UK visitor visa step by step 2026: timing, cost, biometrics and how long it takes

People ask two different things about the UK visitor visa: what to show for money, and how the process actually works. The first is covered in our guide to funds and sponsors. This is the other half — step by step, from "do I even need a visa" to the day a decision arrives, following the official rules and gov.uk.

Do you need a visa, an ETA or nothing?

Not everyone needs a visa. Depending on nationality, a traveller either applies for a Standard Visitor visa, gets an electronic travel authorisation (ETA), or can simply visit for up to six months with neither.

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For our readers the answer is usually the same one. Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Georgia and Moldova are all on the visa national list — nationals of these countries need entry clearance obtained in advance. An ETA is not an alternative for them: it is for other nationalities, and applying for one instead wastes both money and time.

When should you apply?

An application can be made no earlier than three months before travel.

And the rule gov.uk states plainly: do not book travel until you have a decision. The published processing time is a guide, not a promise, and a booking does not speed anything up. As we showed in the first guide, hotel and travel bookings are on the list of documents a UKVI officer is specifically not to take into account.

What does it cost?

A visitor visa for up to 6 months costs £135. Long-term versions run higher, up to £1,128 for a 10-year visa. A long-term visa does not grant residence: each individual visit is still capped at six months.

The fee is not refunded — not on refusal, and not if you are granted a shorter visa than you asked for. It buys consideration, not an outcome.

Budget separately for the visa application centre. Biometrics are covered by the fee, but extras — courier return of the passport, a premium lounge, help uploading documents — are charged by the centre. All of them are optional.

How do you fill in the online form?

The application is made online, and the form can be saved and returned to — there is no need to finish it in one sitting. The fee is paid here too.

The point most often missed: every family member makes a separate application and books a separate appointment, children included. There is no single family form.

What happens at the visa centre?

After applying online you book an appointment at a visa application centre, where they take fingerprints and a photograph and receive your documents — either uploaded in advance or handed over there.

Good news for anyone worried about losing their passport for a month: the passport is returned the same day as the appointment.

Documents not in English need a certified translation — complete, with the translator's confirmation. A home-made summary or machine translation will not do.

How long does a decision take?

The standard time for a visitor visa applied for from outside the UK is three weeks from the point you have proved your identity and provided documents. Weeks are counted as UK working weeks and include UK public holidays.

Paid acceleration exists. Priority — £500 on top of the fee, usually a decision within 5 working days. Super priority — £1,000, a decision by the end of the next working day after your appointment (or two working days if identity was verified at a weekend or on a bank holiday). The clock starts at the appointment or document upload, not when you submit the form.

What does the visa allow and forbid?

Allowed: tourism; visiting family and friends; business meetings, negotiations and conferences; medical treatment; study for up to 6 months; recreational courses up to 30 days; volunteering up to 30 days; certain permitted paid engagements as a visiting professional.

Not allowed: work for a UK company or as a self-employed person, paid or unpaid, outside those permitted engagements; claiming public funds; living in the UK through frequent or successive visits — the most common reason people with a valid visa are turned around at the border; marrying or registering a civil partnership, which needs a separate Marriage Visitor visa.

The maximum single visit is six months. Extensions are possible only in specific cases, such as medical treatment.

What if you are refused?

Be prepared for the decision to be final: a visitor visa refusal carries no right of appeal and no administrative review. The only route is a fresh application and a fresh fee, with the reasons for refusal addressed. Preparation before applying is cheaper than repair afterwards.

What is the short version?

Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Kazakh, Armenian, Georgian and Moldovan nationals need a visa, not an ETA. Apply no earlier than three months ahead; £135 for six months, non-refundable. Online form, then a visa centre for biometrics, with the passport back the same day. Three weeks for a decision as standard, five working days for £500, next working day for £1,000. No work, no living here by successive visits, and no appeal against refusal.

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