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If your biometric residence permit (BRP) is lost or stolen, you must report this to the police as soon as possible. Make sure that you are given a police report and a crime reference number. You will need to quote that reference number when applying for a replacement BRP card.

The process for replacing your lost or stolen BRP depends on whether the document was lost/stolen in the UK or overseas (see below). The International Advising Team can help you with this application and send your documents on your behalf. Please contact us.

Once you have received your new BRP you should bring it together with your passport to the Student Centre to be copied. If you are required to register with the police as a condition of your stay in the UK, you must report that you have been issued a new BRP within seven days.

You can be fined up to £1,000 and made to leave the UK if you do not apply for a replacement in time.

How to replace your BRP

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If your BRP was lost, stolen or damaged inside the UK
  • You will need to apply for a replacement BRP online.

  • You must apply for a replacement BRP card within three months of the BRP card being lost, stolen or damaged.

  • A replacement BRP card costs £56.

  • There is an additional cost of £19.20 to enrol your biometrics (photograph and fingerprints).

  • The standard processing time is eight weeks.

  • The new BRP will be delivered by courier service.

  • There is a ‘super priority’ service available which can be selected as part of the online application and costs £685.20. It can still take a couple of weeks to receive the new BRP using this service, and it is subject to appointment availability to enrol your biometrics.

The appointment to enrol your biometrics can be booked at either a core service point or an enhanced service point: 

  • An appointment to have your passport scanned and enrol your biometrics at a core service points is free of charge. The nearest core service point is in Croydon, London.

  • There are a number of enhanced service points situated in local libraries in London including Wimbledon, Victoria, Hammersmith, Stratford and Kensington. There is an additional £60 charge to book an appointment.

If your BRP card was valid for less than three months you do not have to get a replacement, but you still need to report the lost or stolen BRP to UKVI online.

It is possible to leave the United Kingdom without a BRP card, but to return you will need to follow the process described in the section below and ensure that you arrive back in the UK in good time to continue with your studies.

If your BRP was lost, stolen or damaged outside the UK

Report the lost or stolen BRP to UKVI online

You cannot apply for a replacement BRP from overseas. Instead, you must apply for a ‘replacement BRP visa’ which allows you to re-enter the UK once (single-entry visa).

To apply, you must register or log in to your visa4uk account, choose the ‘Apply for myself’ option and select the following route: 

  • Reason for visit: Other

  • Visa type: Others

  • Visa sub-type: Replacement Biometric Residence Permit.

You do not need a CAS for this application, but you should request a student status letter and copy of your lost/stolen BRP from the International Advising Team.

The processing time for standard applications is 15 working days. The priority service usually takes three to five days, but there is an additional fee for this service.

You must apply for a replacement BRP online within one month of your return to the UK (see above section).

 

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