PETITIONOpenPetition · petition.parliament.uk
Reinstate the physical Biometric Residence Permits
We urge the Government to reinstate and reissue all Biometric Residence Permits and accept them as proof legal status.
Last fetched 03 May 2026 · petition.parliament.uk
Signatures
73
signatures
Government response threshold (10,000) · 73/10,000
Debate threshold (100,000) · 73/100,000
Background
We believe e-Visas and share codes have systemic flaws preventing lawful UK residents from proving their status, which can cause severe impact to people's lives. We believe proving basic rights should not be contingent on access to technology.
Share codes & e-Visas:
1) Are valid temporarily and do not have legal power outside of their designated use.
2) Designed for third parties who may not know how to use it, which can lead to enforcement errors.
3) Inaccessible if a phone is off (stolen/no internet/old) / UKVI errored or lost data / the user forget their credentials / lack digital skill.
An inability to prove status can put already vulnerable people in situations that cause major distress (refused flight boarding, benefit/job access). We ask the Government to fix this.