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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 full visa will be in the form of a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) which you can collect when you arrive in the UK.

Please take care not to lose your BRP as replacing it can be very costly and time consuming.

  • 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:

  • 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