BRP roll-out begins 18 March!
Starting tomorrow, all non-EEA nationals travelling to the UK for more than six months will be issued with Biometric Resident Permits (BRPs) in place of the traditional visa affixed to the applicants’ passport. Starting with applications made in Pakistan, the roll-out will continue in three further phases from throughout 2015.
The idea behind BRPs is to provide a more secure, streamlined and faster method for applicants and businesses to verify an individual’s identity and their right to be in the UK.
To this end, the applicant will receive a 30 day short-term travel vignette which enables them to travel to the UK and subsequently collect their BRP from a designated post office within 10 days of arrival. The post office location and 30-day travel window will be determined by information provided by the applicant during the application process and successful applicants will receive instructions on how, where and when to collect their BRP before travelling to the UK.
Attention all applicants
If an applicant fails to collect their BRP within the allocated 10-day period they risk being fined, or worse, their leave to be in the UK may be altogether cancelled.
Attention all sponsors
Right to work checks will be affected by the roll-out of BRPs to overseas applicants. Employers should be prepared to undertake a secondary right to work check for those migrant workers who commence employment immediately upon arrival in the UK ahead of receiving their BRP.
Please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any questions concerning the imminent introduction of BRPs for overseas UK visa applications.
