Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs)
What is a BRP?
A Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) is a Student Visa in the form of an identity card. It contains each student's unique biometric data and displays a photograph of their face.
Only some students receive a BRP. Others may recieve their Visa as a sticker inside their passport, or their Visa may be issued digitally without any physical documentation.
To find out how your Visa was or will be issued, check all correspondence relating to your Visa application.
Who can collect a BRP from the University?
If you are applying for a Student Visa from outside the UK, you can choose to collect your BRP from us. To do so, enter the ACL code 2HE499 into the relevant part of your Visa Application Form.
After you arrive in the UK, you are required to collect your BRP before your 90-day entry clearance visa expires (or, if there are less than 10 days left on your Entry Clearance visa when you enter the UK, within 10 days of arrival).
If You Applied for Your Visa Outside the UK
After your Visa application is approved, you usually receive an Entry Clearance Visa sticker in your passport that is valid for 90 days.
After using this Visa to enter the UK, you can collect your BRP. Your BRP will display your full Visa length and conditions for staying in the UK.
You must not attempt to enter the UK before the start date of your Entry Clearance Visa. Please check this very carefully before booking travel, and ensure that you enter the UK within the permitted 90-day window.
If You Applied for Your Visa Inside the UK
You do not need to collect a BRP.
It will be sent by courier to the address you entered on your Application Form, or your Visa will be issued digitally.
Where To Collect Your BRP
Information about where you can collect your BRP can be found on your completed Visa Application Form. We recommend that you keep a copy of this after your Visa is issued so you can refer to it when in the UK.
If you entered our ACL code (2HE499) into your Visa Application Form, you can collect your BRP from the University of Glasgow's Main Campus. Student Visa holders will recieve an email from the University after we receive your BRP with instructions on how to book a collection time. If you have already received your Student Email address, this email will be sent to your Student Inbox. If not, it will be sent to your personal email.
If you did not enter our ACL code into your Visa Application Form, you should collect your BRP from your local Post Office in the UK. The nearest Post Office to the main University campus (Giilmorehill) that offers BRP collection is Partick Post Office, located at 384 Dumbarton Road, G11 6RY.
Important Information
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If you are collecting your BRP from the Post Office...
You must collect it before you attend Visa Registration. This is because the University need to see your BRP and make a copy of it for our records.
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If your BRP has a mistake on it...
If your name is mispelled, the expiry date is too short, if if something else is wrong, please report this to UKVI as soon as possible after collecting your BRP. If they agree that there is an error, they will send you a corrected BRP free of charge.
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If your BRP expiry date is 31 December 2024, but your total Visa permission is longer than this...
This is not an error. The UK government are in the process of making the change from BRPs to digital Visas. The remaining time on all UK visas beyond December 2024 will be issued digitally. See here for more information.
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If you have dependants included in your Student Visa Application...
Your dependants can collect their BRPs from the University, too!
Eeach of your dependants, including children and babies, must be in attendance with their passport for their BRP(s) to be issued. If you and your dependants are collecting your BRPs at the same time, only one appointment is required. If your dependants are collecting on their own, you will need to arrange an appointment for them.
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If you are under 18 years of age at the time of collecting your BRP...
We strongly advise you to collect your BRP from the University. If collecting from the Post Office, you need to be accompanied by a Responsible Adult who requires pre-approval from UKVI, even if they are your parent or legal guardian. This approval takes around 5 working days but often longer. If you collect from the University, a Responsible Adult is not required.
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If you are studying in Dumfries...
BRPs cannot be collected from the University's Dumfries Campus or from any Post Office in Dumfries.
If you entered our ACL code into your Visa Application, you must collect your BRP from the University's Main Campus.
Currently, the nearest Post Office that offers BRP collection is in Carlisle.
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If your BRP is lost or stolen...
Please read the instructions on our International Student Support Team's webpages.
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