The Palace of Westminster and Big Ben, with the London Eye beyond, London

Who needs a visa for United Kingdom?

Northern Europe · London

Photo: Colin / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Of 198 nationalities, 1 enters United Kingdom with no paperwork at all. The rest: 197 must be approved before they travel.

Government fee
£135
Typical decision
Usually within 3 weeks
Stay permitted
6 months per visit
Apply on the official United Kingdom government site

This is the government's own portal. We are not paid to send you there.

Checked 4 October 2026 — read the fees and rules on gov.uk

What United Kingdom asks for

  • Current passport, valid for the whole of your stay
  • Bank statements showing you can cover the trip
  • Evidence of your travel plans and where you will stay
  • Details of your employment, studies or business
  • A letter from anyone paying for or hosting your trip
  • Tuberculosis test certificate, if you are coming for 6 months or more from a country where one is required

Worth knowing

  • The UK charges no fee to check your own application status. Sites that charge to reveal a decision are not connected to UKVI.
  • There is no single gov.uk page that tracks a visa application. You are updated by the visa application centre that took your biometrics. Treat any other 'UK visa tracker' with suspicion.
  • Published processing times for applications made outside the UK are at gov.uk/guidance/visa-processing-times-applications-outside-the-uk.

Photo requirements

Visa photo: min 600 px wide x 750 px tall. gov.uk · read United Kingdom passport photo, for its own citizens: 45 mm high x 35 mm wide. gov.uk · read Every photo rule for United Kingdom

Resize a photo in your browser. It is never uploaded.

How long your passport must be valid for United Kingdom: see passport validity by country.

English test

Visitor visas need no English test. These study, work and migration routes do:

  • Skilled Worker visa: English at CEFR level B2, usually shown by a Secure English Language Test (SELT) from an approved provider. B1 if you had the visa before 8 January 2026 and are extending it. gov.uk · read
  • Student visa: CEFR level B2 for a degree or above, B1 below degree level. A university may assess your English itself. gov.uk · read
  • Approved tests: IELTS for UKVI, IELTS Life Skills, LanguageCert SELTs, PTE Academic UKVI, PTE Home, Skills for English UKVI and Trinity SELTs. Results must be from the last 2 years. gov.uk · read

What do you need?

Who needs what

Visa free 1

Nothing to apply for and nothing to pay before you travel.

eTA (electronic travel authorisation) 85

Not a visa. A short online form for travellers who are already visa-exempt, usually approved automatically in minutes to hours. No appointment, no interview, no documents.

Visa required 112

You must apply and be approved before you travel. Airlines will refuse to board you without it.

Guides for United Kingdom

About United Kingdom

Region
Northern Europe
Capital
London
Population
69,487,000 2025 · 22nd of 197
Size
242,900 km² 78th largest of 199
Density
286 per km²
Language
English
Currency
British pound GBP
Borders
Ireland

Capital, area, languages and currency from the open country dataset, pulled 21 September 2026. Population from the World Bank, series updated 13 July 2026. Density is calculated from the two figures above.