Holiday, visiting family, studying — there are many reasons why you might want to spend time in the UK. Unfortunately, the refusal rate for a Visitor Visa UK is high. And if your application is refused, you risk having to cancel your plans to visit. That's where our team can help. We'll ensure your application is error-free, helping you gather all documentation required for UK Visitor Visa submissions. You can continue to plan your trip, knowing your application isn't riddled with mistakes.
The Standard Visitor visa has replaced the Business Visitor Visa, Family Visitor Visa, Child Visitor visa, Student Visitor Visa (up to 6 months), Sports Visitor visa, Entertainer Visitor Visa, Prospective Entrepreneur visa, Private Medical Treatment Visitor visa. This visa permits you to conduct permitted business activities in the UK and activities you may need to undertake as a part of an overseas job role for a period of up to six months. If your business requires you to visit the UK regularly over a longer period, you can apply for a visa that lasts two, five, or ten years. However, you can only stay for a maximum of six months on each visit. Academics coming to the UK on a sabbatical or exchange arrangement can apply for either 6 months or 12 months, subject to meeting the requirements. Please see FAQs below for more details.
Tarun Mathankar
At A Y & J Solicitors in London, we’ve helped many clients secure a Standard Visitor Visa UK. We understand your desire to spend time in the United Kingdom and are well-versed in ensuring our clients have everything together that they need to meet all Standard Visitor Visa UK requirements. Our immigration associates will work with you to learn more about your specific needs, helping you submit a successful application.
We are specialists in immigration law and have supported more than 4,000 business owners and professionals around the globe to successfully navigate the UK system. We work quickly, always responding to any queries within 24 working hours. And we work closely with the Home Office to pre-empt issues before they jeopardise sponsorship applications or breach compliance. We manage all United Kingdom immigration matters including visa applications under the new points-based immigration system, Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), Spouse Visas, nationality and more. We also handle complex cases of appeal, administrative reviews, judicial reviews and the many immigration challenges involving European Union law and human rights.
A Y & J Solicitors has more than 1,200 positive client reviews across Google and Trustpilot and is listed in The Legal top 500 best UK law firms, so you can rest assured your immigration challenges are in safe hands when you take these three simple steps:
"Highly recommended for visa services. Imad’s professionalism, clear guidance, and prompt responses were outstanding."
"Very much recommended. Thank you Imad for the help."
"I had a really good experience with AY&J solicitors. I was working closely with Imad who helped me and my partner apply for a visa. Imad was really helpful and reliable, he would answer any questions we had without hesitation and would reply to emails promptly. Imad reassured us for any worries we had in regards to the visa application. For any immigration related issues that I will have in the future, i know where to come back to. Thank you AY&J solicitors"
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You can apply for a Standard Visitor Visa UK if you are:
You cannot do the following activities if you are on a Standard Visitor Visa UK:
To apply for a Standard Visitor Visa UK, you need to prove the following:
Please note that there are additional requirements if you are applying to study or take an exam, applying as an academic, doctor, or dentist, or applying for medical reasons. For example, if you are a doctor taking the PLAB exam, you will need to provide a letter from the General Medical Council confirming your PLAB test registration.
If you are visiting the UK for medical reasons, you will be required to provide evidence to show that you:
Failure to submit the correct documentation is one of the most common reasons for a Standard Visitor Visa UK being refused. Our immigration lawyers can assist you with collating and submitting the required documents, which include:
Note: This list is not exhaustive. Our team will help you gather any additional documents required for UK Visitor Visa applications depending on your specific circumstances.
It is possible to apply for a Long-Term Standard Visitor Visa UK if you would like to visit the UK regularly. A Long-Term Standard Visitor Visa UK can be issued for 2, 5, or 10 years. However, you can only stay for a maximum of 6 months on each visit. Please note that you may be given a shorter visa than requested if you cannot meet the eligibility requirements for the duration of the visa you have applied for. In such a case, you will not get a refund of the application fee if you get a shorter visa.
