Changing your name on your eVisa and UKVI account

Who has an eVisa now#

GOV.UK describes an eVisa as a digital record of your identity and immigration status, which you get when you successfully apply for a visa or other permission to be in the UK. eVisas have replaced physical immigration documents: GOV.UK says all biometric residence permits have expired, and status under the EU Settlement Scheme is an eVisa too. People whose settlement is shown in an older document with no expiry date can choose to get one, through a free "no time limit" application. British and Irish citizens, including dual nationals, do not need one.

You reach your eVisa through a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account. You already have one if you ever used the UK Immigration: ID Check app, created an account when applying for a visa, swapped a BRP or residence card for an eVisa, or applied to the EU Settlement Scheme, and GOV.UK asks you not to create a second one.

The order: deed poll, passport, then your UKVI account#

A deed poll alone does not change the name on an eVisa. The Home Office's guidance on the use and change of names says every application to change a name must be backed by documents that link the new name to the old one, "such as a marriage certificate or a deed poll", and that holders of non-British passports and national identity cards must also show they have changed those, unless there are exceptional circumstances. It adds that the names in your passport and identity card take precedence over the names in a marriage certificate or deed poll, and that a foreign national's eVisa carries only the name in their passport and identity card.

GOV.UK's update page says the same in practical terms: to update your name in your UKVI account, you need an identity document that proves it has changed. So the order is:

1. Make your deed poll, or use your marriage certificate, as the document that links your names.
2. Change your passport or national identity card with your own country's authorities. They set their own rules on evidence, so ask their embassy, consulate or passport office what they need. What three high commissions ask shows how much it varies.
3. Update your UKVI account with the new document, then get fresh share codes for anyone who checks your status.

Refugees, stateless people, people with humanitarian protection and some others who cannot change their national documents are treated differently: changing your name if you are not a British citizen sets out those exceptions.

How to update your UKVI account#

GOV.UK's update service lists a change of name among the updates you should make, alongside a new passport, phone number, email or address. To sign in you need one of the details you use for the account, such as your passport, national identity card, biometric residence card, expired BRP or UKVI customer number, and the phone or email you sign in with. You can add a new passport at the same time, or a second one if you hold two.

The service changes your account details only, not your immigration permission, and you cannot change your name or your passport while you are waiting for a decision on a visa application. If your eVisa itself shows a wrong name, that is an error to report through GOV.UK's report an error service, not an update.

If you have no identity document in the new name, the update service is not for you. GOV.UK points to a different route, UKVI's form to replace a paper immigration document with an eVisa, whose start page says it can be used when you cannot update your details in your account, for example because you do not have an identity document to evidence a change of name. Neither page names a fee or a processing time.

For anything else, GOV.UK offers a webchat about eVisas and UKVI accounts, and UKVI's contact page finds the right team.

Share codes, work and renting#

An employer or landlord checks your status with a share code and your date of birth, and GOV.UK says to update your UKVI account before you get a share code if you have changed your name. A share code lasts 90 days, and you can get a new one whenever you need it, so get a fresh one once the new name shows. Changing your name with your employer covers right to work checks.

The EU Settlement Scheme#

Settled and pre-settled status work through the same account. GOV.UK tells EU Settlement Scheme holders to keep their details in their UKVI account up to date, for example when they get a new passport. It also says that if your identity document or personal details have changed since you applied for pre-settled status, you must update your UKVI account when you move on to settled status, and that you cannot update your identity document in the EU Exit: ID Document Check app used for applications.

Travelling while the change goes through#

GOV.UK says to check that your UKVI account and eVisa are correct before you travel to or from the UK, because your carrier may not let you travel if they are wrong, and you may be delayed at the border. You must travel on a valid passport or travel document that you have added to your UKVI account, and your details must exactly match the passenger information you give your airline or other carrier. Until the account is updated, book in the name on the passport you will travel on.

If your name changes while you are abroad, a biometric passport lets you update your name, nationality and passport details in the account yourself. Otherwise you ask UKVI to update the account, and GOV.UK says you may need to give your fingerprints and photo at a visa application centre.