How do I qualify to travel to the UK as a visitor?
What is a visa?
Do I need a visa to visit the UK?
How long can I stay in the UK as a visitor?
General visitors: Visiting family, friends or as a tourist
Business visitors
Business visitors: Academic visitors
Business visitors: Doctors coming for Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board
Test (PLAB)
Business visitors:
Doctors undertaking clinical attachments. Dentists undertaking clinical observer posts
Business visitors: Visiting professors accompanying students undertaking study
abroad programmes
Business visitors:
Religious workers
Sports visitors
Entertainer visitors
Special visitors
Special visitors: Visitors for private medical treatment
Special visitors: Visitors coming to get married
Special visitors: Parents of children at school in the UK
Special visitors: Child visitors
Special visitors: Student visitors
Special visitors: Prospective
students
Special visitors: Visitors
in transit
Visitors under the
UK/China Approved Destination Status (ADS) Agreement
What are Visa Application Centres?
What is
'biometric' information? What
will happen after I have made my application?
How long will my visa be valid for?
Can I appeal if you refuse my visit visa?
What are public funds?
Does
the UK have any health-care arrangements with my country?
How do I qualify to travel to the UK as a visitor?
In general, you must show that:
you
want to visit the UK for no more than six months;
you intend to leave the UK at the end of your visit, and
you have enough money to support yourself and live in the UK without working or needing help from public funds.
What is a visa?
A visa is a vignette that is applied for in advance of travel and which gives you
permission to enter the UK.
If you
have a valid UK visa we will not normally refuse you entry to the UK unless your circumstances have changed, or you gave false
information or did not tell us important facts when you applied for your visa.
When you arrive in the UK, an Immigration Officer may ask you questions, so take any documents that are
relevant to your visit in your hand luggage.
Do
I need a visa to visit the UK?
You
will need a visa to visit the UK if any of the following apply to you:
you are a national of one of the countries listed in the visa and transit visa nationals page on this website;
you are applying to visit the UK in order to get married;
you are applying as an Academic
Visitor and intend to stay in the UK for more than 6 months;
you are applying as a parent of a child at school and intend to stay in the UK for more than 6 months;
you are applying as a Prospective Student;
you are stateless (you do not have a nationality);
you hold a non-national travel document (a travel document
which does not give you the nationality of the country that issued it), or
you hold a passport issued by an authority that is not recognised in the UK.
How long can I stay in the UK as a visitor?
Visitors can stay in the UK for a maximum of
six months at any one time. The only two exceptions to this rule are Academic Visitors and the parents of children at
school who can stay for up to 12 months.
General
visitors: Visiting family, friends or as a tourist
If you want to visit family or friends in the UK or to come as a tourist you should apply as a general visitor. To
visit the UK in this capacity you must be able to show that:
you intend to visit the UK for no more than six months;
you intend to leave the UK at the end of your visit, and
you have enough money to support yourself and live in the UK without working or needing any help from public funds.
Business visitors
Immigration Rules Paragraphs 46G-46L (this
link will be active once the Immigration Rules are published).
If you are employed abroad but want to visit the UK for short periods to undertake business related activities you
may be eligible to do so as a business visitor. Anyone wishing to visit the UK as a business visitor should:
be based abroad and not intend to transfer their base to
the UK, even temporarily; and
receive
their salary from abroad, although it is acceptable for them to receive reasonable travel and subsistence expenses whilst
in the UK; and
not be involved
in selling goods or services direct to members of the public.
What types of people can be treated as business visitors?
Film crews on locations shoots only, provided they
are employed or paid by an overseas company or programme;
Representatives of overseas news media provided they are employed or paid by an overseas
company and are gathering information for an overseas publication;
Academic visitors (see below)
Visiting professors accompanying
students on study abroad programmes (see below)
Secondees from overseas companies who have a contract with a UK company, provided they
are being paid by the overseas company;
Religious workers undertaking preaching or pastoral work during a business visit
(e.g. to attend a conference), provided their base is abroad and they are not taking up office, post or appointment (see below);
Advisers,
consultants, trainers or trouble shooters employed abroad by the same company to which the client firm in the
UK belongs, provided this does not amount to employment paid or unpaid for the UK branch;
Persons undertaking specific, one-off training
provided by their own company, or a branch of it in the UK, in techniques and work practices used in the UK, provided
this is not on-the job training.
