Biometric Residence Permits:
Home Office delays
and mistakes

7 March 2018

The biometric residence permit (BRP) is an essential item of proof for anyone who wishes to stay, study or work in the UK for longer than six months. The Home Office has recently changed the contractor that deals with the delivery of BRPs, and we have noticed a worrying trend within the past few weeks – BRPs are either being sent to an incorrect address, or simply not being received at all.

When Smith Stone Walters is representing a client’s in-country immigration application, we request that our clients’ BRPs are returned to us at our correspondence address. But in just two weeks, as many as 15 out of an expected 60 BRPs did not arrive.

For example, one migrant worker’s BRP didn’t appear at all; his wife’s BRP went to the address of her husband’s employer, and only their children’s BRPs were delivered safely to the address listed in the application.

Another client’s BRP was sent to his new employer, but before he had started his job. As his new employer’s post room staff didn’t recognise his name, they sent the BRP straight back to the Home Office.

Mistakes in this small but necessary part of the immigration process cause delay and inconvenience, as the migrants cannot use the document to prove their right to remain in the UK, travel overseas, and in some cases open a bank account or rent a home.

In a statement, the Home Office told us: ‘We wanted to make you aware that there have been some minor issues experienced regarding the delivery address for BRP cards being different to that agreed/ requested.  We have been assured rectifying this problem is of the highest priority. If and when we receive an update on this matter we will contact you.’

Smith Stone Walters has reported its findings to senior management within the UK’s Visa and Immigration Service, and will continue to monitor the situation and use our expertise to support our clients as much as possible. Contact us here for more information.

What is a BRP?

The biometric residence permit (BRP) is the size of a credit card and contains a unique number, a recent photo image, information on the holder’s fingerprints, gender, nationality and their signature. It can be used as a form of official identification. If the holder has a National Insurance number, then this will also appear on the back of the BRP. Once a migrant has received their BRP, they must show it at the UK border, together with their passport, whenever they travel.

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