• What is my Biometric Residence Permit (BRP)?

  Your BRP is a credit card-size card that contains your biometric details (your fingerprints and a photograph of your face) and details of your Student visa.  It includes:

  • Your name
  • Your date and place of birth
  • The start date of your Student visa
  • The end date of your Student visa
  • Working conditions attached to your visa
  • Ulster University's sponsor licence number: N3JJA3AV4

  If you applied for your Student visa from outside the UK

  You have two options on where to collect your BRP when applying:

  1. From specific Post Office branches
  2. From the University

  If you applied for your Student visa from within the UK

  Your BRP will be sent to you by courier. You do not need to collect it.  You will usually receive your BRP within 7 to 10 days of getting your decision letter from the Home Office confirming that you can remain in the UK.

  If your BRP has not arrived within 10 days, you can go to gov.uk to find out what to do.

  Your BRP will be sent to the address you gave in your visa application. If you want it to be sent elsewhere, you must update your address before you receive your decision letter.

• Delivery to a Post Office

  For students who will be studying at our Belfast or Derry~Londonderry campuses we recommend that you request your BRP be sent to a Post Office. You should choose the post office nearest to your campus of study or where you plan to live. Only certain approved post offices allow collection of BRP's.

  You must choose the "BRP collection service" in the drop-down box "choose a service" to show the list of authorised BRP collection post offices.

  If your campus is Belfast you should choose the Belfast City Post Office

  View Belfast City Post Office on Google Maps

  If your campus is Derry~Londonderry, you should choose the Derry/Londonderry Custom House Post Office

  View Derry/Londonderry Custom House Post Office on Google Maps

  Post office collection means students can choose to collect their BRP at a time convenient for them including a Saturday.  For a small fee, there is also flexibility to have this transferred to another post office after arrival should you so wish.

  For students who will be studying at our Coleraine campus we would recommend that you request your BRP be delivered to the University.

• Delivery to the University

  If you choose to send your BRP to Ulster University you should:

  • Select the Alternative Collection Location (ACL) provision. You will need to attend an in-person appointment to collect your BRP.
  • Your BRP collection point will be shown on your decision letter.
  • To collect your BRP, you must have your passport, visa vignette, and the decision letter issued by UKVI.

  The University ACL code 3HE392 must be entered at the Student Visa application stage.

• Collecting your BRP

  Collecting your BRP from a Post Office

  If you chose to have your BRP delivered to a Post Office, you must go to your chosen Post Office to collect it.  The Post Office branch address will be confirmed on your visa decision letter. You must:

  • pick this up in person from the Post Office selected.
  • bring your passport, visa vignette, and the decision letter issued by UKVI.

  The Home Office provides detailed information about your BRP including advice on collecting your child's BRP from a Post Office and nominating someone else to collect your BRP from a Post Office.

  Alternatively, you may visit a more convenient BRP regulated Post Office (with your passport and UKVI letter) to arrange a transfer. There will be a small charge for this but it means you can select another BRP regulated post office which is more convenient for you and they will transfer this for you.

  Find out how to do this and which post offices will accept a transfer

  Collecting your BRP from the university

  If you chose to have your BRP delivered to the university, you must book an appointment with a staff member to collect it. Appointments will be made available 2 days per week on each campus but you will only be able to make an appointment if we have received your BRP.

  Details of BRP’s received at the University are updated on a Monday and Wednesday of each week.

  We will contact you directly to confirm we have received this and with the links which will allow you to book an appointment as follows:

  Book an appointment

  You can book an appointment with a member of the International Student Advisory team to collect your BRP in-person, on campus.

  Appointments must be booked a minimum of 7 days in advance of your selected collection date.

  Once you have booked your appointment your BRP will be transferred to the campus of your choice for collection.

  The link to book an appointment will be emailed to you as soon as we have received your BRP.

  We cannot change the collection location after the appointment has been booked so please book the campus nearest to where you live/most convenient for you to collect this.

  Please bring your passport and letter from the Home Office confirming the location of your BRP with you.

• Errors on your BRP

  Check your BRP carefully when you receive it.  If there is a problem with your BRP when it arrives, you must report it within 10 days otherwise you may have to apply and pay for a replacement.

  You can report problems with your BRP online.

  If you applied for your visa from within the UK and there are mistakes on your BRP in relation to the length or conditions of your visa, you can ask for an administrative review.

  Please contact the Compliance team for advice if you notice errors on your BRP.

  For further guidance on dealing with errors on your BRP, please look at:

  • Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs)
  • UKCISA – Passport, visa and BRP problems
• Under 18's

  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 formally nominate someone you trust who can go with you. They will need to provide evidence of their identity to UKVI. Please allow enough time for the nomination to be approved by UKVI.

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

• Dependents

  If you are travelling to the UK with dependents, you may collect the BRP on behalf of your dependent(s).

  You will need to present their passport(s) and their decision letter(s) to collect their BRP(s).  For further information please see UKVI guidance on collecting your BRP.

Frequently Asked Questions

• When should I collect my BRP?

  You will receive notification when your BRP is ready for collection, you should then collect it as soon as possible.

• My decision letter instructs me to collect my BRP from the Post Office and not from my University.

  This means you selected Post Office collection for your BRP when completing your Student Visa application.

  Your decision letter will confirm the Post Office branch address where you can collect your BRP.

• Can I change where to collect my BRP?

  We cannot change the location you have indicated to collect your BRP.

  However, if you have selected to collect it from the Post Office, it is possible for you to request that your BRP is transferred to another Post Office location within the UK see the Home Office website. This will delay your collection and there will be a small charge for this but it means you can select another BRP regulated post office which is more convenient for you and they will transfer this for you.

  Find out how to do this and which post offices will accept a transfer

• How do I collect my child dependent's visa?

  If you are collecting your children's visas at the Post Office, you will need to take all their passports and decision letters.

  For any dependent under 18 years of age you will also need to get an authorisation email from the Home Office, this is explained in the main applicant’s explanatory letter issued when the visas were granted.

• I have lost my decision letter advising me of which Post Office to collect my BRP/or there is an error on the letter?

  Contact the Home Office to arrange for a replacement letter.

  My course is less than six months, will I still receive a BRP?

  Students applying for a visa for a course of less than six months will receive the visa in their passport and will not need to collect a further document on arrival in the UK.

• I am applying for my new visa from within the UK.  Where will my new visa be delivered to?

  Your BRP will be sent to you by courier. You do not need to collect it.  You will usually receive your BRP within 7 to 10 days of getting your decision letter from the Home Office confirming that you can remain in the UK.

  If your BRP has not arrived within 10 days, you can go to gov.uk to find out what to do.

  Your BRP will be sent to the address you gave in your visa application. If you want it to be sent elsewhere, you must update your address before you receive your decision letter.

• Once I arrive and collect my BRP, can I leave the UK?

  Yes, you can leave the UK but you will need to show your BRP and your passport each time you travel.

  If you do not collect your BRP and have to leave, you can re-enter the UK within the 90 day period of the travel vignette (i.e. you can re-enter without your BRP) but you must collect your BRP as soon as possible on your return.