Replacing a lost visa in the UK

What to do if you lose your visa inside the UK.

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You must apply for your BRP replacement within 3 months of losing it if you have more than three months of leave remaining. Failure to do so may result in a fine, having your permission cancelled, and any future immigration applications you make to come to the UK may be affected.

The Home Office will not issue a replacement to you if there are less than 4 weeks left on your original visa, however you should still report the loss/theft.

Step 1 - Contact us

Complete our online form so that we can help you. The Immigration Advisory Service will contact you to discuss your next steps.

You should tell us if you have any upcoming travel plans so that we can provide you with the appropriate advice and guidance.

Step 2 - Tell the Home Office

You should only report your lost BRP to the Home Office if you are sure it is lost, as your BRP will be cancelled. You cannot undo this cancellation, even if you find your visa.

You can report your visa as lost or stolen to the Home Office using their online reporting form. This will cancel your visa so it can no longer be used.

Step 3 - Check your application with us

You can start to prepare your BRP replacement application form, but you should not submit it before you have spoken to us about your application.

You can provide a PDF copy of your replacement BRP application form via email, which we will then check for you before you submit and pay.

We may invite you to attend an appointment with us if we deem it necessary, which could be either online via Microsoft Teams or in person. This will allow us to check your form with you and help you submit it online.

Once you have submitted your application, you should ideally not travel outside of the UK. Please let us know urgently if you need to travel.

Step 4 - Attend an appointment with a visa centre

You will now need to book and attend an appointment to provide your biometrics, a checklist of required documents can be found on your UKVI application page. Once you have attended your appointment, your application will be processed, and you will need to wait for an outcome.