UK to issue eVisas from February 25; no need to hand over passports during processing

KOLKATA: The UK immigration system will go fully digital from Wednesday, replacing the physical visa stickers, traditionally pasted in passports, with electronic visas or eVisas.

While applicants will still have to visit a visa application centre (VAC) for biometric enrolment and identity verification, their passports will be returned the same day. "With an eVisa, people have to attend the VAC only once to confirm their identity. The VAC will return the passport at that time, sparing applicants the need to return to collect the passport after the vignette is pasted," said Bhaarat Dave, deputy head of mission, British Deputy High Commission, Kolkata, on Tuesday.

A digital record of a person's immigration status, an eVisa confirms the visa type — whether tourist, visitor, student or skilled worker — or settlement status and outlines conditions, such as permission to work or study. The status is accessible through a UKVI (UK Visas and Immigration) online account and is digitally linked to the traveller's passport. "UKVI is a self-verification account. Every traveller in a family will have to have a dedicated UKVI account linked to their passports. The information can be stored in a mobile but there has to be separate UKVI accounts for all travellers in the group," said Dave.

Those who have a valid sticker visa in their passports, do not need to apply afresh for eVisas but will have to create a UKVI account and link it to the passport.

Earlier, an applicant's passport would be retained during the visa processing, typically taking around three weeks for a tourist visa, and was returned later with the vignette sticker.

Travel operators say the shift will offer greater flexibility. Anil Punjabi, chairman (east) of the Travel Agents Federation of India, called it a "big relief" for those travelling onward to Europe or other places. "The biggest advantage is travellers can retain their passports while applying for the UK eVisa and apply for the visa for another country. Once the UK eVisa is approved, they can check online and enter the UK from any country," he said.

A deputy high commission official said, 5,55,468 visitor visas were issued to Indians from Aug 2024 to Sept 2025, along with 2,13,690 visas across work, study and other categories.