UK VISA: BRITISH HOME OFFICE TO SCRAP BIOMETRIC RESIDENCE CARD FOR NIGERIANS

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Nigerians living in the UK will no longer receive biometric residence cards (BRCs) or biometric residence permits (BRP) as from December 31, 2024, as the Home office is replacing them with a new online eVisa system.

According to the Central Association of Nigerians in the United Kingdom (CANUK), part of the UK government’s program to replace all physical migration documents with digital versions, the eVisa, has been aggressively promoted throughout 2024 and by the end of the year, such physical documents will replace the current hard copy Visa regime altogether.

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CANUK noted that it means Nigerians who have BRCs and BRPs will no longer need them as they will now get a digital version, “which saves them from having to carry any physical documentation around”.

eVisa is an online record of your immigration status and the conditions of your permission to enter or stay in the UK.

CANUK Publicity Secretary, Rose Graham and Assistant Publicity Secretary, Mohammed Yiosese in a statement on Sunday, said, “Nigerians affected by the change will need to create a UKVI account to be able to access their eVisa.

“At a meeting with the Nigerian community leaders yesterday, Home Office officials stressed that updating a physical document to an eVisa does not influence the immigration status or the condition of anybody’s permission to enter or stay in the UK.

“During a four-hour meeting with representatives from the Central Association of Nigerians in the UK (Canuk), the Nigeria in Diaspora Organisation (Nido) and high commission officials at the Home Office, a presentation was made on the new regime.”

CANUK quoted the Home Office as saying, ‘In the future, you’ll be able to use an eVisa to travel to the UK. You will not need to carry a physical document, except for your current passport, which must be registered to your UKVI account. Until the end of 2024, you will need to continue to carry your physical document when you travel if you have one.

‘All BRP holders should visit www.gov.uk/evisa now to create a UKVI account to access their eVisa”.