The Standard Visitor visa replaced the Family Visitor Visa, Child Visitor Visa, Business Visitor Visa, Student Visitor Visa, Private Medical Treatment Visitor visa, Entertainer Visitor visa, Sports Visitor visa.
You can apply for a General Visitor visa if:
- You want to visit the UK for leisure, e.g., as a tourist on holiday or seeing family or friends
- Volunteering with a registered charity for up to 30 days
- Coming to the UK as an artist, entertainer, or musician to perform for a one-off or specific event.
- Coming to the UK for attending a conference, meeting, training, seminar, and interview
- Negotiating and signing deals and contracts
- Attending trade fairs to promote your business
- Delivering training or sharing knowledge internally with UK employees of the company you work for overseas.
- Attending a work-related training if you are employed overseas and the training is not available in your country.
- Coming to the UK to have private medical treatment at a private hospital or at an NHS hospital if the treatment is paid for under a healthcare agreement.
What can you not do when you are on a UK Standard Visitor Visa?
- You cannot claim benefits
- You cannot live in the UK for long periods by regular visits
- You cannot work for a UK company or as a self-employed person
What are the requirements for obtaining the UK Standard Visitor Visa?
To apply, you need to prove the following: –
- Your intentions for coming to the UK, and this will depend on your needs, such as visiting for business purposes, visiting family or leisure
- You will need evidence that you have planned to leave the UK after this time, and this should not exceed six months
- You have money to support and accommodate yourself and your dependants without relying on any public funds in the UK
- Your can pay for your return or onward journey
- In the event you will be coming for business reasons, you must ensure that you will be conducting permitted business activities only
- You will not live in the UK for extended periods through regular or successive visits or make the UK your main home
- In the case of Long-term UK Standard Visitor Visa, reasons that you re required to frequently visit the UK for permitted business purposes
What documents will I need to provide for the UK Standard Visitor Visa?
The most common reasons for a UK Visitor Visa being refused is the failure to submit the correct documentation. The required documents which will include: –
- A valid passport or travel document
- Evidence of the purpose of your visit
- Evidence that you will leave the UK at the end of your proposed visit
- Bank statements confirming that you can support yourself.
Long term Standard Visitor visa
It is possible to apply for a long-term UK Standard Visitor visa if you would like to visit the UK regularly. A long-term UK Standard Visitor visa can be issued for 2, 5 or 10 years; however, you can only stay for a maximum of 6 months on each visit.