UK Business Visitor Visa: Requirements, Cost and Process (2026)
What is the UK Business Visitor visa?
- You can attend meetings, negotiate deals, give internal training and visit sites. You cannot work for a UK company.
- Depending on your nationality, you need a visa or an ETA before you travel. Check before you book.
What can you do on a business visit?
Who can apply for a UK Business Visitor visa?
You are likely eligible if:
- You are coming for meetings, conferences, seminars, interviews or work-related training
- You will negotiate or sign deals and contracts, or attend trade fairs
- Your overseas employer pays you, not a UK company or client
- You will leave the UK at the end of your visit, within 6 months
- You can pay for your trip and stay without using public funds
This route may not be right for you if:
- You will work for a UK company or be paid by a UK client. You need a work visa
- You will sell goods or services directly to the public
- You want to live in the UK through frequent or back-to-back visits
- You plan to set up and run a UK branch. The UK Expansion Worker visa may fit better
What documents do you need?
Passport and travel history
A valid passport or travel document with a blank page. Include old passports to show your previous travel.
Purpose of your visit
An invitation letter from the UK company or event organiser. It should give the dates, what you will do, and who will pay for the trip.
Your job or business
A letter from your employer confirming your role, salary and approved leave. If you run your own business, show the company registration and recent accounts.
Proof of funds
Recent bank statements or payslips that show you can pay for your trip without using public funds.
Travel and accommodation
Your planned travel dates and where you will stay, such as a hotel booking or a letter from your host.
Ties to your home country
Evidence that you will go home after your visit, such as your job, family, property or ongoing business commitments.
How do you apply?
Use the visa checker on GOV.UK. Some nationalities need a Standard Visitor visa. Others need an electronic travel authorisation (ETA), which costs £20.
A few minutes
Collect your passport, invitation letter, employer letter and bank statements. Make sure they all describe the same trip.
1 to 2 weeks
Complete the online form and pay £135 for a visa of up to 6 months. You can apply up to 3 months before you travel.
About 1 hour
Go to a visa application centre to prove your identity and give your fingerprints and photograph.
Depends on local appointment availability
The Home Office usually decides within 3 weeks. Faster services are available in some countries for an extra fee.
Usually 3 weeks
Carry copies of your documents. A Border Force officer may ask about your visit when you arrive.
On arrival
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Cost Breakdown
| Standard Visitor visa, up to 6 months | £135 per person |
|---|---|
| Long-term visit visa, 2 years | £506 |
| Long-term visit visa, 5 years | £903 |
| Long-term visit visa, 10 years | £1,128 |
| Electronic travel authorisation (ETA) | £20 — only for nationalities who do not need a visa |
| Faster decision | £500 priority / £1,000 super priority, where available |
| Extending your stay in the UK | £1,172 |
| Immigration Health Surcharge | Not payable by visitors |
In our clients' own words.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Your stay and next steps
We are an SRA-regulated firm recommended by The Legal 500, with 5,000+ successful immigration applications. We check your evidence before you apply, so your application clearly shows why you are visiting and that you will leave the UK.
Your stay and next steps
There is no right of appeal against a visitor visa refusal, unless you made a human rights claim. Administrative review is not available either.
Your options are to apply again with stronger evidence that answers the refusal reasons, or to challenge the decision by judicial review if it was unlawful.
Your stay and next steps
If you visit the UK often for business, a 2, 5 or 10-year visa saves you applying each time. Each visit is still limited to 6 months, and you must show you are not living in the UK.
Your stay and next steps
Only if your current permission is for less than 6 months. You can extend up to a total of 6 months. The fee is £1,172.
Longer stays are allowed only in limited cases, such as private medical treatment or some academic visits.
Your stay and next steps
Usually up to 6 months on each visit. Some academics can stay up to 12 months. You must not live in the UK through frequent or back-to-back visits.
Applying
Yes, but each family member must apply as a visitor in their own right and meet the rules. They cannot come as dependants on your visa.
Applying
The Home Office usually decides within 3 weeks. In some countries you can pay for a faster decision. You can apply up to 3 months before you travel.
Applying
A visa for up to 6 months costs £135. Long-term visas cost £506 for 2 years, £903 for 5 years and £1,128 for 10 years. These fees apply from 8 April 2026.
Visitors do not pay the Immigration Health Surcharge, so get travel insurance to cover medical costs.
Applying
You will usually need:
- A valid passport or travel document
- An invitation letter from the UK company or event organiser
- A letter from your employer, or evidence of your own business
- Bank statements or payslips that show you can pay for the trip
- Details of your travel and accommodation
Missing or weak documents are one of the most common reasons for refusal.
Applying
It depends on your nationality. Some people need a Standard Visitor visa before they travel. Others need an electronic travel authorisation (ETA), which costs £20. Irish citizens need neither.
Use the visa checker on GOV.UK to confirm what you need before you book.
The basics
Yes, as long as it is not the main reason for your visit. You can answer emails or take calls for your job overseas. You cannot do work for a UK company or client.
The basics
Your overseas employer can keep paying you. You must not be paid by a UK company or client, unless it is a permitted paid engagement.
A permitted paid engagement lets some experts be paid for set activities, such as giving a lecture or examining students. It must be arranged before you travel.
The basics
You can:
- Attend meetings, interviews, conferences and seminars
- Negotiate and sign deals and contracts
- Attend trade fairs to promote your business, but not sell
- Carry out site visits and inspections
- Get work-related training, if you are employed overseas
- Give training or share knowledge on internal projects with UK staff of the company you work for overseas
The full list is in Appendix Visitor: Permitted Activities of the Immigration Rules.
The basics
No. Business visits come under the Standard Visitor visa. The same visa covers tourism, visiting family and permitted business activities.
People often call it a Business Visitor visa because of the reason for the trip. The rules and the fee are the same.
Visitor visa insights
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