The Standard Visitor route allows people to come to the UK temporarily for purposes including tourism, visiting family or friends, certain business activities, short-term study and private medical treatment.
Visitor visa applications can appear straightforward, but the Home Office must be satisfied that the applicant is a genuine visitor.
This means showing that the applicant intends to leave the UK at the end of the visit, is coming for a permitted purpose, will not use frequent or successive visits to make the UK their main home, and has sufficient funds available for the trip.
The Home Office considers the applicant’s circumstances as a whole. This can include their reason for travelling, financial position, employment or business circumstances, family and economic ties, previous travel and immigration history, and whether the information and documents provided are consistent and credible.
There is no fixed amount of money that every visitor must have. The funds available should be reasonable for the length and purpose of the proposed visit.
The Standard Visitor route can be used for permitted purposes including:
Most Standard Visitors can stay for up to six months, although different periods may apply in certain limited circumstances.
An applicant must normally show that they:
Travel, accommodation and living costs can, in appropriate circumstances, be provided by a genuine third-party sponsor such as a family member.
A strong visitor application should present a clear and consistent picture of the purpose of the visit and the applicant’s individual circumstances.
Our immigration team can assess your application, identify any potential concerns and assist with preparing the supporting evidence and representations.
If you have previously received a visitor visa refusal, we can review the decision and advise you on the appropriate next steps.
This article provides general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Immigration law and Home Office policy are subject to change, and individual advice should be obtained before making an application.
A common reason is that the Home Office is not satisfied that the applicant is a genuine visitor.
Concerns may arise from the applicant’s financial circumstances, limited evidence of their circumstances outside the UK, inconsistencies in the application, previous immigration history or doubts about the stated purpose or length of the visit.
Each refusal should be considered individually.
Yes.
A family member, friend or another genuine third party may pay for some or all of the travel, maintenance and accommodation costs.
The Home Office will consider whether the relationship with the sponsor is genuine and whether the sponsor is genuinely able and willing to provide the stated support.
Visitors cannot normally take employment or work for a UK business.
However, the Visitor Rules permit certain business and professional activities, such as attending meetings, conferences or negotiations, as well as certain specifically permitted paid engagements.
A visitor may also carry out activities relating to their overseas employment remotely, provided this is not the main purpose of the visit.
The proposed activities should therefore be checked carefully before travelling.
Usually not.
Many immigration routes do not allow a person with Visitor permission to switch from within the UK. In those circumstances, the person must normally leave the UK and make the appropriate application from overseas.
The requirements of the intended immigration route should be checked before making plans.
There is no specific rule limiting visitors to a fixed number of visits or to “six months in every twelve months”.
However, visitors must not use frequent or successive visits to live in the UK or make the UK their main home.
The Home Office can consider the frequency and length of previous visits, the time spent outside the UK and the person’s overall circumstances.
Potentially, yes.
Having plans to make a different immigration application in the future does not automatically prevent a genuine temporary visit.
However, the applicant must still satisfy the Home Office that the present visit is genuinely temporary, that they will leave when required and that they are not using the Visitor route as a way of living in the UK.
Most ordinary visitor visa refusals do not carry a right of appeal.
A right of appeal may arise in limited circumstances where a human rights claim has been made and refused.
In most visitor cases, the refusal should be reviewed carefully and, where appropriate, a new application can be prepared addressing the reasons for refusal.
