Table Of Contents:
- What is a UK Visitor Visa
- Specific Tips for People Applying from India
- Make Sure a Visitor Visa is the Right Choice for You
- Make Sure You Meet the Eligibility Criteria
- Gather Necessary Documents
- Keep a Check on the UK Visitor Visa Fee
- Write the Cover Letter for Your Visa Appointment
- Keep the Proof of Your Intention to Return to India
- Avoid Last-Minute Visa Application
- Know the Locations for UK Visitor Visa Applications from India
- Final Thoughts
Thousands of people from India apply to visit the UK every year. They want to visit this beautiful country mostly for tourism purposes, but also for other reasons. The UK has several historical, cultural, and natural beauty places. It is also among the top 10 economies in the world, and it has a very advanced medical system. All of this attracts people from India to the UK.
If you are Indian and want to visit the UK from India, you need to apply for a UK visitor visa from India. A UK visitor visa allows Indian nationals to visit the UK for a short period of up to 6 months. You can visit the UK for purposes such as tourism, meeting family and friends, short- term study, short-term business activities, medical treatment, or other permitted activities in the UK.
What is a UK Visitor Visa?
A UK visitor visa allows nationals of multiple countries, including India, to apply for a short-term visit to the UK. The visa lasts for up to 6 months. This means your objective to visit the UK must be for a short-term activity such as tourism, meeting family and friends, medical treatment, short-term study, or business activities, etc. You must leave the UK at the end of your visa. If you want to visit the UK again, you need to leave the UK and then apply for a UK visitor visa from India again. However, in certain circumstances, such as medical treatment, you can apply for an extension.
In this blog, we are going to discuss specific tips for people applying for a UK visitor visa from India.
Specific Tips for People Applying from India
If you are applying for a UK visitor visa from India, you should be aware of some facts, such as why you need a visitor visa, what the eligibility requirements are, what the required documents are, when you should apply, etc.
Here is a list of specific tips you can follow before you apply for a UK visitor visa.
1. Make Sure a Visitor Visa is the Right Choice for You
If you want to visit the UK for a short term, you can apply for a UK visitor visa. As a visitor, you cannot work, do long-term study or business in the UK, live with your UK-based spouse or partner, etc. Hence, if you want to come to the UK for these purposes, you would rather need to apply for long-term visas such as the UK Work Visa, the UK Innovator Founder Visa, and the UK Spouse Visa.
If you want to make frequent visits to the UK, you can apply for a long-term visitor visa, but you should remember that you can stay for up to 6 months on each visit only. Also, frequent visits can raise doubts that you want to make the UK your main home. This may seriously impact your future UK visa applications.
2. Make Sure You Meet the Eligibility Criteria
Without meeting the eligibility criteria for a UK visitor visa from India, you cannot apply for it. If you are unsure of eligibility conditions, you should check the UKVI’s official website, gov.uk.
Here are the eligibility criteria for a UK visitor visa:
- You must demonstrate that your purpose of visiting the UK is genuine.
- You must intend to leave the UK at the end of your visit.
- You or someone you know must support you financially during your stay in the UK without recourse to public funds.
- You will not do anything not permitted under the visa, such as working or studying.
- You or someone else you know must fund your return or onward journey.
- You must not make frequent and successive visits to the UK to make the UK your main home.
3. Gather Necessary Documents
You need to gather the following supporting documents when you apply for a UK visitor visa from India:
- A filled and signed visa application form.
- Your current Indian passport with at least 2 blank pages, and it must be valid for at least 6 months.
- Recent passport-sized photographs.
- Your bank account statement for the last 6 months. You must explain if there are any abrupt deposits in your bank account.
- A cover letter that clearly states the purpose of your visit, the number of days you intend to stay in the UK, and provides passport and travel details. If you are self-employed in India, you should present the cover letter on your business letterhead.
- A letter from your employer in India confirming approved leave.
- Your detailed travel itinerary in the UK.
- Proof of your accommodation in the UK.
- Proof of your ties to India, such as an employment letter, property ownership documents, or family relationships.
- You need to submit additional supporting documents specific to your purpose of visit, such as invitation letters, business-related documents, etc.
4. Keep a Check on the UK Visitor Visa Fee
The UK visitor visa fee keeps changing and is non-refundable. Hence, you should check the current fee before you apply. Currently, the UK visitor visa application fee from India for up to 6 months, single or multiple entries, is INR 14810. You need to pay the fee online while applying.
You can use a debit/credit card to make the payments. For private medical treatment for more than six months up to 11 months, you need to pay INR 25656.
For a visiting academic—more than 6 months up to 12 months—you need to pay INR 25656. For long-term visitor visas valid for up to 2, 5, and 10 years, you need to pay INR 55393, INR 98891, and INR 123497, respectively.
5. Write the Cover Letter for Your Visa Appointment
You should write a cover letter that explains the reason for your visit to the UK and the specifics of your stay there. This will help your visa application be approved. The letter should explain the following:
- Clearly state your purpose of visit, such as business, tourism, or family visitation.
- Details of your itinerary, accommodation, and anticipated trip dates.
- Explain how you intend to pay for your stay using the bank statements or other financial papers you’ve included.
6. Keep the Proof of Your Intention to Return to India
Demonstrating your intention to return to India at the end of your visit is one of the most important requirements for a UK visitor visa from India. To meet this condition, you must provide documents showing your strong ties to India. The documents may include:
- A letter from your boss confirming your plans to return to work following your visit to the.
- Documents proving you own a property in India or rental agreements attesting to your presence in India.
- Family connections back home, such as a marriage certificate or birth certificates of your children.
Your strong ties to India, as evidenced by these documents, help prove you will not overstay in the UK.
7. Avoid Last-Minute Visa Application
The earliest you can apply for a UK visitor visa from India is 3 months before you travel to the UK. Hence, you should apply as early as possible, as it may take several weeks to process your UK visitor visa application. There may be further delays if the Home Office needs more information or documents from you. So, to keep yourself stress-free, you should avoid last-minute visa applications.
8. Know the Locations for UK Visitor Visa Applications from India
Here is the list of cities in India where you can apply for a UK visitor visa.
- Ahmedabad
- Amritsar
- Bengaluru
- Calicut
- Chandigarh
- Chennai
- Cochin
- Coimbatore
- Goa
- Gurgaon
- Guwahati
- Hyderabad
- Jaipur
- Jalandhar
- Kolkata
- Lucknow
- Ludhiana
- Mangalore
- Mohali
- Mumbai
- New Delhi
- Noida
- Pune
- Vishakhapatnam
Final Thoughts
A UK visitor visa is the right choice for people from India if they are applying as tourists, students, for private medical treatment, for business activities, or as guests to their family and friends. This visa allows them to come to the UK for a short-term visit. There are also long-term visitor visa options available, which are valid for 2, 5, and 10 years.
People applying for a UK visitor visa from India need to clearly show their purpose of visit and intent to leave the UK at the end of their visit. They must demonstrate their strong ties to India and their bank statements in India to prove that they can cover their expenses while in the UK. For a hassle-free application, you should consult an expert UK immigration lawyer.
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