Collecting your BRP

When you make a Student Visa application from outside the UK, you will usually be granted a short visa in your passport (this is called a vignette). Your vignette should normally be 90 days in length, and will allow you to enter the UK.

The rest of your visa duration will be recorded on a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP). You can collect your BRP when you arrive in the UK. The BRP is a card which holds information about you, your visa, and also your biometric data in a chip.

You will need to choose where you want to collect your BRP from when you make your visa application. Your CAS will give a code you can use to enter on your visa application (this is called an ACL code). Please note that this code is campus specific. We recommend you use this code to choose the university for collection of the BRP.  Alternatively, you can choose to have it delivered to a local Post Office.

The address of your BRP collection point will be shown on your decision letter.

You must collect your BRP within 10 days of arriving in the UK, or before the expiry of the visa in your passport (whichever is the latest date). If you do not collect your BRP, you can potentially be given a fine, so it is very important that you collect it as soon as you can.  UK quarantine regulations take a higher priority than the requirement to collect  the BRP in this timeframe, so if you need to quarantine when you enter the UK, you must complete your quarantine period first, even if this means that you will collect your BRP card after this deadline.  You must always make sure to comply with UK Government requirements to quarantine on arrival to the UK, and this is more important than the deadline to collect the BRP.

Collection from the university

If you choose to collect your BRP card from the university, it will be available to collect from the Student Centre on your specific campus.

To collect your BRP, you must have your passport, visa vignette, and also the decision letter issued by UKVI.

During the first 3 weeks of term, this is how you can collect your card from the Student Centres at the following campuses:

• Greenwich Campus - Book a slot using the QR codes once on campus (12th to 30th September).
• Avery Hill Campus - Collect your BRP from the Registration venue 10:00 to 12:00 and 14:00 to 16:00 (12th to 30th September).
• Medway Campus - Collect your BRP from the Registration venue 10:00 to 12:00 and 14:00 to 16:00 (12th to 30th September).

Collection from the Post Office

If you would like to collect your BRP from the Post Office, you can use their branch finder to locate the branch closest to your accommodation. Please note that only some Post Offices will offer this service.

The nearest Post Office to the Greenwich Maritime and Avery Hill campuses is the Lewisham Branch: 59 Riverdale Lewisham Centre, SE13 7EP.

The nearest Post Office to the Medway campus is the Chatham Branch: 17-19 Military Road, Chatham, Kent, ME4 4JG.

To collect your BRP, you must have your passport, visa vignette, and also the decision letter issued by UKVI.

If you collect your BRP from the Post Office, it's important to note that you will need to provide a copy of the BRP to the university.  This is because the university is required to keep a copy of your BRP.  You will be able to provide a copy of the BRP by visiting a Student Centre or by contacting the Student Visa Compliance Team at:  t4compliance@gre.ac.uk

BRP errors

Your BRP will include:

• your name, date and place of birth
• the data of your fingerprints and a photo of your face
• your immigration status and any conditions of your stay
• whether you can access public funds, for example benefits and health services

Please check these details are correct. Any errors need to reported to the UKVI within 10 days. You should also inform the university by visiting the Student Centre.

You can contact the International Student Advice Service for guidance if you have a query with the information on your BRP.

Under 18s

If you are under the age of 18, you will need to be accompanied by a responsible adult when you collect your BRP. You cannot collect it yourself.

To do this at the Post Office, you must nominate someone you trust who can go with you. They will need to provide evidence of their identity. Please allow enough time for the nomination to be approved.

If you collect your BRP from the university, you do not need to nominate someone.

Dependants

If you are travelling to the UK with dependants, you will need to show their passport(s) and their decision letter(s) to collect their BRP(s).

Further information

For further information please see UKVI guidance on collecting your BRP.