Whether you’re looking to visit the United Kingdom for a short time or hoping to stay on a permanent basis, we can provide you with advice on the right application for you and how best to proceed. This category provides an overview of the UK Entry Clearance Visas by country, especially for those who are applying for the tourist, family and business visitor visa for the very first time. All nationalities, excluding British Citizens and EEA nationals, are subject to UK immigration controls when attempting to enter the United Kingdom. If you are intending to enter the country under the UK Immigration Rules, you will need to apply for Entry Clearance to travel. What happens at the UK border if you don’t have entry clearance? Registered Office: Level 30, The Leadenhall Building, 122 Leadenhall Street, London, EC3V 4AB, London Cambridge Aberdeen Manchester Birmingham, Branding, Digital & Website by Rokman Laing. If a person, who has a leave to remain or ILR in the UK, is outside the UK and misplaces his/her BRP, then for entry clearance purpose can apply for a single-entry visa. The applicant applying for entry clearance as a spouse of a British Citizen or a person settled must meet the following requirements: Fit the suitability criteria as set out in the Immigration Rules. However, this does not necessarily guarantee entry into the UK. It is the process of applying for and being granted a visa to enter the country. Extension of the requirement to Tier 2 entry clearance applicants From 6 April 2017 the requirement applies to Tier 2 (General) entry clearance applicants coming to work in the health, education and social care sectors and to the partner of a Tier 2 (General) migrant coming to work or already employed in one of these sectors. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. An Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) Clearance Certificate must be obtained for some postgraduate students who need entry clearance to study in the UK. EC-C.1.1. You will need to apply for a UK visa if you are entering the country as a businessperson, worker, student or family member and your stay is longer than six months. People making an entry clearance application from outside the UK were still left out in the cold. The following information is extracted from the Gov.UK website, making reference to the Immigration Rules. A person who has been absent for more than 2 years must apply for entry clearance as a returning resident and will be assessed by Entry Clearance Officers under paragraph 19 of the Rules. Permission to work will depend on the visa that has been granted and the conditions it imposes on the visa holder. IAS can help with any Entry Clearance queries you have. Those who want to come to the UK and stay here for over 6 months, need to meet such requirements. • You have been convicted of a recent or serious criminal offence • Where you have previously breached the UK’s immigration laws, for example, by overstaying or breaching a condition attached to your leave Overstaying in the UK (Expired Visa Rules), Hong Kong BNO Visa (Application Guidance). Both the applicant and the UK fiancé(e) of the applicant must be aged 18 or over for fiancé(e) visa application to succeed. Entry Clearance Applications | UK Visa Blog This category provides an overview of the UK Entry Clearance Visas by country, especially for those who are applying for the tourist, family and business visitor visa for the very first time. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk. There are many reasons for coming to the UK, to visit family or friends, as a tourist, to work or study, or to join family here. When you get entry clearance, you can enter the UK initially for 30 days to collect your bio metric residence permit which allows you to stay in UK. By way of example, if you are applying for entry clearance as a visitor, you can apply at the British diplomatic post of any country abroad, whereas applications for entry clearance in various other categories must be made from the country in which you are living. Do you need Entry Clearance? All intended entrants must obtain a visa unless they are exempt.. You may also have a number of conditions imposed, including a condition restricting your employment or studies in the UK, or a condition requiring you to maintain and accommodate yourself, and any dependants, without recourse to public funds. It will take only 2 minutes to fill in. Accordingly, the posts in this category provide the details of application charges in the respective local currencies, US Dollars (US$) and British Pound Sterling (£). • You are currently the subject of a deportation order While technically the entry requirements for travelers are the same, hotel stays are banned, all retail is shut and there are restrictions about visiting private households, which effectively stop all tourism. 6183275 As such, you should always seek expert advice from an immigration specialist before travelling. of Family Reunion applications received at the Istanbul Entry Clearance Decision Making Centre (December 2016 – March 2017)’. Depending on your category of visa, there are also general grounds on which your application for entry clearance may be turned down, including: • Where false representations have been made, or false documents or information have been submitted, or material facts have not been disclosed in this or any previous application Paragraph 320(2) of the Rules states that an application should normally be refused if:-The person seeking entry to the United Kingdom: Protecting your interests while your Entry Clearance application for Limited Leave to Enter as an adopted child is pending with the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) and making further representations in support of the application, if necessary; Doing all the follow up work until decision is reached on your Entry Clearance application. The Immigration Rules state that persons seeking entry to the UK are to be refused entry by an Immigration Officer if they fail to produce a valid national passport or other document satisfactorily establishing their identity and nationality (Rules paragraph 320(3)). Don’t worry we won’t send you spam or share your email address with anyone. UK Visa Processing Times (Latest from UKVI). The document checklist in your application will explain what to provide, although you may also want to seek expert advice here, not least given that any refusal of entry clearance will have a significant impact on your plans to live, work or study in the UK. Visa Entry Requirements For the United Kingdom During COVID-19 All travelers will still need to follow U.K. visa requirements. A non-visa national can travel to the UK without having applied for a visa in advance, applying to enter the UK at the border. Although this duration is normally for a period of six months, a 'Standard visitor' can also apply for a visit visa with a two, five or ten year validity period. If you are a foreign national under UK Immigration Rules you may need to be granted Entry Clearance from the UK Home Office before you can enter the UK to do these things. These cookies do not store any personal information. We use some essential cookies to make this website work. You can apply for Entry Clearance, in the following categories: UK ancestry visa; Spouse visa; Unmarried partner visa; EEA family member; Visitor visa However, the price of such a single-entry visa (to replace BRP) is £154, instead of the usual £95 fee for the single or multiple entry Type-C visas. In the event that your application for entry clearance is approved, this will be granted in the form of a stick-in vignette that goes inside your passport or travel document. DavidsonMorris Ltd t/a DavidsonMorris Solicitors is a company Registered in England & Wales No. You will have to submit the following documents, at the minimum: An application form, downloaded from the UK government's Visa4UK website Grounds on which entry clearance or leave to enter the UK is to be refused. This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. Where you have been required under the Immigration Rules to obtain entry clearance in advance, you must produce to the IO at the port of entry a valid passport or other identity document endorsed with a UK entry clearance, issued to you for the purpose for which you seek entry and which is still in force. All visa nationals ie non-EEA citizens, require entry clearance to be allowed into the UK. If you are transiting or travelling through the UK while on your way to another destination country, even if you are only changing flights at a UK airport, you may still need to apply for prior entry clearance. The requirements to be met for entry clearance as a child are that-(a) the applicant must be outside the UK; (b) the applicant must have made a valid application for entry clearance as a child; (c) the applicant must not fall for refusal under any of the grounds in Section S-EC: Suitability for entry clearance; and There are two types of transiting, namely, landside, where you pass through UK border control, but come back through it and leave the UK within 48 hours, or airside, where you do not pass through border control before you leave on your connecting journey.