This visa is for visiting the UK for general purposes, including for a holiday or to visit friends or relatives.

Requirements:

• be aged 18 or over;
• only want to visit the United Kingdom for up to six months, or up to 12 months if accompanying an academic visitor;
• intend to leave the United Kingdom at the end of the visit;
• have enough money to support and accommodate self and any dependants travelling on the same application without working or help from public funds, or be supported and accommodated by relatives or friends;
• be able to meet the cost of the return or onward journey; and
• not be in transit to a country outside the common travel area.

The applicant must also show that, during the visit, he/she does not intend to:

• take employment, produce goods or provide services, including the selling of goods or services directly to members of the public;
• undertake a course of study;
• marry or form a civil partnership, or give notice of marriage or civil partnership;
• carry out the activities of a business visitor, a sports visitor or an entertainer visitor; or
• receive private medical treatment.

Successful applicants can stay in the UK for up to six months or 12 months for academic visitors.

A family visitor may visit a family member in the UK who is a:

• spouse, civil partner, father, mother, son, daughter, brother or sister;
• grandfather, grandmother, grandson or granddaughter;
• spouse or civil partner's father, mother, brother or sister;
• son or daughter's spouse or civil partner;
• stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother or stepsister; or
• a person they have been living with in a genuine and subsisting relationship, like marriage or civil partnership, for at least 2 years before the day of applying.

Requirement of the UK family member:

• be a British citizen;
• be settled in the UK;
• have been granted asylum in the UK; or
• have Humanitarian Protection status.

Requirements of the applicant:

In addition to the above, the applicant must also be able to show that they:

• are 18 or over;
• intend to visit the UK for no more than 6 months (or 12 months if accompanying an academic visitor);
• intend to leave the UK at the end of the visit;
• have enough money to support and accommodate self without working or help from public funds, or that they and any dependants will be supported and accommodated by relatives or friends;
• can meet the cost of the return or onward journey; and
• are not in transit to a country outside the 'Common Travel Area' (Ireland, the UK, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands).

This visa allows the successful applicant to visit family and stay for up to six months. There are some limitations on what he/she can do there such as work, get married or receive medical treatment.

The business visitor category is for people who want to do business in the UK for a short time. This includes academic visitors, visiting professors, overseas news media representatives and film crews on location.

Other business purposes include:

• attending meetings (including interviews that have been arranged before entering the UK) or conferences;
• arranging deals, or negotiating or signing trade agreements or contracts;
• undertaking fact-finding missions;
• conducting site visits;
• delivering goods and passengers from abroad;
• accompanying a tour group as a tour group courier;
• speaking at a 'one-off' conference where this is not run as a commercial concern;
• representing a foreign manufacturer by coming to service or repair its products within their initial period of guarantee;
• representing a foreign machine manufacturer by coming to erect and install machinery too heavy to be delivered in one piece, as part of the contract of purchase and supply;
• interpreting or translating for visiting business persons;
• acting as a monteur (a worker such as a fitter or serviceperson) for up to 6 months to erect, dismantle, install, service, repair or advise on the development of foreign-made machinery;
• attending board meetings in the UK as a board-level director, provided the applicant is not employed by a UK company;
• representing a computer software company by coming to install, debug or enhance their products.

Requirements:

Applicants must show that they:

• are 18 or over;
• intend to visit the UK for no more than 6 months (or 12 months if an academic visitor), except for doctors taking the PLAB test (in which case they can apply to extend the stay and undertake a clinical attachment if they pass the PLAB test);
• intend to leave the UK at the end of their visit;
• have enough money to support and accommodate themselves without working or help from public funds, or that they and their dependants will be supported and accommodated by relatives or friends;
• are based abroad and do not intend to transfer your base to the UK, even temporarily;
• receive their salary from abroad (although it is acceptable to receive reasonable travel and subsistence expenses while in the UK);
• are not replacing someone in the UK, including for temporary leave periods;
• can meet the cost of the return or onward journey​