Zubair Qureshi
UK High Commissioner to Pakistan Jane Marriott has announced steps to simplify the visa process for Pakistanis travelling to Britain, as part of the UK’s move towards a digital immigration system.
According to a statement, the UK has extended its e-Visa services to new biometric users, allowing applicants to access their immigration status online.
A UKVI (UK Visas and Immigration) online account will be required to utilize the e-Visa system, but tourists will not need to create an account.
“The UK immigration system is going digital,” the statement said, adding that physical documents will be replaced with an online immigration status.
The statement also said that for those granted a UK visa for less than six months, including for tourism, a UKVI account would not be needed.
“This new use of technology will streamline a key part of the visa process, make it more secure and reduce the dependence on paper documents,” the high commissioner remarked.
She added that the process was free, secure, and straightforward, offering a more efficient way for travellers to manage their immigration status.
This initiative is part of the UK’s broader efforts to modernize its immigration system, replacing traditional paper documents with an online status declaration, thereby enhancing security and ease of access for applicants.
The UK immigration system is going digital, meaning physical documents will be replaced with an online immigration status.
The Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs), vignette stickers in passports or ‘wet ink stamps’ are among some of the physical documents that will no longer be needed, said a spokesperson of the high commission, adding if you are granted a visa to stay in the UK for longer than 6 months – for example to work or study – you will now need to create a UKVI online account to access your eVisa.
The account acts as an online record of your immigration status. For those granted a visa to stay in the UK for less than 6 months, for example as a tourist, there is no need to create a UKVI account.
High Commissioner Jane Marriott said, “We are constantly innovating to make it easier for Pakistanis to travel to the UK.”
You must not travel to the UK until you have received your passport and valid UK visa back from the Visa Application Centre (VAC). Updating a physical document to an eVisa does not affect your immigration status or the conditions of your permission to enter or stay in the UK.
