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 visa at the UK Mission in
the country where you are normally and legally resident.
You should plan to apply well in advance of your proposed
travel date. Some 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 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 visitor visa if you wish
to visit the UK:
| Afghanistan |
Gambia |
Palestinian Authority |
| Albania |
Georgia |
Philippines |
| Algeria |
Ghana |
Qatar |
| Angola |
Guinea |
Romania |
| Armenia |
Guinea Bissau |
Russia |
| Azerbaijan |
Guyana |
Rwanda |
| Bahrain |
Haiti |
Sao Tome & Principe |
| Bangladesh |
India |
Saudi Arabia |
| Belarus |
Indonesia |
Senegal |
| Benin |
Iran |
Serbia & Montenegro |
| Bhutan |
Iraq |
Sierra Leone |
| Bosnia-Herzegovina |
Ivory Coast |
Somalia |
| Bulgaria |
Jamaica |
Sri Lanka |
| Burkina Faso |
Jordan |
Sudan |
| Burma (Myanmar) |
Kazakhstan |
Surinam |
| Burundi |
Kenya |
Syria |
| Cambodia |
Korea (Dem. People's |
Taiwan |
| Cameroon |
Rep) |
Tajikistan |
| Cape Verde |
Kuwait |
Tanzania |
| Central African Republic |
Kyrgyzstan |
Thailand |
| Chad |
Laos |
Togo |
| China, People's Rep. of |
Lebanon |
Tunisia |
| Colombia |
Liberia |
Turkey |
| Comoros |
Libya |
'Turkish Republic of |
| Congo, Democratic |
Macedonia |
Northern Cyprus' |
| Republic of |
Madagascar |
Turkmenistan |
| Congo, Republic of |
Mali |
Uganda |
| Croatia |
Mauritania |
Ukraine |
| Cuba |
Moldova |
United Arab Emirates |
| Djibouti |
Mongolia |
Uzbekistan |
| Dominican Republic |
Morocco |
Vatican City |
| Ecuador |
Mozambique |
(service & emergency |
| Egypt |
Nepal |
passports only) |
| Equatorial Guinea |
Niger |
Vietnam |
| Eritrea |
Nigeria |
Yemen |
| Ethiopia |
Oman |
Zambia |
| Fiji |
Pakistan |
Zimbabwe |
| Gabon |
Peru |
|
(This list was published by the UK government on
13 January 2004)
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 |
Moldova |
| Bangladesh |
Mongolia |
| Belarus |
Nepal |
| Burma |
Nigeria |
| Burundi |
Palestinian Authority |
| Cameroon |
Pakistan |
| China, Peoples Republic of |
Rwanda |
| Colombia |
Senegal |
| Congo |
Serbia and Montenegro |
| Congo, Democratic Republic of |
(including documents issued by |
| Ecuador |
the United Nations Mission in Kosovo) |
| Eritrea |
Sierra Leone |
| Ethiopia |
Sudan |
| Gambia |
Somalia |
| Ghana |
Sri Lanka |
| Guinea |
Tanzania |
| Guinea-Bissau |
Turkey |
| India |
'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus'
|
| Iran |
Uganda |
| Iraq |
Vietnam |
| Ivory Coast |
Zimbabwe |
| Kenya |
|
(This list was published by the UK government on
9 March 2005)
You do not need a transit visa if you, or the person
you are traveling with to the UK, holds any of the
following:
- a valid Australian, Canadian, New Zealand or US
visa and a valid airline ticket for travel via the
United Kingdom to or from the country from which
you have a visa;
- a valid airline ticket for travel via the United
Kingdom as part of a journey from Australia, Canada,
New Zealand or the United States of America to another
country or territory, provided that you do not seek
to transit the United Kingdom on a date more than
six months from the date on which he last entered
Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the United States
of America with a valid visa for entry to that country;
- a valid US Permanent Resident Card issued on or
after 21st April 1998;
- a valid Canadian Permanent Resident Card issued
on or after 28th June 2002;
- a valid common format Category D visa for entry
to an EEA State;
- a valid common format residence permit issued
by an EEA State pursuant to Council Regulation (EC)
No. 1030/2002;
- a diplomatic or service passport issued by the
People's Republic of China;
- a diplomatic or official passport issued by India;
- a diplomatic or official passport issued by Vietnam.
