How to Apply for a UK Standard Visitor Visa Before Your Trip

First confirm that a Standard Visitor visa is the correct permission

Do not start a visa application until you have checked what permission your nationality requires. Most overseas visitors need either a visa or an electronic travel authorisation (ETA), but the correct route depends on nationality, purpose and personal circumstances.

Many nationals from Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia and other listed countries normally use an ETA rather than a Standard Visitor visa for an eligible short visit. An ETA currently costs £20 and is a different process. British and Irish citizens do not need an ETA or Standard Visitor visa.

If you already hold a valid UK visa or have permission to live, work or study in the UK, including relevant settled or pre-settled status, you do not normally need an ETA simply to travel using that existing permission.

Make sure your reason for visiting is allowed

A Standard Visitor can normally come to the UK for tourism, to visit family or friends, for certain business activities, short study, certain permitted paid engagements, medical treatment and other activities specifically allowed by the Immigration Rules.

You cannot normally use the Standard Visitor route to take employment with a UK company, work for a UK business, establish yourself as self-employed in the UK, do a work placement or internship, provide goods or services, claim public funds or live in the UK through frequent or successive visits.

You also cannot use the Standard Visitor route to marry, form a civil partnership or give notice of marriage or civil partnership. Those activities require the appropriate marriage-related immigration route.

Apply no earlier than 3 months before travelling

The earliest you can submit a Standard Visitor visa application is 3 months before your planned travel date. You must apply online before travelling to the UK.

You are not required to buy travel tickets before applying or before UKVI makes a decision. Official processing guidance specifically advises allowing enough time for the visa decision before travel.

A 6-month Standard Visitor visa costs £135

From 8 April 2026, the application fee for a Standard Visitor visa allowing a stay of up to 6 months is £135.

If you travel to the UK regularly, long-term Standard Visitor visas are also available. Current fees are £506 for a 2-year visa, £903 for a 5-year visa and £1,128 for a 10-year visa. A long-term visa does not normally allow you to stay for the full validity period continuously: each individual visit is generally limited to a maximum of 6 months.

UKVI can grant a visa for a shorter period than the long-term period requested. The application fee is not refunded merely because a shorter visa is granted or because the application is refused.

Prepare your trip, home and personal details

The online form asks for information about your proposed trip and personal circumstances. You must have a passport or other travel document that remains valid throughout your stay.

Information requested can include:

• Your intended travel dates.
• Where you will stay in the UK.
• How much you expect the trip to cost.
• Your current home address and how long you have lived there.
• Your parents' names and dates of birth, if known.
• Your annual income, if you have one.
• Details of relevant criminal, civil or immigration offences.

Depending on your circumstances, UKVI can also ask about your travel history for the previous 10 years, employer details, your partner, anyone paying for your trip and relatives who live in the UK.

Show your circumstances, finances and reason for travelling

The Immigration Rules require you to satisfy the decision maker that you are genuinely visiting for an allowed purpose, will leave the UK at the end of the visit and have enough money for the trip without working or claiming public funds.

There is no single published minimum bank balance that guarantees a Standard Visitor visa. The evidence should make sense in relation to your actual trip costs and personal circumstances.

Useful evidence can include documents showing your employment, studies or self-employment in your home country, your planned activity in the UK, previous travel, legal residence where you are applying and financial records showing that you genuinely have access to the money you rely on.

Examples in official UKVI guidance include employer letters, education-provider letters, business-registration documents, recent invoices, bank statements, building-society records and proof of earnings. The list is not exhaustive and documents alone never guarantee approval.

Another person can support the visit if the arrangement is genuine

Your travel, accommodation or maintenance can be provided by a third party. The Immigration Rules require that person to have a genuine professional or personal relationship with you, comply with UK immigration law and be able and willing to support you for the intended stay.

If someone is sponsoring your trip, evidence can show what support they are providing, how it will be provided, their ability to support both you and their own dependants, your relationship with them and, where relevant, evidence that they are legally in the UK.

Translate documents that are not in English or Welsh

A supporting document that is not in English or Welsh must have a full translation that can be independently verified by the Home Office.

The translation must confirm that it accurately translates the original and include the date of translation, the translator's full name and signature, and the translator's contact details.

Prove your identity and provide fingerprints and a photograph

As part of the Standard Visitor visa application, you normally book an appointment at a visa application centre. The centre may be in another country, so account for travel to the appointment when planning your application.

At the appointment you need to prove your identity using your passport or travel document, have your fingerprints and photograph taken and provide the documents required for the application.

Most visa application centres offer free appointments within 5 working days. Official UKVI guidance states that in some locations a standard appointment costs £76.50. Optional services such as document scanning may cost more. Paying for an optional service does not make approval more likely.

Every family member needs a separate application

Each family member who requires a visa must have their own application, pay the relevant fee and complete their required identity process. You can complete an application on behalf of a partner or child who cannot do it themselves.

Children under 16 attending a visa application centre must be accompanied by an adult aged over 18. Children under 5 attend to have their photograph taken but do not provide fingerprints.

Applicants under 18 must also meet additional rules about suitable travel and accommodation arrangements and, where travelling alone, parental or guardian consent.

The published processing time is usually 3 weeks

Once you have applied online, proved your identity and supplied the required documents, UKVI says a Standard Visitor visa decision is usually made within 3 weeks.

An application can take longer if information is inaccurate or requires additional consideration, more financial or other evidence is needed, documents must be verified, an interview is required, personal circumstances require further checks, demand is high or technical problems affect the system.

Faster-decision services may be available for an additional charge depending on where you apply. Their availability is not guaranteed for every applicant or visa application centre.

You receive the decision by email

UKVI sends an email when the Home Office has made a decision. The message explains what you need to do next.

If you need to change information after submitting the application, contact UKVI. If you cancel the application, the fee is refundable only if processing has not yet started.

A successful visa application does not guarantee admission at the border. You must continue to meet the Visitor requirements and should travel for the purpose covered by your permission.

Avoid preventable problems before submitting

• Do not apply for a Standard Visitor visa until you have checked whether your nationality requires a visa or an ETA instead.
• Do not submit the application more than 3 months before your planned travel date.
• Do not provide a passport that will expire during the intended UK stay.
• Do not rely on a supposed universal minimum bank balance; UKVI assesses whether your finances are credible for your individual visit.
• Make sure information about income, trip costs, accommodation and sponsorship is consistent across the form and supporting documents.
• Provide proper independently verifiable translations for documents that are not in English or Welsh.
• Do not book non-refundable travel on the assumption that submitting documents guarantees approval.
• Do not plan employment, self-employment or other prohibited work under the Standard Visitor route.
• Allow time for the biometric appointment and the usual 3-week decision period before travelling.