The following persons are required to obtain entry clearance in advance of travel to the UK:

·       a visa national (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-visitor-visa-national-list);

·       a non-visa national (not a British or Irish national) who is seeking entry to the UK for any purpose, other than as a visitor, short-term student or creative worker seeking entry for three months or less; and

·       a British national such as a British National (Overseas) without the right of abode who is seeking entry for a purpose for which prior entry clearance is required.

A person who requires entry clearance must on arrival in the UK either:

·       produce to a Border Force Officer a valid passport or other identity document endorsed with a United Kingdom entry clearance ‘vignette’, issued to them for the purpose for which they seek entry, which must be valid; or

·       where they have been granted a United Kingdom entry clearance which was issued in electronic form (an eVisa) for the purpose for which they seek entry and which is still in force, produce to the Officer the valid passport or other identity document which is linked to the eVisa.

Entry clearance takes the form of a ‘visa’ (for visa nationals) or an ‘entry certificate’ (for non-visa nationals).

Anyone seeking to come to the UK for any purpose will now need to make an application before they travel, with the rollout of the new Electronic Travel Authorisation (‘ETA’) to all non-visa nationals. What kind of application you make depends on the purpose of your travel to the UK, whether it be for work, study, or tourism.

Tourism

If you are a non-visa national, then you will need to apply for and obtain a ETA in most cases before travelling to the UK. An ETA is linked to your passport digitally. An ETA will be valid for two years or for the validity of your passport if shorter, and can be used multiple times whilst it is valid. You can spend a maximum of six months in the UK per visit, with no limit to the number of visits you make whilst the ETA is valid. Note however that frequent, long visits could be construed as disguised residence, and are not permitted.

If you are a visa national, then you will be required to apply for and receive a UK Standard Visitor Visa prior to travelling to the UK for the purposes of tourism. Visa nationals who are simply transiting the UK may be required to apply for a Transit Visa prior to arrival; this applies to all visa nationals who pass through UK immigration control, and specified visa nationals who are only transiting airside.

Whether you are a visa national or a non-visa national, if you are coming to the UK to marry or form a civil partnership, or give notice of marriage or civil partnership, then you must apply for and receive a Marriage/Civil Partnership Visitor Visa prior to travelling to the UK.

Work

If you are coming to the UK for less than six months, you may be able to enter as a visitor and carry out permitted activities such as attending meeting or conferences, academic research, negotiate and sign deals and contracts, be briefed on the requirements of a UK-based customer (provided any work for the customer is done outside of the UK), and certain artistic permitted paid engagements.

If you are coming to the UK for more than six months, then you will require prior entry clearance whether you are a non-visa national or a visa national. For most UK work visa, you will require sponsorship before you make an application for entry clearance, and this is conferred in the form of a ‘Certificate of Sponsorship’. This will be given to you by your prospective or existing sponsor in the UK.

There are several work-related routes that do not require sponsorship, which includes: the Global Talent route, the Innovator Founder route, High Potential Individual, Youth Mobility Scheme, the UK Ancestry route, Domestic Worker in a Private Household, Graduate route, and the British National (Overseas) route.

Otherwise, your employer/sponsor will need to assign a Certificate of Sponsorship to you so that you can apply for either a worker visa (Skilled Worker, Health and Care Worker, Minister of Religion, International Sportsperson, Senior or Specialist Worker) or temporary worker visa (most Global Business Mobility routes, Scale-up worker, Creative Worker, Religious Worker, Government Authorised Exchange, International Agreement, Seasonal Worker). There is a Creative Worker concession policy in place that allows certain non-visa nationals to enter the UK without having applied for the visa before their arrival. You can enter the UK without applying for the Creative Worker visa in advance if you:

•        have a valid Certificate of Sponsorship
•        are coming to work in the UK for three months or less
•        are a non-visa national and have successfully obtained an ETA

 Study

If you are a non-visa national coming to the UK to study for six months or less, for example, as part of an international exchange programme, then you may only require an ETA depending on the nature of your programme. Visa nationals would require a UK tourist visa.

if they were coming to the UK to study for six months or less.

If you are coming to the UK to study for more than six months, then you will need to apply for and be granted entry clearance prior to your arrival. The visa you apply for depends on your circumstances. If you will be studying on an English language course for up to 11 months, you can apply for a Short-term study visa. If you will be coming to study on a further or higher education course, you can apply for a Student visa. Alternatively, if you are aged 4 to 17 years old and will be coming to study at an independent school, you can apply for a Child Student visa.

If you would like legal advice, call Latitude Law today on 0300 131 6767 or fill out our enquiry form, and we will get straight back to you. Let our legal experts take the uncertainty out of the visa application so you can start your successful journey in the UK today.