UK Visa Application and Requirements

The United Kingdom contains more heritage, per square mile, than any other nation, tracts of stunningly beautiful countryside, a coastline to die for and some of the most vibrant, multicultural cities on the planet. United Kingdom is the great place to travel, work or live.

How to Apply for a UK Visa?

The UK is a member of the European Union, but it has an opt-out from the Schengen border-free area. It operates its own visa policy. UK visa is considered as one of the difficult Visa, can be as difficult as the US Visa, Australian Visa and Canadian Visa. Basically, UK Visa will process documents like Visa Australia or Canada, so meticulous, careful preparation and a reasonable dossier is essential. The UK visa application process depends a lot on the type of visa that you are applying for.

What are the common types of the UK Visas

UK visa will normally be divided into many categories: Tourist Visa, Business visa, Study visa, Settlement visa, Family Visa. Each visa category is different in terms of required documents and procedures, so you need to determine what your purpose of traveling to the United Kingdom is to prepare documents in accordance with the requirements of that category.

What are the Required Documents for the UK Visa?

There are some specific UK visa requirements to apply for any that every applicant must fulfill. These requirements vary depending on the visa type and the nationality of the applicant. You may check out the required documents with each type of visas.

Electronic Visa Waiver

The Electronic Visa Waiver is established for citizens of Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates who want to come to the UK for maximum six months to do business, to sightseeing, study or to get medical care.

Citizens of these countries must apply for other visa types if they seek to come to the UK for other reasons or for longer periods.

How Long Does it Take to Get a Visa for the UK?

The time required to apply for UK visa depends on a number of factors, including your nationality, travel history and time of the year that you are applying. The UK Standard Visa can be applied as earliest as 3 months before you travel to the UK and you should get decision on your visa within 3 weeks.

How Much Does a UK Visa Application Cost?

The cost of a UK visa application is based on the type of UK visa you need to obtain to visit the UK. The visa fees vary from £93 for a visit visa up to 9 months, to £3,250 for a settlement visa as another dependant relative. There are also additional optional Premium Services outside the UK and inside the UK, which can be as cheap as £55 and as expensive as £10,500.

Applicants from the USA

To apply for a UK visa from USA there are some specific procedures that you must go through. Although US citizens do not need to apply for a UK visitor visa, they are required to apply for all other types of visas in order to travel or stay in the UK.

Tourist Visa

Work Visa

Student Visa

Family Visa

UK Visa Application Forms

There are a huge number of UK visa application forms that you can use to apply for a UK visa. Not the same as other countries in the world, only one form is used for all purpose of travel, UK government require each specific case a different form. Depending on the purpose of you trip and the type of visa, you must choose a suitable form. You can download the forms or find the form to apply online here.