In addition, those intending to carry out any of the following permissible activities are considered business visitors:
Attending meetings or conferences;
Arranging deals, negotiating or signing trade agreements,
contracts, etc;
Undertaking fact-finding
missions, e.g journalists on a short assignment to cover a story;
Conducting site visits;
Purchasing,
checking details of or examining goods;
Delivering goods from abroad, such as lorry drivers and coach drivers provided they are genuinely working an international
route;
Attending interviews, where
prior arrangements for interview have been made;
Tour group couriers contracted to a firm outside the UK seeking entry to accompany a tour group and who intend to
leave with that group;
Speaking
at a conference where this is not run as a commercial concern and it is a 'one-off' event;
Interpreters or translators who are existing employees of
an overseas company and who are accompanying and solely providing a service for business visitors from that company;
Representatives of computer software companies coming to
install, debug or enhance their products. Representatives coming to be briefed on a UK customer’s requirements is also
acceptable. But representatives who intend to provide a detailed assessment of a potential customer’s needs should enter
under the Points Based System (PBS) (Tier 2) because this is regarded as consultancy;
Representatives of foreign manufacturers coming to service or repair their company’s
products within their initial period of guarantee;
Representatives of foreign machine manufacturers coming to erect and install machinery too heavy to be delivered
in one piece, as part of the contract of purchase and supply;
Monteurs – representatives of foreign companies coming to erect, dismantle, install, service, repair or advise
on the development of foreign-made machinery;
Board level directors attending board meetings in the UK, provided that they are not employed by a UK company, although
there may be a fee for attending the meetings.
How long can I stay as a business visitor?
In line with general visitors, the maximum permitted
stay as a business visitor is six months. If you often visit the UK, you can apply for a visa that is valid for one, two,
five or ten years. You can then visit the UK as often as you like while your visa is still valid, but you can only stay for
up to six months on each visit.
Business visitors: Academic visitors
If you wish to come to the UK as an Academic visitor you can do so provided you are either:
NB. Those who are on sabbatical leave from private research
companies are not eligible for leave under the academic visitor provisions.
or
an academic (including doctors) taking part in formal exchange arrangements with
United Kingdom counterparts; or
an
eminent senior doctor or dentist coming to take part in research, teaching or clinical practice.
In addition you must:
not receive funding for your work from any United Kingdom source (payments
of expenses or reasonable honoraria may be disregarded, as may payments on an exchange basis);
not engage in any work other than the academic activity for
which you are being admitted;
not
be filling a normal post or a genuine vacancy;
not stay in the UK for more than 12 months;
not intend to take employment in the UK;
intend to leave the UK at the end of your visit;
be able to maintain yourself and any dependants without having recourse to public funds (or be adequately maintained
and accommodated by relatives or friends);
be able to meet the cost of your return or onward journey from the UK.
How long can I stay in the UK as an Academic Visitor?
The maximum permitted stay in this category is 12 months.
Business visitors: Doctors coming for Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board Test (PLAB)
If you are a doctor wishing to come to the UK to sit the PLAB test, you may do
so as a business visitor.
In order to qualify
in this category you will need to satisfy the normal visitor requirements and in addition show that:
you are a graduate from a bona fide medical school and intend
to sit the PLAB Test; and
you
can provide documentary proof of a confirmed test date or of your eligibility to apply to sit the test; and
you do not intend to take employment whilst in the UK.
Business visitors: Doctors undertaking clinical
attachments. Dentists undertaking clinical observer posts
If you wish to visit the UK in either of these capacities you must:
be a graduate from a bona fide medical or dental school; and
provide documentary evidence of a clinical attachment or
dental observer post which:
(a) Will involve observation only and not treatment of patients
(b) Will be unpaid;
meet
the general visitor requirements of the Rules relating to visitors including:
• that you will
be able to maintain and accommodate yourself and any dependants adequately without recourse to public funds; and
• that you do not intend to take up employment whilst in the UK.
