A person who lives outside the United Kingdom and is not a UK or EU national and comes to the United Kingdom for a visit or holiday or for business reasons (*see below) can do so as a visitor.

If you are not a UK or an EU citizen, you may be required to obtain entry clearance before you travel to the UK as a visitor.

The majority of Commonwealth nationals may apply on arrival at a UK port of entry for clearance to enter and remain in the United Kingdom as a visitor. Visa Nationals must obtain entry clearance before they travel to the UK for any purpose, even for visits and holiday purposes.

To qualify to travel to the UK as a visitor you must be able to show that you are intending to travel to the UK for no more than six months, that your intention is to leave the UK at the end of your visit and that you have enough money available for your holiday to support yourself without taking employment or assistance from any public funds.

Visa Nationals should apply for a UK visitor visa at the UK Mission in the country where they are normally and legally residing before attempting to travel to the UK.

You may not take paid or unpaid work, produce goods or services or sell goods and services to the public in the UK as a visitor

If you are given permission to stay for less than six months on entry, you can apply to extend your stay in the UK providing it does not take your total stay as a visitor to more than six months.

It is possible to obtain a visitors visa which is valid for one, two, five or ten years for those who travel to the UK for visits frequently. You can still only remain in the UK for the maximum period of six months on each visit however for the validity of the visa.

In some circumstances, an extension of stay as a visitor near completion of your current leave in the UK can be applied for whilst in the UK, i.e. working holidaymakers.

* Business visitors may do the following whilst in the UK as a visitor:

• Buy, check details of and examine goods
• Deliver goods from overseas
• Negotiate or sign trade agreements or contracts
• Attend meetings, conferences, trade fairs or seminars
• Attend interviews
• Carry out fact-finding missions
• Act as an adviser, consultant, trainer of investigator
• Participate in training techniques and work practices
• Represent a foreign company about machinery made abroad
• Represent computer-software companies
• Act as interpreters or translators
• Act as tour-group carriers working for a firm outside the UK

Contact Ambler Collins for an assessment of your eligibility to enter the UK as a visitor (including business visits)

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