AI agents for business finance: what they can and can't do
What AI agents can do in bookkeeping, close, collections and compliance today, where a person must stay in charge, and how to judge a product.
The short answer
Sign in to GOV.UK's 'View your eVisa and get a share code' service with your passport (or another listed document) and the phone or email on your UKVI account, then request a code for a purpose other than work or renting; the3million says this is the 'something else' option and the code starts with S. Give the bank the code with your date of birth. A share code lasts 90 days and can be reused until it expires.
A bank that asks for a share code wants to see your immigration status on the Home Office's own system, through the GOV.UK service 'Check someone's immigration status'. Generating the wrong kind of code, or one that expires halfway through a slow application, is the usual reason this step fails.
What you need before you start
GOV.UK's 'View and prove your immigration status' page, updated on 22 October 2026, lists what you need to sign in:
- a passport, national identity card or biometric residence card (valid or expired), or an expired biometric residence permit, or your UKVI customer number;
- access to the mobile phone number or email address you use for your UKVI account.
If you have changed phone number since you set the account up, fix that first, because the sign-in sends a code to it. If you have renewed your Nigerian passport, update the account so the passport on file is the one you will show the bank. GOV.UK's travel guidance says the details in your UKVI account need to match your travel document.
Step by step
- Go to the 'View your eVisa and get a share code' service linked from GOV.UK.
- Sign in with your document and the security code sent to your phone or email.
- Choose to prove your status, and pick the reason. For a bank, choose the option that is not right to work or right to rent; the3million calls this 'something else'.
- Read the screen telling you which of your personal details the organisation will see.
- Copy the share code. the3million says a code for this purpose starts with S.
- Give the bank the code and your date of birth. GOV.UK says it does not need to see your eVisa itself.
Why the reason matters
The Home Office runs separate checking services for employers, landlords and everyone else. GOV.UK's 'Check someone's immigration status' page, which a bank uses, says it shows whether a person has the right to live in the UK and any restrictions on their rights or access to benefits and services, and points employers and landlords to their own services. the3million notes that right to work and right to rent codes do not work in the general service. So a code you made for your employer last month may be valid and still useless to the bank.
| Asked by | Choose | Checked through |
|---|---|---|
| Employer | Right to work | Employer right to work check |
| Landlord in England | Right to rent | Landlord right to rent check |
| Bank, building society, money app | Something else (code starts with S) | Check someone's immigration status |
The 90-day clock
GOV.UK says a share code lasts 90 days. You can use it as many times as you need in that period and request a new one whenever you need. Three practical consequences:
- Generate the code on the day you apply, not weeks earlier, so it is still live if the bank's review takes time.
- If a bank comes back after a delay asking for status again, make a fresh code rather than resending an expired one.
- One code can go to more than one bank or app during its 90 days, as long as the reason fits.
What to check first
- You can still sign in: the phone number or email on your UKVI account is one you use today.
- The passport on your UKVI account is the one you will show the bank.
- Your name and date of birth on the eVisa are correct; report any error before you apply anywhere.
- You know which bank or app wants the code and roughly how long its checks take, so the code will not lapse mid-review.
- Family members each have their own code. GOV.UK's eVisa page says dependants need their own UKVI accounts, so a spouse or child opening an account will need a code from their own record.
When the code does not work
- Wrong date of birth. The check needs the date exactly as the Home Office holds it.
- Expired code. Make a new one.
- Wrong reason. A work or rent code will not open in the bank's service.
- An error in your eVisa. GOV.UK's eVisa page says UKVI aims to fix most reported errors within 5 working days, and complex ones within 15.
- Staff asking for a BRP. See our guide to opening a high-street account with a share code, which sets out what the Home Office tells banks.
Different banks ask at different points. Starling, for instance, lists a non-UK passport as acceptable only with a share code; see opening a Starling account on a visa. For money transfer apps, read share codes for money transfer services.
Where Pryme fits
Opening a Pryme Personal account follows Pryme's own identity checks, set out on how it works; it is not a substitute for proving your UK status to a UK bank. Many people use both: a UK bank for salary and bills, and Pryme for naira and other currencies.
Questions people ask
Which share code do I need for a bank?
Not right to work or right to rent. the3million advises choosing 'something else' for a bank, and says that code begins with S. The bank checks it through GOV.UK's 'check someone's immigration status' service.
How long is a share code valid?
GOV.UK says 90 days. You can reuse it during that time and get a new one whenever you need.
Can I give my bank the share code from my employer?
Usually not. Right to work codes are checked through a separate service, and the3million says they do not work for this purpose.
What does the bank see with my share code?
GOV.UK says the service shows your right to live in the UK and any restrictions on rights or access to benefits and services. When you create the code, you are told which personal details will be shown.
Sources
- GOV.UK: View and prove your immigration status (updated 22 Oct 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- GOV.UK: Check someone's immigration status · accessed Oct 2026
- GOV.UK: eVisas · accessed Oct 2026
- the3million: Bank share code FAQ (13 Dec 2024) · accessed Oct 2026
- GOV.UK: Travel with your eVisa (updated 22 Oct 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.