Tourist visa

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If you are not a British Citizen or a citizen an EU country, you may need an entry clearance before you travel to the UK. The list of countries for which a visa is needed for a visit to the UK is available on our website, as is the list of countries which require a visa to travel through the UK (Direct Airside Transit Visa). 

Even if your country does not appear on this list, you may need a visa for other reasons, such as getting married in the UK.

 

You should apply for a UK visitor visa at the UK Mission in the country where you are normally and legally resident. You should plan to apply for your travel visa well in advance of your proposed travel date. Some travel visas may be processed in 24 hours, but others may take longer, especially in cases where an interview is required. The process could take up to several weeks.

 

Once you have a valid UK travel visa, you should be allowed entry to the UK on arrival unless your circumstances have changed, you gave false information, or you did not tell the entry clearance officer important facts when you applied for your visa. The final decision, however, rests with the immigration officer at the UK port of arrival.

 

Visa Nationals

 

If you are a citizen of one of these countries, you will need to apply for a UK visitor visa if you wish to visit the UK:

 

Afghanistan

Georgia

Palestinian Authority

Albania

Ghana

Philippines

Algeria

Guinea

Qatar

Angola

Guinea Bissau

Romania

Armenia

Guyana

Russia

Azerbaijan

Haiti

Rwanda

Bahrain

India

Sao Tome & Principe

Bangladesh

Indonesia

Saudi Arabia

Belarus

Iran

Senegal

Benin

Iraq

Serbia & Montenegro

Bhutan

Ivory Coast

Sierra Leone

Bosnia-Herzegovina

Jamaica

Somalia

Bulgaria

Jordan

Sri Lanka

Burkina Faso

Kazakhstan

Sudan

Burma (Myanmar)

Kenya

Surinam

Burundi

Korea (Dem. People’s

Syria

Cambodia

Rep)

Taiwan

Cameroon

Kuwait

Tajikistan

Cape Verde

Kyrgyzstan

Tanzania

Central African Republic

Laos

Thailand

Chad

Lebanon

Togo

China, People’s Rep. of

Liberia

Tunisia

Colombia

Libya

Turkey

Comoros

Macedonia

’Turkish Republic of

Congo, Democratic

Madagascar

Northern Cyprus’

Republic of

Malawi

Turkmenistan

Congo, Republic of

Mali

Uganda

Cuba

Mauritania

Ukraine

Djibouti

Moldova

United Arab Emirates

Dominican Republic

Mongolia

Uzbekistan

Ecuador

Morocco

Vatican City

Egypt

Mozambique

(service & emergency

Equatorial Guinea

Nepal

passports only)

Eritrea

Niger

Vietnam

Ethiopia

Nigeria

Yemen

Fiji

Oman

Zambia

Gabon

Pakistan

Zimbabwe

Gambia

Peru

 

This list was updated in January 2006.

 

Direct Airside Transit Visa

 

Citizens of the following countries need a visa in order to travel through the UK (note that there are many exceptions to this listed at the bottom of this page):

 

Afghanistan

Lebanon

Albania

Liberia

Algeria

Macedonia

Angola

Malawi

Bangladesh

Moldova

Belarus

Mongolia

Burma

Nepal

Burundi

Nigeria

Cameroon

Palestinian Authority

China, Peoples Republic of

Pakistan

Colombia

Rwanda

Congo

Senegal

Congo, Democratic Republic of

Serbia and Montenegro

Ecuador

(including documents issued by

Eritrea

the United Nations Mission in Kosovo)

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