UKVI account help: set-up, sign-in and recovery

In brief

Most account problems fall into one of three buckets.

Almost every UKVI account problem is either a set-up that was never finished, a sign-in failure because the saved contact details are out of date, or an eVisa record that shows the wrong information. Each has its own fix: complete set-up properly, use account recovery for sign-in, or report an error for a wrong record. Confusing the three wastes time on the wrong process.

None of these problems change your underlying immigration status. Losing access to your account, or finding an error in what it shows, does not put your permission to be in the UK or to work at risk by itself, but it does make it harder to evidence that status until it is fixed, so treat it as urgent rather than something to leave for later.

Work through it in this order

Most problems resolve at step one or two.

• Confirm the account exists and set-up was finished, not just started.
• Sign in with the document the account was created against, or your UKVI customer number.
• Check you can receive the security code on the phone number or email address saved on the account.
• If the contact details are out of date and you cannot get in, use UKVI account recovery.
• If you can get in but the record is wrong, report an error with your eVisa.
• If you need to prove status right now, use your eligible physical documents instead.

Setting up an account for the first time

Getting it right the first time avoids most later problems.

Setting up a UKVI account is free and is done using the identity document your permission was granted on, typically the passport or travel document you used in your application. You will be asked to verify your identity and set contact details for the account, which is where a security code will be sent every time you sign in.

It is important to complete every step of set-up in one sitting where possible. A partially completed set-up, where an account has been started but the identity verification or contact details were never finished, is one of the most common reasons someone finds they "have an account" that will not actually show them an eVisa. If you are not sure whether your set-up was completed, the safest approach is to attempt to sign in and see whether the account behaves as expected, rather than assuming it is fine.

What you need to sign in

Two things, and both must be current.

• A linked identity document

  Passport, national identity card, valid or expired biometric residence card, expired biometric residence permit, or your UKVI customer number.

• Access to your saved contact route

  The mobile number or email address held on the account, because sign-in sends a code to it.

• Correct personal details

  Update the account after a change of name, nationality or appearance, before you generate a share code.

• Current travel document

  Add a newly issued passport to the account so travel and checks line up with the document you hold.

Sign-in problem or error report: which service to use

A quick reference for the two most confused processes.

Cannot sign in at all

Account recovery service

Wrong date of birth or status shown

Report an eVisa error

Can view eVisa but cannot get a share code

Report an eVisa error

Never finished set-up

Complete or restart set-up

Need to prove status right now

Use eligible physical documents

If you are not sure which category you fall into, start by attempting to sign in normally. If sign-in itself fails, that points to an access problem and account recovery. If sign-in succeeds but what you see once inside is wrong, that points to an error report instead.

Updating your details before you rely on the account

A mismatch causes problems later, not now.

A UKVI account that still shows an old name, an old nationality, or a photo that no longer looks like you will not stop you from signing in, but it will cause a mismatch the moment a checker compares the share code output against your other documents. This is a common and entirely avoidable reason for a right to work or right to rent check to stall.

Update these details as soon as they change, rather than waiting until you next need a share code. If you have recently been issued a new passport, add it to the account so that your travel document and your immigration record are consistent, particularly if you are planning to travel internationally and rely on the eVisa at the border.

If a job or tenancy is waiting

The check does not have to go through the eVisa.

You can prove your right to work with your eligible physical immigration documents rather than a share code, and an employer cannot reject your application because you did so. Where a check cannot be completed by either route, the employer can use the Home Office employer checking service. The same principle applies to right to rent checks.

This matters in practice because account recovery and error reports are not instant, and a job offer or tenancy start date will not always wait for them to resolve. Tell the employer or landlord as early as possible that you have an account access issue and are addressing it, and point them to the alternative evidence route rather than letting the check stall silently.

Common mistakes that make problems worse

Avoidable errors that slow down a fix.

• Creating a second UKVI account instead of recovering access to the first, leading to two inconsistent records.
• Giving up on set-up part way through and assuming the account will still work later.
• Using a temporary or work email address as the sole contact method, then losing access to it when the job ends.
• Waiting until a job start date or travel date to test whether sign-in still works.
• Confusing a wrong-record error with a sign-in problem and contacting the wrong service.

Each of these adds delay rather than saving time. The safest approach is to check that your account works, and that the details on it are current, well before you actually need to generate a share code or prove your status to someone else.

Edge cases worth knowing about

Situations that do not fit the standard fix.

Dependants on someone else's application, such as a partner or child granted permission alongside a main applicant, each need their own UKVI account rather than sharing the main applicant's account. A parent or guardian typically manages the account for a child who is too young to do so themselves, but the underlying record still belongs to the child, not the adult.

If you have spent time outside the UK and your permission has conditions tied to absences, an account access problem does not by itself affect how those absences are assessed. Keep your own separate record of travel dates in case an application or a check later asks you to demonstrate your pattern of residence, since the account is not designed to be a travel log.

Where someone has been through a transitional move from an older physical document, such as a biometric residence permit, to an eVisa, occasional discrepancies between the old and new records have occurred. If your eVisa does not reflect what your previous document showed, that is squarely an error to report rather than something to try to resolve by generating a share code and hoping the checker overlooks it.

Employer and landlord duties when an applicant has an access problem

A brief note for the checking side.

An employer or landlord who is told about a genuine UKVI account access problem should not simply refuse the individual, since GOV.UK guidance sets out alternative ways to prove status. Ask for the eligible physical documents instead, or use the employer or landlord checking service where neither route is available, and record how the check was carried out.

Who to contact next

Match the problem to the right contact.

For a genuine account access failure, use UKVI account recovery first. For a wrong record, report the error through the eVisa service. For anything that touches a live application, a refusal, or a status dispute rather than a simple technical fault, contact an IAA-regulated adviser rather than treating it as a self-service IT issue, since the correct remedy may involve the Home Office's decision-making processes rather than the account tools.

A note on timing

Build in a buffer before you need the account.

Because none of the fixes described here are instant, the best protection against an account problem disrupting a job start, a tenancy or travel is to test your account well ahead of the date you need it, rather than the day before. A ten-minute check now is far cheaper than an urgent fix under time pressure later.

Getting further help

Where to go if self-service does not resolve it.

If an account problem is tangled up with a wider immigration issue, for example a disputed refusal or a status that appears to have lapsed incorrectly, that is worth raising with an IAA-regulated adviser rather than treating it purely as an IT problem, since the underlying cause may need to be corrected through the Home Office's substantive processes rather than the account tools alone.

Information sourced from the GOV.UK eVisa guide and the GOV.UK guidance on proving your right to work, reproduced under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Guidance changes; we verify the position at the point of instruction.