Visit - GOV.UK

1 Visit guidance Version Page 1 of 76 Published for Home Office staff on 06 October 2021. Contents Contents .. 2. About this guidance .. 7. Contacts .. 7. Publication .. 7. Changes from last version of this guidance .. 7. Quick guide: Visit visa .. 8. Visa decision making: complex and non-complex cases .. 9. Visa endorsement codes .. 9. People who are British citizens or who have right of abode .. 10. Irish citizens .. 10. Quick guide: visitors at the border .. 12. Permission to enter endorsement codes .. 13. Irish citizens .. 13. Quick guide: permission to stay as a visitor .. 14. Permission to stay endorsement codes .. 14. Irish citizens .. 14. Visit : validity requirements for applications for Visit visas and permission to stay as a visitor .. 16. Visit : evidence .. 17. Standard and burden of proof and evidence .. 17. Supporting documents .. 17. Mandatory documents .. 17. Other 18. 18. Refusal wording.

2 19. Visit : genuineness and credibility .. 20. Assessing an applicant's genuine intentions to Visit .. 20. Assessing an applicant's personal circumstances .. 20. Travel/ immigration history .. 21. Frequent or successive visits: how to assess if an applicant is making the UK their main home or place of work or study .. 21. Reasons for doubting whether the applicant is a genuine visitor .. 22. Credibility and intentions: borderline decisions .. 22. Page 2 of 76 Published for Home Office staff on 06 October 2021. Visit : maintenance and accommodation and 24. Maintenance and accommodation .. 24. Maintenance and accommodation provided by a third party .. 25. Other third party support (non-financial) .. 26. