From July 15, 2025, international students and skilled foreign workers heading to the UK will no longer receive physical visa stickers (vignettes) in their passports. Instead, they’ll need to create a UKVI account and access their digital eVisa online before traveling.

The UK is phasing out biometric residence permits (BRPs) and physical documents as it transitions to a fully digital immigration system. Here are some points to note about the new UK eVisa:

• Only student visa and skilled worker visa applicants are affected for now.
• Student visa and skilled worker visa applicants will submit their biometrics and receive their passports the same day.
•  Dependents or other visa categories may still receive physical vignettes.
• Decisions will continue to be sent via email, following UKVI timelines.  
• Applicants without valid ID documents can still get access through a Form for Affixing a Visa (FAV).

The UK government states that this move aims to simplify, expedite, and enhance the transparency of the process.