BRP or BRC cards, and the replacement application channel will consequently close. From now on, the only action available is to ‘report the card as lost’; there is no subsequent ‘replacement’ step to be taken.

After logging in, I discovered that the information on eVisa was incorrect (name spelling, licence conditions, expiry date). I used the eVisa online error reporting form via GOV.UK; this is free and does not result in a new visa application. Neither your employer nor your landlord needs you to show them the card; they will verify it themselves using the relevant share code for their respective purposes—employment or tenancy.

I’m abroad and can’t access eVisa. How do I get back?

First confirm whether the three steps have really been completed: set up a UKVI account, complete identity verification, and link the account to eVisa. The most people are stuck on the last step — the account exists, but they have never actually logged in to see the status page.

Lost the card and passport together, report to the local police to get the case acceptance form, make a translation of it if it's not in English. The passport needs to be reissued, eVisa must be attached to a valid travel document.

The account really can't be opened or updated. Apply for a replacement BRP visa. The current fee is £154, which allows only one entry, and you need to have biometric information collected at the visa application center. It only solves this trip back to the UK. After landing, the account still needs to be sorted out as usual.

There is another free channel for people with digital disadvantages within the country: UKVI has entrusted We Are Group to provide Assisted Digital support, which can be done via telephone or in person, and if sign language translation is needed in British Sign Language, it can be requested. There is a point in time to note - the government funding that previously helped community organizations to open accounts and link to eVisa has ended on March 31, 2026, and access has returned to UKVI itself and this entrusted service.

If you’re unsure which category you fall into (domestic or overseas procedures, or whether you should buy that £154 licence), you can pay £5 on justiscript.com to have a practising UK solicitor provide a written answer to a single question within 24 hours, in either Chinese or English. It’s far less hassle than paying by the hour to ask a yes-or-no question.

Three things that can be done today:

Log in to the UKVI account, confirm that the status page is visible, and note down your login method and the type of registration document.
Change the passport in the account to the current one, and recheck the name and visa expiry date.
If the card has been lost, complete the loss report according to GOV.UK procedure, and do not wait for a replacement.

This article is for reference only. For specific issues, please consult a licensed attorney.

[Data source] gov.uk/government/publications/non-compliance-with-the-biometric-registration-regulations; gov.uk/biometric-residence-permits/lost-stolen-damaged; gov.uk/guidance/making-sure-your-evisa-is-correct-before-you-travel

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