Visit the UK

Prepare a Standard Visitor application that matches the real purpose of your trip.

For travellers coming for tourism, family visits, permitted business activities or short study, and for UK-based hosts supporting them.

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There is one Standard Visitor route. It covers tourism, visiting family or friends, permitted business activities, certain short study, certain medical treatment and other activities the visitor rules allow. Marriage Visitor is a separate route for people coming to marry or form a civil partnership and then leave.

What a visitor must show

A genuine, permitted reason for the visit.
An intention to leave at the end of the visit.
Enough money for the trip, or credible support from a host.
A clear travel and accommodation plan.
No intention to work, live in the UK through frequent or long visits, or claim public funds.

Evidence should tell a complete story

Bank statements alone are rarely enough. The application should explain employment, business, study, family responsibilities, the reason for the visit, the host's role and why the proposed spending is realistic.

ETA or visa

Depending on nationality, a traveller may need a visit visa, an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) or neither. Every visitor must still meet the visitor rules at the border. The permitted activities are set out in the Immigration Rules and are updated from time to time, so we check them against the current rules rather than rely on an old list.

How WLIS can help

1 We check that the route suits your plans and that the matter is a straightforward one within our IAA Level 1 authorisation.
2 We review your eligibility and your documents, and explain plainly anything that needs attention.
3 We give you a document checklist written for your circumstances rather than a generic one.
4 We prepare the application form and supporting documents, and you check and approve the final information before anything is submitted.
5 We help with submission, biometrics or identity steps, and your eVisa and UKVI account after the decision.

What we can and cannot help with

We provide advice and application assistance for straightforward immigration matters within our IAA Level 1 Immigration authorisation. Where a matter falls outside that authorisation — for example because it involves adverse immigration history, a discretionary or human-rights claim, an administrative review, an appeal or tribunal work — we will tell you and signpost or refer you to an adviser authorised at the appropriate level.

If an application is refused, we will explain the decision and whether any further work remains within our Level 1 authorisation. Where an administrative review, an appeal or other higher-level casework is needed, we will signpost or refer you to an appropriately authorised adviser. We do not provide appeal or tribunal representation.

UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) makes the final decision on every application. No immigration adviser can guarantee that an application will be approved.

Our IAA regulation How we work Fees

Questions clients often ask

Can I work or study on a visit visa?

Work for a UK business is not permitted, and study is limited to short courses within the permitted period. A defined list of business activities, such as attending meetings or conferences, is allowed. Doing something outside the permitted activities can lead to removal and makes future applications harder.

How long can I stay on each visit?

Standard visitors are usually admitted for up to six months at a time, but a visit visa does not allow you to live here through repeated visits. Frequent or long visits that add up to living in the UK attract scrutiny at the border, and officers can refuse entry even where a valid visa is held.

My visit visa was refused. What can I do?

Most visit refusals carry no right of appeal, so the usual course is a new application that deals properly with the reasons given. We can assess whether a new application is a straightforward matter within our Level 1 authorisation. If any other remedy is needed, we will signpost you to an appropriately authorised adviser.

Official sources we check

We check what we publish against the Home Office's own guidance. These are the GOV.UK pages behind the advice on this site — use them to confirm anything you read here, because the rules change and the official page is always the current one.

GOV.UK content is published by the UK government and is not part of this website.

Talk to us about visit the uk

Tell us what you want to apply for, the status you hold now and when your current permission ends. We will confirm whether the matter is within our Level 1 authorisation and offer a suitable appointment.

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The enquiry button opens the secure WLIS enquiry form on enquiry.wlisuk.com in a new tab. Please do not send identity documents until we ask for them.