Immigration 

United Kingdom | Visa Vignettes phased out for key routes: eVisas now standard

Summary

From 15 July 2025, the United Kingdom’s approach to immigration documentation takes a digital turn. Applicants for certain work and study visa routes, who complete and pay for their application, will no longer receive a physical visa vignette in their passport. Instead, they will be issued an eVisa only, accessible via a UKVI account.

The detail

Who is affected?

This change applies to main applicants in the following visa categories:

• Global Business Mobility
• International Sportsperson
• Skilled Worker (including Health and Care)
• Temporary Worker (excluding Seasonal Worker)

What’s different?

Successful applicants will not receive a visa sticker (vignette) in their passport. Instead, they must:

1. Create a UKVI account
2. Link their current passport
3. Access their eVisa to verify the details are correct (report errors immediately: report-error-evisa)
4. Learn to use an eVisa share code, which is now the standard for proving United Kingdom immigration status

And dependants?

For now, dependants will still receive both a vignette and an eVisa, though this too is likely a transitional phase.

Further reading and support:

• Government guidance: gov.uk/evisa
• Support videos: gov.uk eVisa video collection

The move is part of the Home Office’s broader digitisation strategy. Employers should not now expect to see a vignette when undertaking a right to work check and should instead request that the main visa holder provide a share code to complete the check. Dependant visa holders’ right to work checks may still be undertaken on a vignette (the check will be valid only to the expiry of the vignette) but they should also generate a share code to track the expiry date of the immigration status.

Contact us

Lyudmyla Davies
Partner (Solicitor)

Ian Robinson
Partner

Andrea Als
Director (Solicitor)

Tom Marsom
Director (Solicitor)

Awale Olad
Senior Manager

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