Visiting the UK
General Visitor
To come to the UK as a general visitor, you must be able to show that:
- You are 18 or over
- You only want to visit the UK for up to six months, or up to twelve months if you are accompanying an academic visitor
- You intend to leave the UK at the end of your visit
- You have enough money to support and accommodate yourself without working or help from public funds or you and any dependants will be supported and accommodated by relatives or friends
- You can meet the cost of the return or onward journey
- You are not in transit to a country outside the common travel area
You must also show that, during your visit, you do not intend to:
- Take employment, produce goods or provide services, including selling of goods or services direct to members of public
- Undertake a course of study
- Marry of form a civil partnership, or give notice of marriage or civil partnership
- Carry out the activities of a business visitor, a sports visitor or an entertainer visitor or
- Receive Private Medical Treatment
For more information please contact one of our consultants.
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Business Visitors
To come to the UK as a business visitor you must be able to show that you:
- Only want to visit the UK for up to six months
- Plan to leave the UK at the end of your visit
- Have enough money to support and accommodate yourself without working, help from public funds or you will be supported and accommodated by relatives or friends
- Do not intend to charge members of the public for services provided or goods received
- Do not intend to study
- Can meet the cost of the return or onward journey
- Are based abroad and have no intention of transferring your base to the UK even temporarily
- Receive your salary from abroad
You must also show that you plan to do one or more of the permissible activities which include:
- Attending meetings, including interviews which have been arranged before coming to the UK, or conferences
- Arranging deals or negotiating or signing trade agreements or contracts
- Undertaking fact finding missions
- Conducting site visits
- Delivering goods and passengers from abroad such as lorry drivers and coach drivers provided they are genuinely working an international route
- Tour group couriers who are contracted to a firm outside the UK, who are seeking entry to accompany a tour group and who intend to live with this tour group
- Speaking at a conference where this is not run as a commercial concern and the conference is one-off
- Representing computer software companies by coming to install, debug and enhance their products
- Representing foreign manufacturers by coming to service or repair their company's products within their initial period of guarantee
- Representing foreign machine manufacturers by coming to erect and install machinery too heavy to be delivered in one piece, as part of the contract of purchase or supply
- Interpreting or translating for visiting business persons, provided the interpreter/translator is employed by the overseas company and is coming solely to provide service for the visiting company member
- Monteurs workers, for example fitters or servicepersons coming for up to six months 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 they are not employed by a UK company, although they may be paid a fee for attending the meeting.
For more information please contact one of our consultants.
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Child Visitor
To come to the UK in this category you must be able to show that:
- You are under 18
- You only want to visit the UK for up to six months, or up to twelve months if you are accompanying and academic visitor and you have entry clearance
- You intend to leave the UK at the end of your visit
- You have enough money to support and accommodate yourserlf without working or help from public funds, or you and any dependants will be supported and accommodated by relatives or friends
- Suitable arrangements have been made for your travel to, and your reception and care in, the UK
- You have a parent or guardian in your home country who is responsible for your care, and you can provide their address and landline telephone number
- You can meet the cost of the return or onward journey
- You are not in transit to a country outside the common travel area
You must also show that, during your visit, you do not intend to:
- Take employment, produce goods or provide services, including selling of goods or services direct to members of public
- Undertake a course of study
- Marry of form a civil partnership, or give notice of marriage or civil partnership
- Carry out the activities of a business visitor, a sports visitor or an entertainer visitor or
- Receive Private Medical Treatment
For more information please contact one of our consultants.
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Private Medical Treatment
To come to the UK in this category you must be able to show that:
- You meet the requirements for leave to enter as a visitor
- If suffering from a communicable disease there is no danger to public health
- Your course of treatment is for limited period of time
- You have made satisfactory arrangements for the consultation or treatment you need
- You have enough money to pay for any treatment and to support and accommodate yourself without working or help from public funds
- You plan to leave the UK at the end of your treatment
For more information please contact one of our consultants.
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