Visit Visas. Simplified.

HOW CAN WE HELP WITH YOUR VISIT VISA APPLICATION

  • What are the eligibility requirements to apply for a visit visa?

    You can visit the UK as a Standard Visitor for tourism, business, study (courses up to 6 months) and other permitted activities.

    Whether you are eligible depends on the purpose of your trip. The main requirement is that you are a “genuine” visitor, meaning that you

    • will leave the UK at the end of the visit
    • will not live in the UK for extended periods through frequent or successive visits, or make the UK your main home
    • are genuinely seeking entry or stay for a purpose that is permitted under the Visitor route
    • will not undertake any of the prohibited activities set out in the rules (e.g. working)
    • have sufficient funds to cover all reasonable costs in relation to your visit

    You can usually stay in the UK for up to 6 months. You might be able to apply to stay for longer in certain circumstances, for example to get medical treatment.

  • How do I apply for a visit visa?

    You need to apply online, and then provide your supporting documents.

  • How much does it cost to apply for a visit visa?

    A Standard Visitor visa costs £100 for up to 6 months. The earliest you can apply is 3 months before you travel.

  • What information do I need to provide in the visit visa application form?

    For the visit visa application form, you will need to provide the following information:

    Address

    • Your current address and how long you have lived there

    Nationality

    • Details about any additional nationalities you hold (or ever held)

    Employment

    • Details about your employment status

    Financial

    • Information about additional sources of income or savings you may have (in GBP)
    • Details about the amount of money you are personally planning to spend on your visit to the UK
    • Information about the total amount of money you spend each month
    • Information about anyone who will be paying towards the cost of your visit (including how much they will be contributing and why they are assisting you)

    Arrival

    • The date you plan to arrive in the UK
    • The date you plan to leave the UK

    Language

    • You will need to specify which language you prefer to use (for application purposes)

    Reason for Visit

    • Details of the main purpose of your visit and anything else you plan to do on your trip.

    Family

    • If you have a partner or children you will need to provide their names, date of birth, address and nationality
    • You will need to provide details about any persons who rely on you for finanical support
    • You will need to provide details about your parents
    • If you have family in the UK you will need to provide details about them

    How you are travelling to the UK

    • You will need to confirm whether you will be travelling to the UK as part of an organised group
    • You will need to confirm whether you be travelling to the UK with someone who is not your partner, spouse or dependant
    • You will need to provide details about where you are going to stay in the UK

    Immigration History

    • Information about any visits you have made to the UK in the past 10 years (including how many times you have visited and details about the trips)
    • Information about any visits you have made to the EEA, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, USA and Switzerland in the past 10 years (including how many times you have visited and details about the trips)
    • Information about any visits you have made to any other countries in the past 10 years (including how many times you have visited and details about the trips)

    You will need to confirm (and provide details) whether you have ever been

      • Refused a visa
      • Refused entry at the border
      • Refused permission to stay or remain
      • Refused asylum
      • Deported
      • Removed
      • Required to leave
      • Excluded or banned from entry
  • What supporting documents do I need to provide in my visit visa application?

    You must have a passport or travel document to enter the UK. It should be valid for the whole of your stay.

    You may need to provide evidence where you show that

    • you’ll leave the UK at the end of your visit (for example a return ticket)
    • you’re able to support yourself and your dependants during your trip (or have funding from someone else to support you)
    • you’re able to pay for your return or onward journey (or have funding from someone else to pay for the journey)
    • you’ll not live in the UK for extended periods through frequent or successive visits, or make the UK your main home
  • Can you review my visit visa application before it is submitted?

    We regularly review visit visa applications prior to their submission, which we would usually do via our popular one-off consultation service. If you would be interested in this please do get in touch.

  • Do you need a lawyer to make a visit visa application?

    Lots of people make visit visa applications without engaging a lawyer.

    However, we have assisted several clients to successfully make applications in the last few years, including individuals who had been refused previously when they applied by themselves, or who have particular issues which they feel may raise issues in their application.

    If you are in doubt about whether you think you need a lawyer give us a call for a chat.

How we can help you with your visit visa application

As a part of our one-off consultation service, we regularly review visit visa application forms and supporting documents prior to their submission to the Home Office. This service is aimed at applicants who are

  • concerned about their eligibility to apply for a visit visa
  • unsure about the supporting documents required in their application, or
  • seeking reassurance from an experienced practitioner to make sure everything has been correctly completed

Your review will be undertaken by Nick Nason, principal at Edgewater Legal, and listed as an expert on the Lexis Nexis immigration experts Q&A panel, and regular commentator and contributor to Free Movement, the best read UK immigration law blog.

We charge a flat fee of £350 + VAT (£420) for this service. You can find further details on our one-off consultation page.

We occasionally represent individuals making visit visa applications to come to the UK. If you instruct us to assist with your application, we will manage the process from end to end, from completing the application form through to the decision. This includes the following

  • Clear initial advice regarding eligibility with a detailed letter of advice and guidance on the route, and on the supporting evidence that is required
  • A very high level of client responsiveness including contact by email, phone or other means during the evidence gathering process
  • Detailed scrutiny of the online form and supporting documents prior to submission with collation and preparation of the application
  • Preparation of a covering letter to be filed with application (if required)
  • Collation of the supporting documents into PDF format and uploading them on the Home Office portal (if applicable)
  • Advice and guidance on rights and responsibilities once the visa has been obtained

We offer our visit visa representation service for a fixed fee of £2,950 + VAT in straightforward cases

In non-straightforward cases where the extent of the work required is not clear, or where there is a complexity and/or the matter is urgent, we would usually provide a time estimate of 8-15 hours for work in the application phase at our hourly rate of £350 + VAT (£420)

This does not include the Home Office application or other fees.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

  • Can I switch from a visit visa into a different visa category from within the UK?

    Only in limited and exceptional circumstances.

    We would always suggest that you seek legal advice before attempting to make an application on this basis.

  • I want to visit the UK, and need to work remotely for some of my trip. Is this allowed?

    Visitors are permitted to undertake activities relating to their employment overseas remotely whilst they are in the UK, such as responding to emails or answering phone calls.

    However, Home Office caseworkers are encouraged to check whether the visitor’s main purpose of coming to the UK is to undertake a permitted activity (e.g. tourism), rather than specifically to work remotely from the UK. Where an visitor indicates that they intend to spend a large proportion of their time in the UK and will be doing some remote working, caseworkers will aim to ensure that visit visa applicants are genuinely employed overseas and are not seeking to work in the UK.

  • Do I need a visit visa before I arrive in the UK?

    You will need to have obtained prior permission to visit the UK if you are a visa national.

  • Can I work in the UK whilst on a visit visa?

    In general, no.

    However, the visit visa rules do allow some exceptions, and confirm that a visitor may

    (a) attend meetings, conferences, seminars, interviews

    (b) give a one-off or short series of talks and speeches provided these are not organised as commercial events and will not make a profit for the organiser

    (c) negotiate and sign deals and contracts

    (d) attend trade fairs, for promotional work only, provided the Visitor is not directly selling

    (e) carry out site visits and inspections

    (f) gather information for their employment overseas

    (g) be briefed on the requirements of a UK based customer, provided any work for the customer is done outside of the UK.

    In addition, an employee of an overseas based company may come to the UK on a visit visa and undertake the following activities:

    1. advise and consult
    2. troubleshoot
    3. provide training
    4. share skills and knowledge

    on a specific internal project with UK employees of the same corporate group, provided no work is carried out directly with clients.

    Home Office guidance notes that “Intra-corporate activities should be of a short duration, linked to a specific project and not involve the visitor directly working with or for clients”.

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