Visit visa for family and friends visiting you in the UK
Your family and friends can apply for a visit visa to visit you in the UK.
Overview
Your family and friends can apply for a visit visa to visit you in the UK.
A visitor visa allows someone to visit the UK for up to 6 months for certain permitted activities. These include:
- for tourism, for example on a holiday or vacation
- to see family or friends in the UK
- to volunteer for up to 30 days with a registered charity
- to pass through the UK to another country (‘in transit’)
- for certain business activities, for example attending a meeting or interview
- for certain permitted paid engagements
- to take part in a school exchange programme
- to do a recreational course of up to 30 days (eg a dance course)
- to study, do a placement or take an exam
- as an academic, senior doctor or dentist
- for medical reasons
A visitor cannot:
- do paid or unpaid work for a UK company or as a self-employed person, unless you’re doing a permitted paid engagement or event
- claim public funds (benefits)
- live in the UK for long periods of time through frequent or successive visits
- marry or register a civil partnership, or give notice of marriage or civil partnership- you’ll need to apply for a Marriage Visitor visa
Who needs a Standard Visitor Visa?
This will depend on your visitor’s nationality.
Your visitor will either need to:
- apply for a visit visa before travel, or;
- apply for an electronic travel authorisation (ETA).
Your visitor should check if they need a visa before they apply.
An ETA is permission to travel. Even if your visitor does not need to apply for a visit visa before travel, they can still be questioned at the border about the purpose of their trip. If they are allowed entry, it will be as a visitor which would allow them to stay for up to 6 months.
Eligibility requirements
If your visitor does need to apply for a visit visa before travel, they will need to demonstrate that they have:
- a genuine reason for the visit,
- access to adequate funds to support themselves for the duration of the trip and cover the return travel costs, and;
- demonstrate an intention to leave the UK after the visit.
The application will prompt the applicant for certain supporting documents depending on the nature of their visit.
They will need a valid passport with a blank page and which remains valid for the duration of the trip.
It can be advisable to enclose a cover letter explaining the purpose of the trip and proposed itinerary.
If any documents are not in English or Welsh they will need to have certified translations.
Genuine Visit
Your visitor must be able to show a genuine reason for coming to the UK. This could be an invitation letter from you, see template letter below. Please note that the University will not provide official invitation letters for friends and family members of students.
If your family is applying for a visit visa to attend your graduation you can get a student status graduation letter (login required) from SSiD which will act as proof of the graduation dates, and should be included with their supporting documents.
Adequate funds
Your visitor needs to prove that they have sufficient money available to them to cover the full cost of the trip including return flights, accommodation and living costs for the duration of their stay. There is no minimum requirement set by the Home Office. It will depend on what the visitor intends to do during their trip.
There are strict rules about what financial evidence is acceptable, so always read the detailed guidance on supporting document requirements.
UKVI will also assess the applicant's personal financial situation and the application form will ask questions around this. They should provide details and supporting documents to prove their income, savings, employment, business etc even if they are not personally paying for the trip. This can also help them establish strong ties to their home country.
If your visitor is unemployed or does not have their own income and is relying on a family member to support them, they should get a letter from that family member confirming this and evidence of their financial status. If a third party is helping to fund the trip, they will also need to show 6 months worth of bank statements.
Intention to leave
Your visitor will need to show that they will leave the UK at the end of the proposed visit. This does not mean showing return travel tickets and UKVI advises not to buy travel tickets, until the visa is issued. They can demonstrate this by showing evidence of strong ties to your home country.
Documents which could be provided include:
- A letter from their employer, school or university
- Evidence of property or business ownership
- Marriage certificate
- Evidence of other children/dependants who will be staying at home.
Accommodation
The application form will ask for details of where the visitor will be staying. It is not mandatory to show evidence of the accommodation, but it can be useful to do so.
If booking accommodation online, ensure that the accommodation booking can be cancelled without a fee just in case the application is refused.
If your visitor will be staying with you, you can confirm this in your invitation letter.
Medical insurance
Visitors do not pay an Immigration Health surcharge as part of the visa and it is not a visa requirement. However, your visitor should purchase adequate private health insurance to cover their trip to the UK.
A visitor to the UK is not entitled to free NHS healthcare (eg hospital treatment other than emergency care). Healthcare charges can be high and it can affect future immigration applications if a visitor has unpaid health charges.
NHS- Visitors from outside the European Economic Area (EEA)
How to apply
The application form, fee and eligibility information can be found below:
Your visitor can apply up to 3 months before travel. They will need to submit the online application and attend a biometric appointment at a visa application centre.
If they intend to visit the UK regularly, they can choose to apply for a long-term Standard Visitor visa instead which would allow multiple visits.
How can you help your visitor to apply?
You can help your visitor prepare for their visa application by helping them arrange the trip and by providing an invitation letter to your visitor.
You can provide the following documents to your visitor:
- Copy of your passport and E visa
- Invitation letterr- you can download and amend our visit visa sample letter (Word, 16KB).
- Certificate of student status (login required)
- 6 months bank statements (if you're paying for all/part of the visit)
- Proof of your relationship with the visitor, if applicable
Contact
The International Student Support, Advice and Compliance team (ISSAC) can help with visit visa queries from prospective, current and recently graduated students in relation to their own applications and provide information about how to invite friends and family members to the UK. We also can provide information to visitors to the University.
We do not offer an application checking service.