Home Office Transition to eVisas continues with physical visa vignettes being phased out

As it is becoming more and more common for manufacturing companies to employ overseas candidates, it is important that both companies and employees are aware of the imminent changes to visas.

The UK Government is continuing its transition from physical immigration documents to digital eVisas, a shift that will significantly impact how manufacturing businesses conduct Right to Work checks. All employers should be conducting these checks to prevent illegal working and to avoid hefty fines. The way to avoid this is to conduct valid right to work checks in accordance with Home Office guidance.

To avoid discrimination, manufacturing companies should carry out these Right to Work checks on all employees including British and Irish nationals. Non-British or Irish employees need to provide evidence that they have a visa that allows them to live and work in UK. With the digitalisation of the immigration system this is generally now done via the eVisa share code method.

The change to the eVisa process is due to be completely implemented by the end of 2025 and manufacturing employers must understand eVisas and how they will affect business operations.

The Home Office has updated its ‘Online immigration status (eVisa)’ guidance to confirm that from 15 July 2025 applicants for entry clearance in study and work routes may not be issued with an entry clearance vignette in their passport. Instead they will need to create a UKVI account and get access to it before they travel to the UK.

Upon starting employment, employers will need to still check the date the employee arrived in the UK. However, this will be more challenging than before without a physical stamp on the employee’s passport.

The UK government is modernising its immigration system with a complete shift to digital visas. This marks the end of physical immigration documents and introduces a new era of online status verification.

In short, Skilled Worker applicants, along with student applicants, applying from overseas will no longer be issued with a 90-day visa vignette (the latest part of the government’s plan to fully digitalise the immigration system). Manufacturing companies should ensure that all new employees, set up an online eVisa account before leaving their current country of residence to avoid any border issues. This will include checking that the details are correct and linking their travel document (passport) to their e-visa before travel. Employers should consider taking legal advice on the process to ensure compliance.

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This article has been produced for general information purposes, and further advice should be sought from a professional advisor.

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