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How to Apply for a UK Tourist Visa?
The Tourist Visa is also known as the Standard Visitor Visa. This visa category allows you to visit the UK for leisure and tourism, business, or study for a duration of up to 6 months. You can apply for a longer visitor visa in certain circumstances. However, your maximum duration of stay per visit can be no longer than 6 months.
You must meet several requirements to be eligible for the UK Tourist Visa. These requirements are about your financial means, intention to leave the UK at the end of visa duration, and other areas of your visa application.
Here at the London-based Adam Bernard’s law firm, our top immigration lawyers can help you determine whether or not you are eligible for the Tourist Visa. If you are eligible, you can fulfil visa requirements and file a visa application at the earliest with the help of our Tourist Visa solicitors.
What Are the Benefits of a UK Tourist Visa?
A UK Tourist Visa offers numerous benefits. If you are granted the Standard Visitor Visa, you are allowed to do the following:
You can enrol on a recreational course in the UK. The maximum duration of the course must not exceed 30 days.
You can take part in certain business activities. However, you can’t perform paid or unpaid work for any company based in the UK. You are also prohibited from performing any paid or unpaid work as a self-employed person.
You can travel across the UK, see sights, and perform other tourist activities.
You can visit any friends or family members located in the UK. You can also use the accommodation arrangements of a UK-based friend or family member for your visa application.
You can work as a volunteer with a charity organisation registered in the UK. The maximum duration of such volunteer work can be no more than 30 days.
Although you have the freedom to travel and perform many other activities on a Tourist Visa, you can’t claim public funds on this type of visa. You are also prohibited from marrying someone in the UK while on a tourist visit or staying in the UK for more than 6 months on a single visit.
You can consult the top immigration solicitors at our firm to fully understand what you can and can’t do on a Tourist Visa. With the help of our Visitor Visa solicitors, you can judge whether or not this type of visa is your best option.
The Application Process
The application for a UK Tourist Visa is submitted online. You must meet some requirements to be eligible for the visa. At the same time, you are required to provide several supporting documents alongside your visa application.
The basic set of requirements for the Standard Visitor Visa is as follows:
You must show that you have every intention of leaving the UK at the end of your visa duration. You may prove this by producing an employment or admission letter. You can also provide a record of your family back home, indicating that you will rejoin them once your visit comes to an end.
You must not stay in the UK for more than 6 months. If you are granted a standard short-term visitor visa, your visa duration will be 6 months in total. If you are granted a long-term Standard Visitor Visa, you still can’t remain in the UK for more than 6 months on a single visit.
You must prove that you have the cash funds to support yourself once you arrive in the UK. Alternatively, you can demonstrate that a UK sponsor such as a family member will be bearing your expenses once you arrive in the UK.
You must show that you can pay for your return trip at the end of your visa duration. Again, a UK sponsor can agree to bear this requirement on your behalf. In this case, the sponsor must show that they have the cash funds to pay for your return trip.
It can be a daunting process to meet all these requirements. You also need to understand the specifics in each case to make sure you fulfil the requirements. For instance, you must know the precise amount of cash funds you need to show as available to be eligible for the visa.
Here at Adam Bernard’s law firm, our Tourist Visa solicitors help you with the details of each visa requirement. With the help of the top immigration solicitors at our law firm, you can ensure that you understand and fulfil all the requirements.
Documents Required for a Tourist Visa
The documents you will typically need to provide alongside your visa application include the following:
A valid travel document such as a passport. You may also need to provide your previous passports as evidence of your travel history.
A record of your immigration activities. The Home Office uses this to confirm whether or not you have previously come to the UK and if you were guilty of any immigration breaches in the past. Your immigration history plays an important role in the outcome of our visa application.
An overseas address and contact details. The address and contact details should ideally be in your home country from where you are applying for the visa. These details are required to ensure that you have a presence in your home country where you intend to return following your visa’s expiry.
A proof of financial resources. It is expected that you will be able to support yourself financially once you arrive in the UK on a Tourist Visa. This is why you must provide bank statements or other financial documents that indicate this. You may also be required to declare and prove your annual income.
An estimate of total costs. You must provide an accurate estimate of the total cost of your visit. This estimate must take into account accommodation and travel inside the UK, ongoing care and maintenance, and your trip back home at the end of your visit.
A record of criminal and non-criminal offences. If you have been found guilty of any criminal offences, or non-criminal offences like a breach of immigration rules, you must share this. The Home Office requires you to add this record to your visa application.
Tuberculosis (TB) test result. Depending on your country of origin, you may be required to submit the results of the TB test proving that you are clear. This is a requirement for a limited number of countries. Here is a list of countries with a mandatory TB test to obtain a UK visa.
You may also be required to submit additional documents, depending on the circumstances of your case. Our Visitor Visa solicitors can help you determine the precise list of documents you must provide for a complete visa application. If you are not sure how to obtain some of these documents, you can seek the help of our top immigration solicitors.
Visa Fees and Duration
The basic fee for a Standard Visitor Visa is £100. The duration of this visa is 6 months. However, if you are coming to the UK from a non-EEA country, you can apply for a visit visa with a longer duration.
You can opt for the 2-year long-term Standard Visitor Visa. The visa fee in this case will be £376. You can also go with the 5-year and 10-year long-term visa options. For the 5-year visa, you must pay a fee of £670. The 10-year visa costs £837.
However, a Tourist Visa typically doesn’t exceed 6 months as your stated purpose of travel to the UK is leisure. If you are not sure what should be the duration of your visitor visa, you can consult our Tourist Visa solicitors. The top immigration lawyers at our law firm will advise you on how to choose the right duration for your Tourist Visa.
What if My Visa Application is Refused?
You can submit your Visitor Visa application up to three months in advance of your intended date of travel.
The sooner you apply the better.
This gives you plenty of time to respond to Home Office requests for more details or documentation. It also allows you to handle possible rejections and determine if you must appeal the decision or reapply.
If your visa application is turned down, you typically have three options. You can request an appeal, apply for a judicial review, or re-apply.
Your appeal must be submitted only on human rights grounds, which is not always possible for most visa applications. If you apply for a judicial review, you may have to pay additional legal fees to the top immigration solicitors and the outcome may still take some time. In many cases, re-applying with a fresh application is the most viable option.
You can consult our Visitor Visa solicitors to discuss these options and see which option best suits your case.
Why Choose Adam Bernard’s?
Here at the London-based Adam Bernard’s law firm, we are home to some of the top immigration solicitors in London. Our Tourist Visa solicitors offer help and guidance along every step of the visa application process.
With the help of our Visitor Visa solicitors, you can make sure that your visa application is complete and accurate. Our top immigration solicitors directly work with you to ensure that you have all the supporting documents required for your visa. This significantly increases your chances of success.
Call us today at 0207-100-0505 to discuss your case with the top immigration solicitors at our law firm.
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