Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what options are available to people applying for a Schengen visa who do not have access to their e-Visa due to technical issues.

It is important for all who are travelling to check the entry, exit and transit requirements of other countries, and they may be asked to show evidence of their UK immigration status to authorities in the country they are travelling to. It is a matter for individual countries to set their own policies on what evidence they will accept but we have extensively engaged with them, through FCDO, about what the transition to eVisas mean, and continue to do so. People should check what an individual country’s requirements are before travelling or applying for a visa.

We have advised other countries that there are multiple evidence sources that they may consider accepting as proof of a person’s UK immigration status, including:

• A share code from the ‘view and prove' service, which the person may wish to create before travel
• Viewing a screen from the person’s UKVI account which shows their status
• A physical document confirming their permission in the UK, for example a valid physical document confirming their permission in the UK, evidence of ILR/ILE in a current or expired passport, or a current Home Office Travel Document
• A copy of a letter or email received from the Home Office when they were granted UK immigration status
• A BRP or BRC which expired on or after 31 December 2024 (this is a temporary measure, allowing carriers such as airlines to accept a BRP or BRC which expires on or after 31 December 2024 as valid evidence of permission to travel. These will currently be accepted until 31 March 2025, with this date being kept under review.)

As a temporary measure, to reassure people that they will be able
to travel without any issue during the transition period, we will allow carriers such as airlines to accept a BRP or BRC which expires on or after 31 December 2024 as valid evidence of permission to travel, provisionally until 31 March 2025. This will be kept under review. They should also keep their expired BRP as it may be helpful for future applications to stay in the UK. People can use their expired BRP to create their UKVI account and access their eVisa.

We are actively resolving any technical issues as and when they arise. If anyone does have issues accessing their eVisa or UKVI account and they need to prove their UK immigration status when applying for a Schengen visa, there are several options available to them. They should check that their eVisa is correct here: Check your eVisa is correct before you travel - GOV.UK and if not, they can report an error with their eVisa using the ‘Report an error with your eVisa - GOV.UK webform. Alternatively, they can contact the UKVI Resolution Centre for assistance with technical issues related to their online immigration status, and where necessary, to verify their status through alternative means if needed.