For a short period of up to six months, foreign citizens are able to enter the UK as tourists, business travellers, students, and for other approved reasons with a UK visitor visa, also known as a standard visitor visa or UK tourist visa. My Legal Services solicitor advised confirming on the Home Office website whether you need a visiting visa in order to apply before proceeding. You may not require a visa to enter the UK for up to six months, depending on your nationality.
What Can and Can’t Do With a UK Visitor Visa:
If you have a UK Visitor Visa, you are permitted to do the following in the UK for a maximum of six months:
- Tourism (vacation or holiday, for example)
- Get married (assuming that after the marriage, you plan to live abroad)
- See relatives or acquaintances
- Spend no more than 30 days as a volunteer for a UK charity that has received registration.
- Travel to another country via the United Kingdom
- Do specific business-related tasks (such as an interview or meeting)
- An exchange programme between schools.Recreational programmes lasting up to 30 days
- Study; classes shouldn’t last longer than six months.
If you have a UK visitor visa, you aren’t allowed to:
- Perform work for pay or without compensation.
- Use public resources (such as benefits). Live here by coming back again and again.
- Give notice of impending marriage or civil partnership, get married or enter into one (you must obtain a Marriage Visitor visa for each of these situations).
Requirements for a UK visitor visa:
To be granted a UK Visitor Visa, applicants must fulfil the following basic eligibility requirements:
- You have to really plan on leaving the UK at the end of your stay.
- You have to bring enough money with you to sustain yourself in the UK.
- You can pay for your future travels, but using a visitor visa to enter the UK on multiple occasions won’t allow you to settle there.
If you are coming to the UK for medical treatment, to complete a placement or exam, to work as a senior doctor or dentist, to study, or for any other reason, you might further need to meet additional eligibility requirements. If you want to apply for a UK tourist visa, you can get in touch with our immigration lawyers for a free consultation.
UK Visitor Visa Cost:
On October 4, 2023, the Home Office increased the cost of a UK Visitor Visa.
| Visa | Fees |
| Standard Visitor | £115 |
| Standard Visitor – 2 Years | £400 |
| Standard Visitor – 5 Years | £771 |
| Standard Visitor – 10 Years | £963 |
| Marriage Visitor | £115 |
| Permitted Paid Engagement Visitor | £115 |
| Transit Visitor | £64 |
| Private Medical Treatment | £200 |
Required documents for a UK Visitor Visa
The necessary paperwork will change based on your purpose for visiting the UK. You required the following documents.
- When will you be travelling to and from the UK?
- Your address is in the United Kingdom.
- A detailed breakdown of the anticipated visitation costs is needed.
- The address of your residence.
- How long have you resided at the address you currently own? Your parents’ names and birth dates.Your annual salary.
- Information about any civil, criminal, or immigration violations.
- Your past ten years’ worth of trip records.
- The phone number and address of your employer.
- Name, date of birth, and passport number of your companion.
- The specifics of your relatives living in the United Kingdom.
- Certificate of tuberculosis (TB) testing if you want to stay longer than six months (depending on your country of origin).
How to apply for a standard visitor visa
The following crucial steps must be followed to apply for a UK visitor visa:
- Fill out and submit an online application for a visitor visa to the UK (notice: If you are travelling with family, each member of the family must submit an application and pay the relevant price).
- Make the application fee payment.
- Schedule a time to visit a nearby Visa Application Centre (VAC).
- Attend your VAC appointment to have your biometrics (fingerprints and photo scanned) and to supply any documentation requested by the Home Office.
- Usually, you will hear back about your application for a visitor’s visa within three weeks.
Can you extend your visa for visiting?
Although the UK visitor visa is only meant to be valid for a brief visit, if it was issued for less than six months, you may be able to extend it for a maximum of six months. If you are here for medical reasons, as an academic, or as a graduate who needs to retake the Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board (PLAB) exam or finish a clinical attachment, you will only be able to extend your Visitor visa beyond six months.
Conclusion:
The staff at My Legal Services has experience handling visitor visas, and we can assist you with your new application to make sure it satisfies the necessary conditions for a favourable result. My Legal Services specialises in immigration law and has a wealth of knowledge of visitor visas. We are competent and results-oriented, with a thorough understanding of immigration law.
