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eVisa and Share Code for UK Travel

If you hold a UK visa or other permission to be in the UK, your immigration status is now a digital record held in your UKVI account rather than a physical document. That record — your eVisa — has to be correct before you travel, and a share code is how you prove it. This guide sets out the pre-travel checks, the share code, and how the system differs from an ETA. Based on GOV.UK guidance retrieved 2026-09-29.

What an eVisa is

An eVisa is a digital record of your identity and immigration status — for example the type of visa you have, or if you have indefinite leave to remain (settlement) — and the conditions of your status, such as whether you are allowed to work or study in the UK. You get one when you successfully apply for a visa or another type of permission to be in the UK. On GOV.UK’s wording, eVisas have replaced physical immigration documents. Two transition points matter: if you have a biometric residence card (BRC) you may still be able to use it in some situations, and if you have a visa vignette (sticker) it will remain valid until it expires. You need a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account to access your eVisa. GOV.UK states that setting up a UKVI account and accessing your eVisa is free.

The three checks before you travel

GOV.UK is blunt about the consequence of getting this wrong: your carrier may not let you travel if your details are wrong, and you may also be delayed at the UK border. Before you travel to or from the UK, you must make sure that: If you cannot view your eVisa, check that you have set up your UKVI account correctly. When you travel you must carry a valid passport or travel document that you have added to your UKVI account. Your eVisa is checked when you leave and enter the UK (by a border control officer or at the eGates) and when you check in with your carrier to return to the UK. The country you are visiting may have its own entry or exit requirements — check those separately.

Share codes

You might be asked for additional proof of your immigration status by a carrier or border official. The two options GOV.UK gives are to get a share code, or to use a physical immigration document if you have one. For travel, the key facts are: a share code for travel is valid for 90 days, so you can get it before you travel, and it can be used more than once. You sign in to view your eVisa and get a share code through your UKVI account. Physical documents you may want to carry as additional proof include: a sticker or stamp showing indefinite leave to remain or enter (settlement) in an old passport; a right of abode certificate of entitlement in your passport; or a Home Office travel document.

More than one nationality

Make sure you add the passport you will use to travel to your UKVI account — you can add more than one passport. If one of your nationalities is British or Irish, you do not need an eVisa; you must travel with your British or Irish passport, or a passport with a certificate of entitlement.

If your passport or details change while you are outside the UK

To return to the UK you will need to either update your UKVI account or ask UKVI to update it for you. Whether you can do it yourself while abroad depends on what changed and whether you have a biometric passport. If you have a biometric passport you can update your account if your passport details (passport number and expiry date), name or nationality have changed. If any other personal details have changed, you will need to ask UKVI to update your account; you may need to submit your fingerprints and photo (biometric information) at a visa application centre. If you do not have a biometric passport you can update your passport number and expiry date only; any other change goes through UKVI.

An eVisa is not an ETA

GOV.UK draws the distinction explicitly: an eVisa is different from an electronic travel authorisation (ETA). An ETA allows people who do not need a visa to travel to the UK for up to 6 months, and it is a separate application with a fee. For contrast, the ETA page states an ETA costs £20, that each person travelling needs one, including babies and children, and that an ETA does not guarantee entry to the UK. The eVisa, by contrast, records a status you already hold.

A note on what is not published

GOV.UK does not publish a file format or pixel size for an eVisa — an eVisa is a digital record, not a file you supply. It also does not publish a mandatory order of operations between obtaining your eVisa and the identity-check app used at application stage; none is asserted here. This page covers the eVisa, the UKVI account and share codes only.

Related guides

Prepare the documents behind an application with the UK visa documents checklist, and see UK passport renewal and passport name change if a travel document changes. Use the document scanner and document photo preflight for clean copies; for what a file carries, read image metadata, and if something is turned down see rejected — next steps.

Frequently asked questions

What is an eVisa?
An eVisa is a digital record of your identity and immigration status and the conditions of your status, held in your UKVI account. GOV.UK states that eVisas have replaced physical immigration documents.

Do I still need to carry a BRP or visa sticker?
If you have a biometric residence card (BRC) you may still be able to use it in some situations, and a visa vignette (sticker) remains valid until it expires. You must travel with a valid passport or travel document that you have added to your UKVI account.

What do I need to check before I travel?
Three things: that your UKVI account has your correct personal details and current passport, that your eVisa shows the right immigration status, and that your details exactly match the passenger information you give your carrier.

How long is a share code valid, and can I use it more than once?
A share code for travel is valid for 90 days, so you can get it before you travel, and it can be used more than once.

Which passport should I add if I have more than one nationality?
Add the passport you will use to travel; you can add more than one passport. If one of your nationalities is British or Irish, you do not need an eVisa.

Is an eVisa the same as an ETA?
No. An eVisa is different from an electronic travel authorisation (ETA). An ETA is for people who do not need a visa and allows travel for up to 6 months; it costs £20 and does not guarantee entry.

Source: GOV.UK, “eVisas: access and use your online immigration status” (gov.uk/evisa), “Travel with your eVisa” (gov.uk/evisa/travel-with-evisa) and “Get an electronic travel authorisation (ETA)” (gov.uk/eta), retrieved 2026-09-29. Rules change, so confirm the current guidance before you travel.