How long will I be allowed to stay in the UK on a clinical attachment
or as a dental observer?
You will be allowed initially to stay for 6 weeks, but may apply for further six week
extensions to the UK Border Agency up to a maximum stay of 6 months.
Business visitors: Visiting professors accompanying students undertaking study abroad programmes
If you are a professor or teacher from an overseas
academic institution and you wish to come to the UK to accompany overseas students on study abroad programmes you can do so
as a business visitor. Whilst in the UK, you may undertake a small amount of teaching, limited to the institution hosting
the students you are supervising but must be employed and paid by the overseas academic institution and must not intend to
base yourself or seek employment in the UK.
Business
visitors: Religious workers
If you
are a religious worker coming to the UK for a business visit (e.g to attend a conference) and undertake some preaching or
pastoral work during the visit you may come to the UK as a business visitor provided that you are based abroad and do not
intend to take up an office, post or appointment in the UK.
If you are coming to the UK to fill a vacancy as a religious worker for a recognised religion, and will be undertaking
preaching and pastoral work you will need to qualify under Tier 2 – Ministers of Religion – of the Points Based
System.
Sports visitors
Immigration Rules Paragraphs 46M - 46R (this link will be
active once the Immigration Rules are published)
You
should apply under the new sports visitor category if you are coming to the UK as a sportsperson for any of the following
purposes:
a specific event, tournament,
or series of events as individual competitors or as members of an overseas team (e.g. for a tour). This includes charity
events, exhibition matches etc;
as
an amateur coming to join and amateur team;
personal appearances and promotions such as book signings, television interviews, negotiating contracts or to discuss
sponsorship deals;
a trial
provided that the trial is not in front of an audience, either paying or non-paying;
short periods of training, whether as an individual or as part of a team.
Examples include:
Persons coming for championships such as the British Open
Golf or Wimbledon;
Touring rugby,
football or cricket teams;
Boxers
coming for one fight.
You may also
apply as a sports visitor if you are:
a
member of the technical or support staff of amateur or professional sportspeople, and you are attending the UK with them
for the same event or series of events; or
an official attending the same event or series of events as the sportperson/people, e.g as an umpire.
Entertainer visitors
Immigration Rules Paragraphs 46S-46X (This link will be active once the Immigration
Rules are published)
The new entertainer visa
has been designed for those coming to the UK for a short time to take part in certain major arts festivals, music competitions
and charity events.
You may apply as an entertainer
visitor if you are:
A professional
entertainer coming to take part in a music competition;
An internationally famous person coming to the UK to take part in broadcasts or public appearances, provided you
are not being paid;
Coming to
the UK for an audition provided this is not performed in front of an audience (either paying or non-paying);
An amateur entertainer seeking entry as an individual performer
for a specific engagement;
amateur
entertainers seeking entry as part of a group, such as a choir or youth orchestra coming for a specific engagement;
A professional entertainer taking part in a charity concert
or show where the organisers are not making a profit and you are receiving no fee;
An amateur or professional entertainer taking part in a cultural event sponsored
by a government or recognised international organisation, or at a major arts festival;
A member of the technical or support staff of amateur or professional entertainers,
who are attending for the same event. Examples of such staff include dieticians, bodyguards and press officers;
An official attending the same
event as the entertainer. Examples include choreographers, stage managers and designers.
Special visitors
Special visitors are a distinct group of different kinds of visitors as outlined in the following paragraphs.
Special visitors:
Visitors for private medical treatment
Immigration
Rules Paragraphs 51 - 56
You can apply for a visit visa to
travel to the UK for private medical treatment. You must be able to show that you:
have made suitable arrangements for the necessary private consultation or treatment;
have enough money to pay for the
treatment;
have enough money to
support yourself and live without working or getting any help from public funds while you are in the UK, and
intend to leave the UK at the end of your treatment.
We may also ask you to provide the following:
A doctor’s letter giving details of your medical condition
and the treatment you need.
Confirmation
that you have made suitable arrangements for the private consultation or treatment and how long the treatment will last.
