On 1 July 2026, the sticker in your passport stopped being the proof. The UK eVisa system is now the default record of your right to enter and stay, and UK Visas and Immigration has stopped placing vignette stickers in the passports of most successful new applicants. If you are moving to Britain to work, study, or join family, your status now sits in an online account. No sticker. No plastic card. Just a digital record you log in to see.
By the Travel Explore editorial desk. Last updated 6 July 2026.
In this article
- What actually changed on 1 July
- How the UK eVisa system works now
- Setting up and sharing your status
- Quick answers
What actually changed on 1 July
UKVI had been winding down physical documents for over a year. Work and study applicants stopped getting stickers back in mid-2025, and from 25 February 2026 visitors who need advance permission were granted it digitally. The 1 July step widened that to most remaining routes. Government guidance is blunt about the direction: your immigration status is now “a digital record” you access online. The old vignette, a paper card in the passport, is being retired route by route. For new applicants the practical result is simple. You will not receive a sticker to show at the airport. Your permission is proven through a UKVI account instead.
How the UK eVisa system works now
The UK eVisa system links your immigration status to your passport and a UKVI online account. Before you travel, you sign in, check your permission is correct, and update your current passport number if it has changed. Carriers and Border Force check your status against that live record. There is no card to lose and nothing to renew separately. Two things matter most. Keep the passport linked to your account valid and current. And keep your account login details safe, because that account is now your proof. Lose access to it and you lose the easiest way to demonstrate your right to be in the country.
Setting up and sharing your status
Take Mateo, a nurse from the Philippines starting a Health and Care Worker role in Leeds. Under the old system he would have collected a card. Now he creates a UKVI account, links his passport, and generates a share code when his employer or landlord needs proof. That share code is the new handshake. It lets a third party view a limited, time-boxed version of his status online. Set the account up the day your decision lands. Add a recovery email and phone you actually control. Screenshot nothing as your only backup, because a share code expires and a screenshot will not satisfy a checker.
Not sure which UK route fits your situation? Run a free eligibility check before you spend on an application.
The short version
- New UK applicants no longer get a visa sticker. Status is digital.
- Create a UKVI account and link your current passport straight away.
- Prove your status to others with a time-limited share code, not a screenshot.
- Guard your login. It is now your primary proof of permission.
Quick answers
Do I still get anything physical? No. Most new applicants receive only an eVisa. Your passport plus your UKVI account is the proof.
What if my passport expires? Update your UKVI account with the new passport number. Your status stays valid; the linked document just needs to be current.
How do employers check me? You generate a share code online and give it to them. They view a limited version of your status for a set window.
I already have a biometric card. Is it dead? Older cards are being phased out. Set up your UKVI account now so your record is ready before you next travel.
Related reads
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- LinkedIn: The UK just retired visa stickers. Your status is now a login. Here is what that changes.
- Twitter: No more UK visa stickers. Your permission lives in a UKVI account now.
- Facebook: Moving to the UK? There is no sticker anymore. Read this before you fly.
Get your move right the first time
Going digital removes a document, not the paperwork behind it. Set up your account early, keep your passport linked, and you will breeze through the border while others fumble for a sticker that no longer exists. For step-by-step help across UK routes, start here: https://linktr.ee/travelexpore
Sources
- GOV.UK, Updates on the move to eVisas (T0 official) — https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/updates-on-the-move-to-evisas/updates-on-the-move-to-evisas
- UKCISA, eVisas guidance for students (T2 specialist) — https://www.ukcisa.org.uk/student-advice/visas-and-immigration/evisas/
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