How to Get a Visa for London
This page contains information on a variety of visas to enable people moving to London to be able to work or study here legally. Whilst we attempt to provide you with the most uptodate and accurate information possible, we would always advise you to consult the UK Border Agency before applying for a visa.
Ancestry Visas
Youth Mobility Scheme Visas
Skilled Workers Visas
Highly Skilled Workers Visas
Student Visas
You can apply for an Ancestry Visa if you’re a Commonwealth Citizen and have a grandparent from the UK (including the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man).
Being granted an Ancestry Visa, will enable you to live and work in the UK for up to 5 years. Towards the end of the 5 years, you can either apply to settle here permanently or to extend your visa further.
To be eligible for an ancestry visa, you must be able to prove:
- you’re a Commonwealth Citizen
- you’re aged 17 or over
- you have a grandparent who was born in the UK, or have a grandparent that was born in the Republic of Ireland before 31st March, 1922.
- you are both able and planning to work in the UK
- you can support yourself and your dependants without help from public funds
The cost of applying for an Ancestry visa is currently GBP 205.00.
If you’re applying for an ancestry visa before you move to the UK, then you’ll need to be granted ‘entry clearance’ before you fly. For further details on how to do this, please visit the UK Border Agency.
This visa type replaced the Tier 5 Holidaymaker Visa in November 2008.
To be eligible for this type of visa you must score 50 points from the following options:
- You must be a citizen of Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Canada or Monaco (please note that citizens of South Africa and the USA are NOT eligible to apply for this type of visa) – you will get 30 points for this
- You must be between 18 and 31 years of age – you will get 10 points for this
- You must have at least GBP 1600.00 of available funds in your bank at the time of application. – you will get 10 points for this
You cannot apply for this type of visa if you have children living with you, or who you are financially responsible for. You also won’t be able to eligible to apply for the tier 5 Youth Mobility Scheme visa, if you have previously entered the UK on this type of visa before.
If you are granted this visa, you’ll be able to stay in the UK for a maximum of 24 months.
For further information on Tier 5 Youth Mobility Scheme visas, please visit the UK Border Agency .
The visa type refers to the Tier 2 Skilled Worker. The visa was formerly called the work permit scheme, but essentially means that in order to work in the UK, you must be sponsored by an employer who has been unable to fill a work position by a settled worker.
To be eligible to apply for this type of visa, you must have 70 points gathered from the following categories:
- 10 points for English language proficiency
- 10 points for having at least £800 in your bank account for more than 3 months before you arrive
- 50 points from ‘attributes’ – you can obtain 30-50 points for sponsorship, 0-15 for qualifications and 0-20 for future expected earnings.
If you are granted this visa, you will be able to stay in the UK for a maximum of 3 years and 1 month, or the time given on your sponsorship certificate plus 1 month (whichever is shorter). At the end of this time, you can apply to extend your stay in the UK for another 2 years, or the time given on your sponsorship certificate plus 14 days (whichever is shorter).
Once you have been in the UK for 5 years, you can apply to settle here.
In order to apply for a Skilled Worker visa, you must have both a sponsor and a valid certificate of sponsorship.
In order for an employer to become a sponsor, they must be issued with a licence. Unless the job that you are being employed to do is on the shortage occupation list, your employer will first be required to advertise the job so that UK nationals can apply. The job must require at least degree/higher eduction diploma qualifications or at least 3 years experience in a specialist field.
An application for the skilled worker visa costs GBP 265.00.
This tier 1 – highly skilled visa type, replaces the old Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP).
Unlike the tier 2 skilled worker visa, which requires a sponsorship from an employer, this tier 1 visa type allows highly skilled workers to come to the UK in search of work, so long as they have enough points to be granted this visa.
If you’re applying for this visa type from outside of the UK, then you must score at least 100 points including 10 for English language proficiency and 10 for maintenance (you must have at least £800 in available funds in your bank account.
The other points can be awarded for:
- Age (between 5 and 20 points)
- Qualifications (between 30-45 for initial applications or 30-50 extension applications)
- Previous earnings (5-80 points)
- UK experience (5 points)
If you are granted this type of visa, then you will be allowed to stay in the UK for up to 2 years. Towards the end of this time, you can apply to extend the visa and in fact if you are applying to extend your Tier 1 visa, then the conditions that you have to meet are different from an initial application.
If you are granted a tier 1 visa, you will absolutely not be eligible to accept public money or most benefits paid by the state.
People over the age of 16 who wish to come to or remain in the UK as a student, will need to apply for a student visa, which is a tier 4 type visa.
Those applying for a student visa will need to:
- Have been accepted on an eligible course provider with a valid licence
- Have enough funds available to them to pay for their course and living costs
Students aged 16 or 17 years old, will need permission from their parents to study in the UK.
Your course provider will also need to approve your level of English proficiency.
Those who are granted a student visa and are planning to study in the UK on a course with a minimum of 12 months, will be allowed to remain in the UK for the duration of their course, plus 4 months at the end of the course. (This does not apply to postgraduate doctors and dentists who are allowed a maximum of 3 years for the course plus 1 month at the end of the course).
The visa application will be based on a points assessment.
You must have a minimum of 40 points, including:
- 30 points for having a valid certificate of acceptance from an approved eduction provider
- 10 points for being able to prove that you have enough money to cover your course fees and living costs