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Even if your country does not appear on this list, you may need a visa for other reasons, such as getting married in the UK.
You should apply for a UK visitor visa at the UK Mission in the country where you are normally and legally resident. You should plan to apply for your travel visa well in advance of your proposed travel date. Some travel visas may be processed in 24 hours, but others may take longer, especially in cases where an interview is required. The process could take up to several weeks.
Once you have a valid UK travel visa, you should be allowed entry to the UK on arrival unless your circumstances have changed, you gave false information, or you did not tell the entry clearance officer important facts when you applied for your visa. The final decision, however, rests with the immigration officer at the UK port of arrival.
Visa Nationals
If you are a citizen of one of these countries, you will need to apply for a UK visitor visa if you wish to visit the UK:
Afghanistan |
Georgia |
Palestinian Authority |
Albania |
Ghana |
Philippines |
Algeria |
Guinea |
Qatar |
Angola |
Guinea Bissau |
Romania |
Armenia |
Guyana |
Russia |
Azerbaijan |
Haiti |
Rwanda |
Bahrain |
India |
Sao Tome & Principe |
Bangladesh |
Indonesia |
Saudi Arabia |
Belarus |
Iran |
Senegal |
Benin |
Iraq |
Serbia & Montenegro |
Bhutan |
Ivory Coast |
Sierra Leone |
Bosnia-Herzegovina |
Jamaica |
Somalia |
Bulgaria |
Jordan |
Sri Lanka |
Burkina Faso |
Kazakhstan |
Sudan |
Burma (Myanmar) |
Kenya |
Surinam |
Burundi |
Korea (Dem. People’s |
Syria |
Cambodia |
Rep) |
Taiwan |
Cameroon |
Kuwait |
Tajikistan |
Cape Verde |
Kyrgyzstan |
Tanzania |
Central African Republic |
Laos |
Thailand |
Chad |
Lebanon |
Togo |
China, People’s Rep. of |
Liberia |
Tunisia |
Colombia |
Libya |
Turkey |
Comoros |
Macedonia |
’Turkish Republic of |
Congo, Democratic |
Madagascar |
Northern Cyprus’ |
Republic of |
Malawi |
Turkmenistan |
Congo, Republic of |
Mali |
Uganda |
Cuba |
Mauritania |
Ukraine |
Djibouti |
Moldova |
United Arab Emirates |
Dominican Republic |
Mongolia |
Uzbekistan |
Ecuador |
Morocco |
Vatican City |
Egypt |
Mozambique |
(service & emergency |
Equatorial Guinea |
Nepal |
passports only) |
Eritrea |
Niger |
Vietnam |
Ethiopia |
Nigeria |
Yemen |
Fiji |
Oman |
Zambia |
Gabon |
Pakistan |
Zimbabwe |
Gambia |
Peru |
This list was updated in January 2006.
Direct Airside Transit Visa
Citizens of the following countries need a visa in order to travel through the UK (note that there are many exceptions to this listed at the bottom of this page):
Afghanistan |
Lebanon |
Albania |
Liberia |
Algeria |
Macedonia |
Angola |
Malawi |
Bangladesh |
Moldova |
Belarus |
Mongolia |
Burma |
Nepal |
Burundi |
Nigeria |
Cameroon |
Palestinian Authority |
China, Peoples Republic of |
Pakistan |
Colombia |
Rwanda |
Congo |
Senegal |
Congo, Democratic Republic of |
Serbia and Montenegro |
Ecuador |
(including documents issued by |
Eritrea |
the United Nations Mission in Kosovo) |