Long Term Visit Visa UK: Requirements, Cost and How to Apply in 2026
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What is a long term visit visa?
- Each visit is still limited to a maximum of 6 months.
- You must keep your main home outside the UK. Frequent, long visits can lead to the visa being cancelled.
Is a long term visit visa right for you?
A long term visit visa may suit you if:
- You have children, parents or family settled in the UK and visit them regularly
- You run a business or branch in the UK and need to attend meetings often
- You need repeat visits for private medical treatment
- You have held UK or other visit visas before and always left on time
- You have a stable job, business or income and strong ties to your home country
This route may not be right for you if:
- You want to work for a UK employer, which needs a work visa
- You want to live in the UK for long periods through back-to-back visits
- You plan to marry or give notice of marriage in the UK, which needs a Marriage Visitor visa
- You have no travel history yet. A 6-month visit visa first may be the better start
- You are under 18. The visa ends 6 months after your 18th birthday
What are the long term visit visa requirements?
A clean immigration record
Past overstays, refusals or criminal convictions must be declared and can lead to refusal.
You will leave after each visit
Each stay is a maximum of 6 months. You cannot make the UK your main home through repeat visits.
Strong ties to home
A job, business, home or family you return to. This is the main thing caseworkers check.
Money for every trip
You must pay for each visit and your return journey without working or using public funds.
A reason to visit often
Show why you will keep coming back over 2, 5 or 10 years, such as family in the UK or a UK business.
A genuine reason to visit
Tourism, family visits, business meetings or medical treatment. Your purpose must be one the visitor rules allow.
How do you apply for a long term visit visa?
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Documents you will need
Cost Breakdown
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Frequently Asked Questions
After you get the visa
There is no right of appeal for a visit visa. You can make a fresh application that answers each refusal reason with better evidence. In some cases judicial review is possible. You must declare the refusal on every future UK application.
After you get the visa
No. Time on a visit visa does not count towards Indefinite Leave to Remain. To live in the UK you need a different route, such as a family or work visa.
After you get the visa
No. You cannot extend the visa itself. When it ends, you make a new application. In limited cases you can extend a single stay up to the 6-month maximum.
After you get the visa
As many times as you need while the visa is valid. Each stay can be up to 6 months. Long stays close together can lead to refusal at the border or the visa being cancelled.
Application and cost
Yes. If the Home Office is not satisfied you meet the rules for 10 years, it may grant 5 years, 2 years or 6 months instead. You do not get the difference in fee back.
Application and cost
Often, yes. A record of visiting the UK and leaving on time makes a long term visit visa more likely. If you have no UK travel history, a 6-month visa first is usually the safer start.
Application and cost
Usually about 3 weeks after your appointment. Priority service may be available in your country for an extra fee. You can apply up to 3 months before you travel.
Application and cost
As of October 2026: £506 for 2 years, £903 for 5 years and £1,128 for 10 years. A 6-month Standard Visitor visa is £135. The fee is not refunded if you get a shorter visa or are refused.
Application and cost
Apply online on GOV.UK from outside the UK, using the visit visa form. Choose 2, 5 or 10 years and pay that fee. Then attend a visa application centre to give your fingerprints, photo and documents.
Eligibility and use
No. You can do business activities such as meetings, site visits and training linked to your overseas job, and you can be reimbursed for expenses. You cannot be paid a salary by a UK employer. For a job in the UK you need a work visa.
Eligibility and use
- Work for a UK company, paid or unpaid, or work as self-employed
- Claim public funds (benefits)
- Live in the UK through frequent or back-to-back visits
- Marry, form a civil partnership, or give notice of either
- Do a work placement or internship
- Sell goods or services direct to the public
Eligibility and use
The same as a Standard Visitor visa. You can have holidays, visit family and friends, attend business meetings and conferences, negotiate and sign deals, and get private medical treatment.
Eligibility and use
Anyone who needs a visa to visit the UK can ask for a long term visit visa. You must meet the Standard Visitor rules for the whole 2, 5 or 10 years. That means a regular reason to visit, money for each trip, and strong ties to your home country.
Visitor Visa Insights
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