Your Biometric Residence Permit

A BRP is a credit card sized card issued by the Home Office as evidence of your immigration permission.

Important information

From 31 December 2024, the UK government has replaced physical visa and immigration documents, including BRPs, with digital immigration status. This will affect how you check your own permission and also how you prove what immigration permission you have to the University and external organisations.

Students who have not already created their UKVI account to access their eVisa should do so as soon as possible.

Read about eVisas.

Lost, stolen or damaged BRP?

If your BRP has been lost or stolen, you must still report the loss or theft even though it’s expired. Failure to report the loss or theft can result in a £1,000 fine and the risk of being made to leave the UK.

You may still need your BRP details for future visa applications. Read more about lost, stolen or damaged BRPs.

Biometric Residence Permit (BRP)

If you are applying outside of the UK to study for longer than 6 months or extending your stay to study at the University of Reading, then you will be issued with a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP). Your BRP is a credit card sized card that is issued by the Home Office as evidence of your immigration permission.

Where you applied for your visa will determine how you will receive your BRP:

- if your visa application was made from outside the UK: you will have to select where you want to collect your BRP from in your visa application by either using our ACL code or selecting a Post Office.

- if your visa application was made from within the UK: your BRP will be sent directly to your correspondence address as stated on your visa application form.

Checking for errors on your BRP

Mistakes on your BRP card may happen so it is important that you check for any errors on your visa. You will be able to get your BRP corrected if you report the problem within the specified timeframe. Possible mistakes could be with:

- Your personal details: check that there are no spelling mistakes in your surname and forename and check that your date of birth and place of birth are correct.

- The expiry date: the validity dates of your visa should be carefully checked as it indicates the date you are permitted to stay in the UK until. Every Tier 4/Student visa holder will have an additional ‘post-study’ period after their programme ends. The length of this period depends on the course type and duration:

Course type and length	Period granted before course start date	Period granted after course end date
Courses less than 6 months	7 days	7 days
Pre-sessional courses less than 6 months	1 month	1 month
Courses more than 6 months but less than 12 months	1 month	2 months
Courses 12 months or more	1 month	4 months

- The type of permit: your BRP should indicate "STUDENT LEAVE TO ENTER" (for Student visa applications made outside of the UK) or "STUDENT LEAVE TO REMAIN" (for Student visa applications made from within the UK).

- The number of working hours: this is an important check to do because it reflects your permission to work. More information about the number of hours you are allowed to work can be found on our webpage.

- The sponsor licence number: each institution has a different sponsor licence number, and you should make sure that your BRP contains the licence number of the institution you are studying with. The sponsor licence number for the University of Reading is F5T5NJ785.

How to get your BRP corrected

From outside the UK

You should report the error online within 10 days of receipt of your BRP. If your BRP was delivered to the University, we may have already reported the error on your behalf which will be explained to you when you come to collect your BRP.

From within the UK

If the mistake is with the length or conditions, then you must email the Home Office within 14 days of getting your Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) at admin.review.enquiries@homeoffice.gov.uk. They may advise you to apply for an Administrative Review. The Administrative Review process will cost £80 and you will need to complete an online form. The process will take approximately 28 days to complete, and if the review is successful, you will be refunded your £80 application fee. If you submit your request to get your BRP amended after 14 calendar days, we are unable to confirm that your request will be accepted, and you may not be refunded the £80 fee to request the review. For all other errors – you should report the error online within 10 days of receipt of your BRP. If your BRP was delivered to the University, we may have already reported the error on your behalf which will be explained to you when you come to collect your BRP.

Students collecting BRPs from the University of Reading

Students who have used the University’s ACL code (provided on your CAS) and you have given this as part of your visa application for BRP collection, then your BRP should be sent direct to the University of Reading. Once the University has received your BRP and processed this on your record, you will receive an automated email confirming it is ready for collection and the steps you need to follow to collect your BRP from us.

To collect your BRP, (once we have confirmed it has arrived and is ready for collection) you will need to bring your passport (and passports of any dependants where we have received their BRP) to the Student Services Reception in the Carrington Building during our opening hours. During busy periods, please be aware there may be a queue and you will have to wait to be seen.

If you are collecting your BRP from a Post Office, please go to the Post Office direct to collect your BRP card. Unless you have specified a specific Post Office, it will usually default to the Northumberland Avenue Post Office. You will need to send a copy/photo of your BRP (front and back) to immigration@reading.ac.uk after collecting it or bring it to the Student Services Reception to enable us to update your student record.

If you are under 18 years old and your BRP is to be collected from a Post Office, please contact the International Student Advisory team before attempting collection. Any student under 18 years old is required to be accompanied or have their BRP collected on their behalf by a Home Office approved responsible adult.

If you are unsure of your BRP card collection location, please check your visa application, to do this you will need to log back into your application form.

Go to the International homepage