You can apply for a Standard Visitor visa if you want to visit the UK:
for leisure, for example on holiday or to see your family and friends
for business, or to take part in sports or creative events
for another reason, for example to receive private medical treatment
The Standard Visitor visa has replaced the:
⦁ Family Visitor visa
⦁ General Visitor visa
⦁ Child Visitor visa
⦁ Business Visitor visa, including visas for academics, doctors and dentists
⦁ Sports Visitor visa
⦁ Entertainer Visitor visa
⦁ Prospective Entrepreneur visa
⦁ Private Medical Treatment Visitor visa
⦁ Approved Destination Status (ADS) visa
If you visit the UK on business
You can apply for a Standard Visitor visa if you want to visit the UK for business-related activities, for example:
⦁ you’re coming to the UK for a conference, meeting or training
⦁ you want to take part in a specific sports-related event
⦁ you’re an artist, entertainer or musician and coming to the UK to perform
⦁ are an academic and are doing research or accompanying students on a study abroad programme
⦁ you’re a doctor or dentist and are coming to the UK to take a clinical attachment or observer post
⦁ you want to take the Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board (PLAB) test or sit the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE)
⦁ you want to get funding to start, take over, join or run a business in the UK
What you can and cannot do
You can:
⦁ take part in any of the business-related activities mentioned in the Visitor Rules
⦁ study for up to 30 days, as long as it’s not the main reason for your visit
⦁ take part in an exchange programme or educational visit (if you’re under 18)
⦁ convert your civil partnership into a marriage
⦁ pass through the UK in transit (on your way to another country)
You cannot:
⦁ do paid or unpaid work
⦁ live in the UK for long periods of time through frequent visits
⦁ get public funds
⦁ marry or register a civil partnership, or give notice of marriage or civil partnership
⦁ Read the guidance for more information about what you can and cannot do with a Standard Visitor visa.
⦁ How long it will take
⦁ The earliest you can apply is 3 months before you travel.