Home Office
November 9
13:51
2022
This route is for a person who wants to visit the UK for a temporary period, (usually for up to 6 months), for purposes such as tourism, visiting friends or family, carrying out a business activity, or undertaking a short course of study.
Each Visitor must meet the requirements of the Visitor route, even if they are travelling as, for example, a family group, a tour group or a school party.
A visa national as set out in Appendix Visitor: Visa National list must obtain entry clearance as a Visitor (a visit visa) before arrival in the UK.
A non-visa national can normally seek entry on arrival in the UK.
There are 4 types of Visitor:
- Standard Visitor: for those seeking to undertake the activities set out in Appendix Visitor: Permitted Activities, for example tourism and visiting family, usually for up to 6 months. A Standard Visitor may apply for a visit visa of six months, two, five or 10 years validity, however each stay in the UK must not exceed the permitted length of stay endorsed on the visit visa (usually six months).
- Marriage/Civil Partnership Visitor: for those seeking to come to the UK to marry or form a civil partnership, or give notice of marriage or civil partnership.
- Permitted Paid Engagement Visitor: for experts in their field coming to the UK to undertake specific paid engagements for up to one month.
- Transit Visitor: for those who want to transit the UK on route to another country outside the Common Travel Area and who will enter the UK for up to 48 hours by crossing the UK border unless Appendix Visitor: Transit Without Visa Scheme applies.
Visitors cannot work in the UK unless this is expressly allowed under the permitted activities set out in Appendix Visitor: Permitted Activities.
Further information of how long each Visitor can stay and what they can and cannot do in the UK is set out at V 17.2 and Appendix Visitor: Permitted Activities.
- V 1.1. A person seeking to come to the UK as a Visitor must apply for and obtain entry clearance before they arrive in the UK if they are:
- (a) a visa national, unless V 1.3. (b) applies; or
- (b) seeking to marry or form a civil partnership, or give notice of marriage or civil partnership, in the UK unless they are a relevant national as defined in section 62 of the Immigration Act 2014; or
- (c) seeking to come to the UK as a Visitor for more than 6 months.
- V 1.2. Within the period for which the entry clearance is valid, a Visitor may enter and leave the UK multiple times, unless the entry clearance is endorsed as single or dual entry.
- V 1.3. A person seeking to come to the UK as a Visitor may apply for permission to enter on arrival in the UK where they are:
- (a) a non-visa national, unless V 1.1. (b) or (c) apply; or
- (b) a visa national and an exception applies as set out in Appendix Visitor: Visa National list or Appendix Visitor: Transit Without Visa Scheme.
- V 1.4. A child who holds entry clearance as a Visitor on arrival in the UK must either:
- (a) hold a valid entry clearance that states they are accompanied and will be travelling with an adult identified on that entry clearance; or
- (b) hold an entry clearance which states they are unaccompanied;
- otherwise the child may be refused entry to the UK, unless they meet the requirements of V5.1. and V 5.2.
- V 2.1. A person applying for entry clearance as a Visitor must apply online on the gov.uk website on the specified form Apply for a UK visit visa.
- V 2.2. A person applying for permission to stay as a Visitor must apply online on the gov.uk website on the specified form Application to extend stay in the UK: FLR(IR).
- V 2.3. An application for entry clearance or permission to stay as a Visitor must meet all the following requirements:
- (a) any fee must have been paid; and
- (b) the applicant must have provided any required biometrics; and
- (c) the applicant must have provided a passport or other document which satisfactorily establishes their identity and nationality.
- V 2.4. An application for entry clearance as a Visitor must be made while the applicant is outside the UK and to a post designated to accept such applications.
- V 2.5. An application for permission to stay as a Visitor must be made by a person:
- (a) in the UK; and
- (b) with permission as a Standard Visitor or Marriage/Civil Partnership Visitor.
- V 2.6. An application which does not meet all the validity requirements for a Visitor is invalid and may be rejected and not considered.
- V 3.1. The applicant must not fall for refusal under Part 9: grounds for refusal.
- V 3.2. If applying for permission to stay the applicant must not be:
- (a) in breach of immigration laws, except that where paragraph 39E applies, that period of overstaying will be disregarded; or
- (b) on immigration bail.
- V 4.1. The decision maker must be satisfied that the applicant (unless they are applying for entry clearance or permission to enter as a Transit Visitor) meets all of the eligibility requirements in V 4.2. to V 4.6. and that they meet the specified additional eligibility requirements where the applicant:
- (a) is a child at the date of application, they must also meet the additional requirements at V 5.1. and V 5.2; or
- (b) is coming to the UK under the Approved Destination Status Agreement, they must also meet the
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