The Home Office is launching a new passenger support helpline to deal with queries from those who will be travelling from 31 December 2024, in light of the extended transition to eVisas.
Under the temporary extension, airlines and other carriers are allowed to accept expired biometric residence permits and cards from those returning to the UK until 31 March 2025, provided the holder retains valid status.
According to information shared by the Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association (ILPA), the helpline will be open 24/7 from 9am GMT on 31 December 2024. It will be operated by UKVI contact centre staff, and is understood to be designed for those who are travelling imminently or who have encountered problems gaining entry into the UK due to the current transition rules.
The freephone helpline number is 0800 876 6921.
If you cannot contact UK 0800 numbers, you can contact 0203 337 0927, which may incur charges.
The helpline should not be used to resolve technical issues or to contact carriers.
For general or technical issues, travellers should contact UKVI through their standard customer services channels.
To avoid potential issues when gaining entry into the UK, or when proving your UK immigration status, travellers remain advised to set up a UKVI account as soon as possible to check their eVisa details. For more information about transitioning to an eVisa, read our guide.
Author
Founder and Managing Director Anne Morris is a fully qualified solicitor and trusted adviser to large corporates through to SMEs, providing strategic immigration and global mobility advice to support employers with UK operations to meet their workforce needs through corporate immigration.
She is a recognised by Legal 500 and Chambers as a legal expert and delivers Board-level advice on business migration and compliance risk management as well as overseeing the firm’s development of new client propositions and delivery of cost and time efficient processing of applications.
Anne is an active public speaker, immigration commentator, and immigration policy contributor and regularly hosts training sessions for employers and HR professionals
