United Kingdom · Business

Standard Visitor visa — Visit on business

Standard Visitor visa — Visit on business is issued by UK Visas and Immigration. VisaAI tracks 14 official requirements for it, each traced to the government page that states it.

Last verified against the official source on .

VisaAI is not a government body and does not issue visas. It cannot decide, predict or guarantee the outcome of an application, and this page is not legal or immigration advice.

Requirements change. Confirm every item on UK Visas and Immigration’s own page before you apply.

Conditions you must meet

  • Do business activities only if you are not paid by a UK-based organisation or client
  • Do only the permitted business activitiesGOV.UK lists: attend interviews, meetings, conferences and seminars; negotiate and sign deals and contracts; attend trade fairs to promote your business (you cannot sell things); get work-related training if you are employed overseas and the training is not available in your home country; give a one-off or short series of talks that are not for profit or a commercial event; carry out site visits and inspections; oversee delivery of goods and services provided by a UK company to your overseas company; deliver training or share knowledge on internal projects with UK employees of the company you work for overseas; and carry out specific activities where your overseas employer has an eligible contract of purchase, supply or lease with a UK company.
  • Any other paid or unpaid work needs a work visa, not a visitor visa
  • Paid work is allowed only as a permitted paid engagement, as an expert in your professionThe rules for permitted paid engagements are on a separate GOV.UK sub-page that is not a registered source, so their contents are not extracted here.
  • Extra activities are allowed in certain overseas job rolesGOV.UK names archaeologists; artists, entertainers or musicians; bodyguards; camera operators; drivers; internal auditors; journalists or correspondents; lawyers or expert witnesses; market researchers or analysts; personal assistants; pilots or cabin crew on a CAA-approved wet lease agreement between 1 March and 31 October; professors from an overseas academic institution; religious workers; scientists or researchers; seafarers; sports people or sports officials; tour group couriers; translators or interpreters; film crew including actors, producers, directors and technicians; production team members supporting an artist, entertainer or musician; and technical staff supporting an artist, entertainer, musician or sports person. What each role may actually do is set out in the visitor rules, which are not a registered source.

Documents you must provide

  • Passport or travel document valid for the whole of your stay in the UK
  • Extra details some applicants must give, depending on circumstancesGOV.UK lists these under "depending on your circumstances, you might also need to provide": details of your travel history for the past 10 years; your employer's address and telephone number; your partner's name, date of birth and passport number; the name and address of anyone paying for your trip; the name, address and passport number of any family members you have in the UK. For a business visitor the employer's contact details and the name and address of whoever is paying for the trip are the ones most often reached for, but the page states no rule for which apply to whom.
  • Tuberculosis (TB) test certificateGOV.UK ties this to a visit of more than 6 months.
  • Certified translations of documents not in English or Welsh

Steps in the process

  • Check the basic Standard Visitor eligibility requirements and whether you need a visaWhether you need a Standard Visitor visa, an ETA, or neither depends on your nationality, and GOV.UK publishes that only through its separate checker tool.
  • Apply online before you travel, and book an appointment at a visa application centreThe UK publishes no application form number for this route — the application exists only as an online service. GOV.UK also states you can save the form and finish it later, and that each person travelling needs their own application, fee and appointment.
  • Give the required information in your online applicationGOV.UK lists: the dates you're planning to travel to the UK; where you'll be staying during your visit; how much you think your trip will cost; your current home address and how long you've lived there; your parents' names and dates of birth (if known); how much you earn in a year (if you have an income); details of any criminal, civil or immigration offences you may have committed.
  • Prove your identity and give biometrics at a visa application centreGOV.UK notes the visa application centre could be in another country, that your passport is returned the same day, and that the centre may keep some of your other documents while the application is processed.

Government fees

  • Standard Visitor visa application feeA business visit is made on a Standard Visitor visa and pays the same fees. GOV.UK publishes six tiers: GBP 135 for up to 6 months; GBP 234 for a visit for medical reasons (11 months) and GBP 234 for academics (12 months); and the long-term visitor visas at GBP 506 (2 years), GBP 903 (5 years) and GBP 1,128 (10 years), each allowing a maximum stay of 6 months per visit. Each person applying pays their own fee.

Official sources

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