Evidence that you can afford to pay for the consultation
and treatment.
We may also ask
you to give an undertaking (in other words, a formal agreement) that you will pay for the consultation and treatment.
Can I stay more than six months for medical
treatment?
If you need to stay longer than six months to complete your medical treatment you can apply to the
UK Border Agency. They will charge a non-refundable fee for any extension application.
You are not allowed to enter or stay in the UK to receive treatment on the National
Health Service (NHS). You must make sure that you have enough medical insurance for the whole of your stay.
Special visitors: Visitors coming to get married
Immigration Rules Paragraphs
56D - 56F
Can I get married or register a civil partnership in the UK?
If either you or your future
husband, wife or civil partner are not EEA (European Economic Area) or Swiss nationals, you can visit the UK together to get
married or register a civil partnership as long as you intend to leave the country within six months. If you wish to
marry and live in the UK please see Guidance - Husbands, wives
and partners (INF 4).
Everyone coming to the UK to get married or to register a civil partnership (except EEA and Swiss nationals) must
get a visit for marriage or visit for civil partnership visa.
You will need to show evidence that you plan to enter into a marriage or civil partnership during the period for
which you are granted leave (which will be for six months).
You can get married or register a civil partnership in any location licensed for the purpose of marriage or civil
partnerships. Once you are both in the UK you will need to give official notice of your marriage or civil partnership at a
designated register office. If you are a non-EEA or Swiss national you will have to show your entry clearance or certificate
of approval to do this. You can get more information about marriage or civil partnerships and register offices from the General
Register Offices:
England and Wales - www.gro.gov.uk
Scotland – www.gro-scotland.gov.uk
Northern Ireland – www.groni.gov.uk
Special visitors: Parents of children at school in the UK
Immigration Rules Paragraphs 56A-56C
You will qualify to come to the UK
in this capacity if you meet the general visitor requirements 41(ii)
– (xii) as set out in Paragraphs 41 of the Immigration Rules and if all of the
following apply:
Your child is attending
and independent fee paying school
Your
child is under 12 years of age
You
are not seeking to make the UK your main home.
Special visitors: Child visitors
Immigration Rules Paragraphs 46A-46F
If a child visitor is travelling to the UK without an adult (someone over the age of 18) you will need to
provide:
evidence to show that suitable
living arrangements have been made for their stay in the UK, and
contact details of the parent or guardian in the child’s home country.
If a child visitor is travelling
with an adult (someone over the age of 18), the adult must be identified when the child’s visa is applied for. The adult’s
name will appear on the visa and if the child arrives in the UK without that adult, they will be refused entry. Up to two
adults can be identified, as long as the parent or guardian has given their consent (permission).
The child’s visa is only valid if the child travels
with at least one of the adults identified on their visa.
Special visitors: Student visitors
Immigration Rules Paragraphs 56K-56M
This category is designed for those
who wish to undertake a course whilst visiting the UK. You can only study whilst on a visit to the UK if you apply as a Student
Visitor or, if you are under 18, as a Child Visitor. You must be able to show that you have been accepted on a course of study
at an educational establishment that is on the Register of Education
and Training Providers.
Special visitors: Prospective students
Immigration Rules Paragraphs 82 - 87
You may come to the UK as a prospective
student if you intend to undertake studies in the UK but have not completed all the arrangements for your course of study.
If you are unconditionally accepted for a course of study whilst in the UK, you may apply for leave to remain as a Student
to the UK Border Agency.
This category
includes:
You should have a clear idea of the type and purpose of the studies and should already have been in touch with educational
institutions in the UK. For example, the applicant may already have been provisionally accepted at an establishment with final
acceptance dependent on an interview. A vague intention to study for qualifications or to enter an unspecified university
or other institution is insufficient.
When
must an applicant start their studies?
Applicants must be able to show that they will start their studies within
6 months of arrival in the UK. Sometimes they will be able to provide evidence of the starting date in a letter of acceptance
or prospectus giving details of the course.
