Glossary
Biometric residence permit (BRP) — explained for Turkish readers
Biometric residence permit: the plastic card that used to prove UK immigration status. BRPs expired at the end of 2024 and were replaced by the eVisa.
A biometric residence permit was a credit-card-sized document carrying your photograph, biometric data, immigration status and conditions. Anyone granted leave for more than six months received one. All BRPs carried an expiry date of 31 December 2024 regardless of how long the underlying leave ran, and the Home Office replaced them with an online record, the eVisa. Your leave itself did not expire with the card.
Turkish readers will find the concept close to the ikamet izni kartı issued by the Göç İdaresi, with one difference: Türkiye still issues a physical card, while the UK has moved to a digital record only. Keep the old card even so; some Turkish consular procedures still list it, and it is a convenient record of the dates on which leave was granted.
An expired BRP remains a useful piece of evidence for askerlik, SGK and consular files, and can be translated as part of your UK immigration status documents.