Further, if your travel history shows you are repeatedly visiting the UK and staying for long periods, your visa may be cancelled.
| Type of visa | Fee | Maximum length of stay |
| Standard Visitor Visa | £100 | 6 months |
| Standard Visitor Visa for medical reasons | £200 | 11 months |
| Standard Visitor Visa for academics | £200 | 12 months |
| 2-year long-term Standard Visitor Visa | £376 | 6 months per visit |
| 5-year long-term Standard Visitor Visa | £670 | 6 months per visit |
| 10-year long-term Standard Visitor Visa | £837 | 6 months per visit |
One of the main reasons for Standard Visitor Visa UK refusals is providing incorrect or inconsistent information in the visa application or providing such documents in support of your application. If, upon submission of your application but before attending the biometric appointment, you realise or it is revealed that you have provided incorrect or inconsistent information, depending on the severity, you can either cancel the application by logging into your online application portal (this link is provided when you start the application and also upon submission) and complete a new application form, or you can write a cover letter providing the correct information and explaining the reason for the mistake or oversight.
If such a mistake or inconsistency is revealed after attending your biometric appointment, depending on the severity, you can either contact UK Visas and Immigration by visiting Contact UK Visas and Immigration for help – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and provide the correct information, or cancel the application by visiting Cancel your Visa, immigration, or citizenship application – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
It is possible to make an in-country application to extend the Standard Visitor Visa UK. However, you have to prove that there are compelling and compassionate circumstances for which you are unable to return before the expiry of your Standard Visitor Visa UK. For example, you become severely ill during your stay in the UK, and you have been receiving treatment privately to recover. Also, if you have entered the UK for medical reasons and your treatment was completed as planned.
If you are an academic requiring extension for your research, you will need to prove that you still meet the eligibility requirements as an academic.
It is also possible to extend your Standard Visit Visa UK if you are a graduate retaking the Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board (PLAB) test or doing a clinical attachment. For retaking the PLAB test, you will be required to provide written confirmation of retaking the test from the General Medical Council. You can get six months extension for this purpose.
Also, after passing the PLAB test, you can apply to stay longer for the purpose of doing an unpaid clinical attachment or dental observer post. You can stay up to 18 months in the UK in total if you apply for such an extension. You will be required to provide written confirmation of your clinical attachment offer and confirmation that you have not done a clinical attachment in the UK previously. One of the conditions of such an extension would be that you do not treat patients.
Unless you apply using either the priority or super-priority service (which are not available in all countries), it can take an average of up to three weeks to find out if your Standard Visitor Visa UK has been granted. If the priority or super-priority services are available in your country, subject to paying an additional fee, you are likely to receive a decision within five working days or by the next working day, respectively.
You will receive emails notifying you that your passport is ready for collection when a decision is made, positive or negative, in respect of your Standard Visitor Visa UK application. Once you receive the passport, if your visa is approved, you will find a vignette pasted on one of the pages; the vignette will confirm your Standard Visitor Visa UK details.
If you are a national or a citizen of one of the countries listed here, you will normally be required to obtain a visa to travel to the UK for business.
Yes, you can bring your family with you as a visitor to the UK. However, they will need to apply separately.
No, unless your partner applied for a Marriage Visitor Visa specifically for the purpose of getting married to you. Further, any non-British national is now required to take permission from the Home Office in the form of ‘Notice of Marriage’ to marry in the UK. You are not allowed to give such a notice when you are on a Standard Visitor Visa. However, if such permission is sought with a Standard Visitor Visa UK, the permission is unlikely to be granted.
The conditions remain the same. Please see our answer on how to apply here.
No, it is not a requirement for a Standard Visitor Visa UK holder to have medical insurance.
In the majority of cases, the only option left to challenge the refusal decision is through Judicial Review. An appeal for a refusal of a Standard Visitor Visa UK can only be made on human rights grounds (if applicable). Our solicitors are happy to help you navigate a refusal.
At A Y & J Solicitors, our team has an in-depth understanding of Standard Visitor Visa UK requirements and achieves an incredibly high success rate for our clients. In each case, we provide clients with excellent customer service and a transparent fee structure with no hidden charges or extra costs. We offer caring service throughout the entire process, from your initial consultation until your indefinite leave to remain decision.We can accommodate our clients in a variety of ways, including in-house consultations at our central London office or online/telephone/Skype meetings. Our lawyers also know a handful of international languages, including Hindi & Gujarati, Romanian, Albanian and Italian.
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