Special
visitors: Visitors in transit
Immigration Rules
Paragraphs 47 - 50
Full information for visitors passing through
the UK 'in transit' to another country is available in our Guidance - Transit (INF 20).
Visitors under the UK/China Approved Destination Status (ADS) Agreement
Immigration Rules Paragraphs 56G - 56J
What are the requirements for a visitor under the ADS agreement?
To apply in this category you must:
meet the requirements for visitors set out in Paragraph 41
(ii) - (vii) ; and
be a national of the People's Republic of China; and
be genuinely seeking entry as a visitor for a limited period
as stated, not exceeding 30 days; and
intend
to enter, leave and travel within the territory of the United Kingdom as a member of a tourist group of 5 or more people under
the ADS Memorandum of Understanding.
How long can a visitor stay under the ADS Agreement?
A person seeking leave to enter the United
Kingdom as a visitor under the ADS Agreement may be admitted for a period not exceeding 30 days, subject to a condition prohibiting
employment, provided they hold an ADS Agreement visit visa.
What are Visa Application Centres?
In most countries we now operate through, commercial companies who run Visa Application Centres
(VACs). The VACs are in largely populated areas, making it easier and more convenient for people to apply for a UK visa. Trained
staff at each VAC deal with all visa enquiries and applications. They collect your biometric information (see the relevant
section of this leaflet) along with the relevant fees, and provide unbiased, face-to-face advice on the application process,
including whether or not you have included all the necessary documents. They will forward your application to Entry clearance
staff who will decide whether to issue or refuse your visa. VAC staff have no say in this decision.
What is 'biometric' information?
All UK visa applicants, save for those benefiting from a limited number of exemptions
and exceptions, are required to provide biometric data (10-digit fingerscans and a digital photograph) as part of the application
process.
You will have to go to your nearest
visa application centre in person to provide your biometrics. In those countries where there is no visa application centre,
you will need to go to the British mission.
Your
visa application will not be processed until you have provided the necessary biometric information. The finger scans are electronic
so staff do not need to use any ink, liquid or chemicals. You will have your digital photograph taken at the same time and
the whole procedure should take no more than five minutes to complete. You should make sure that you do not have any decoration
(such as henna), or any cuts or other markings on your fingertips before having your finger scans. You should also make sure
that if you have any cuts and bruises on your face, they have healed or disappeared before you have your photograph taken.
Digital photographs must be of your full face and you should not wear sunglasses, a hat or any other head covering (unless
you wear it for cultural or religious reasons but the face must not be covered).
What will happen after I have made my application?
The Entry Clearance Officer will normally make a decision based on the information you have provided but may
invite you to attend an interview If this is not possible without further clarification.
Please check your visa when you get it. You should make sure that:
your personal details are correct;
it correctly states the purpose for which you want to come
to the UK, and
it is valid for
the date on which you want to travel. (You can ask for it to be post-dated for up to three months if you do not plan to travel
immediately).
How long
will my visa be valid for?
Generally
visit visas are valid for six months. But they can be issued for longer, for 1,2,5 or 10 years. However, those with longer
term visas can still only stay in the UK for six months at any one time, other than Academic Visitors and parents of children
at school as outlined above. Longer term visas are generally issued to frequent travellers.
Can I appeal if you refuse my visit visa?
Appeal rights vary for different categories of visitor. If you have a right of
appeal against the decision to refuse your visa you will be given a form on which to do so.
What are public funds?
Under the Immigration Rules, if you want to travel to the UK you must be able to support yourself and live without
recourse to public funds. A full list of public funds is available on the UK Border Agency website.
You are not allowed to enter the UK or stay as a visitor in the UK to receive medical
treatment on the National Health Service (NHS). Information on how you can enter the UK to have private medical treatment
is in this guidance.
You can find more information
about public funds in the Immigration Directorate Instructions (IDIs) and Immigration Rules on the UK Border Agency website.
Does the UK have any health-care arrangements with my country?
The UK has health-care arrangements with a number of foreign governments so that
their nationals can be referred to the UK for free hospital treatment under the NHS. You can get information about these arrangements
from the Department of Health website (www.doh.gov.uk), or from your nearest visa
application centre.
