The United Kingdom Government launched E-Visas visas on Tuesday for students and Pakistani workers as part of an “improved” immigration and immigration system.
The announcement occurred just one day after the two countries formally signed the Commercial Dialogue Mechanism Agreement and decided to establish the business council of the United Kingdom-Pakistan to institutionalize bilateral economic cooperation.
In a statement of today, the high British commission (BHC) in Islamabad said: “The United Kingdom government is replacing physical immigration documents for most students’ visas and workers with a digital immigration status test, an electronic vision.”
The high British commissioner Jane Marriott said in X that the installation was for “most students and workers who requested more than 6 months.”
A Visa E is an online record of a person’s immigration permit in the United Kingdom and will make the visa process easier and safer, the BHC said in your statement.
“The electronic visas are tested and tried, with millions of people who already use them on selected immigration routes,” he said.
Students and workers who intend to remain in the United Kingdom for a period of more than six months will be eligible to request Visa E. The United Kingdom government plans to expand the scheme to all visa requests, according to the statement.
In 2024, the United Kingdom government announced that the country’s immigration system was transition to a totally digital format, replacing physical documents with an online immigration system.
The BHC described the following eligibility criteria for Visa E:
- Students, including short -term study for 11 months
- Global Business Mobility Routes (specifically, senior or specialist worker, postgraduate student, United Kingdom Expansion worker, service provider, worker in the second part)
- Global talent
- International athlete
- Qualified worker (including health and care)
- Temporary work routes (specifically, charity worker, creative worker, exchange authorized by the government, international agreement and religious work routes)
- Youth Mobility Scheme
Applicants requesting as dependents or for visas other than study or work, for example. The general visitor visa will still need a physical visa, the statement said.
Those with physical visas existing on the date do not need to take any measure.
Marriott said the changes were established to simplify the visa process for students and workers. “It also means that applicants can keep their passports, saving time,” he said.
She clarified that the update of a physical visa to a visa and will not have any impact on the current state of immigration of a person.
“The headlines can link their travel document (such as Passport) with their UKVI account (visas and immigration of the United Kingdom) to facilitate direct international trips,” reads the statement.
The UKVI, introduced in 2024, is an account that visa holders that remain in the United Kingdom for more than six months must create. It serves as an online record of people’s immigration state.
