Lost or expired passport whilst studying

Overview

The situation depends on two things: whose passport it is (almost always a passport issued by your home country rather than the UK), and where the loss, theft or expiry happens. Your passport is a separate document from your UK immigration permission, so losing it does not cancel your right to be in the UK. What you need to do is replace the passport itself, deal with any UK immigration document that was inside it, and make sure your immigration status remains linked to a valid document. There are three parallel tasks: reporting, replacing the passport, and updating your UK immigration records.

If your passport is lost or stolen

Report it promptly. If it was lost or stolen in the UK, report it to the police and ask for a crime reference number, then report it to your own country’s embassy or high commission in the UK. If it was lost or stolen abroad, report it to the local police there. A police report or reference number is often needed for the replacement application and can be useful evidence later.

Contact your embassy or high commission to cancel the old passport and apply for a replacement. Only your own government can issue you a new national passport; the UK authorities cannot. Processing times vary widely between countries, so apply as early as possible.

Do not confuse cancelling a UK passport (the GOV.UK “cancel a lost or stolen passport” service) with your situation. That service is for British passport holders. If you are an international student on a foreign passport, you use your own country’s embassy, not HM Passport Office.

If you are outside the UK when it happens, do not book travel until you have a valid passport and your UK immigration permission is correctly linked. Trying to re-enter without the right documents can cause you to be refused boarding or entry.

The UK immigration document that matters

The critical point under the current system is how your UK permission to stay is recorded. Most students who previously held a biometric residence permit (BRP) have now moved to an eVisa, an online immigration status held in a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account. BRPs are no longer issued and expired for most holders at the end of 2024.

If you have an eVisa, your status is stored digitally and linked to a passport number. When you receive your new passport, you must log in to your UKVI account and update it with the new passport details, using the “update your details” service on GOV.UK. Do this before you travel back into the UK if you are abroad, because your eVisa is checked against the passport you present. Losing the physical passport does not affect the eVisa itself, but the passport number on your account must match the document you carry.

If your original UK entry clearance was a vignette (a sticker in the passport, common for courses shorter than six months) and it was in the lost or stolen passport, you may need to apply to transfer that vignette to your new passport, or to obtain an eVisa, before travelling into the UK. Check the current GOV.UK “transfer your visa to a new passport” guidance for your circumstances.

If you still held a physical BRP that was in the passport, note that replacement BRPs are generally no longer available. You must still report the loss online through the Home Office service. UKCISA warns that failing to report a lost, stolen or damaged BRP can result in a fine of up to £1,000, so report it even though you will not be issued a new card.

If your passport is about to expire

An expiring passport is different from a lost one and is usually simpler. Your UK immigration permission does not end just because your passport expires. You apply for a new passport through your own country’s embassy or high commission in the UK in the normal way, in good time before expiry.

Once you have the new passport, update your UKVI account (eVisa) with the new passport number using the GOV.UK update service. Keep your old, expired passport if it contains a valid vignette, because you may need to show both documents together when travelling until the position is resolved, and it is evidence of your immigration history.

If you are planning to make a further immigration application, for example to extend your student visa or switch to another route, you generally need a valid passport for that application, so renewing before it expires avoids delay.

Practical order of steps

1. Report a lost or stolen passport to the police and get a reference number, and report a lost, stolen or damaged BRP online to the Home Office to avoid the £1,000 fine.

2. Apply to your embassy or high commission for a replacement or renewed passport as soon as possible.

3. Check whether your UK permission is an eVisa, a vignette, or an old BRP, because this changes what you do next.

4. When the new passport arrives, log in to your UKVI account and update your passport details, or apply to transfer a vignette if that applies to you.

5. Do not travel internationally until the new passport is in hand and your immigration status is correctly linked to it.

Where to get help

Your university’s international student advice team or student immigration service can give tailored, regulated immigration advice and often has direct experience of the process for students from your country. UKCISA (the UK Council for International Student Affairs) publishes reliable guidance for international students on passport and visa problems and on eVisas. GOV.UK has the official pages on updating your UKVI account, transferring a visa to a new passport, and reporting a lost or damaged BRP.

Key facts that change the answer

The precise steps depend on your nationality and how your embassy operates, whether the loss happened inside or outside the UK, whether your UK permission is an eVisa, a vignette or a former BRP, how long is left on your permission, and whether you have any imminent travel or a further visa application planned. If you tell me your nationality, your current immigration document type, and where the passport was lost or stolen, I can set out the exact sequence for your situation.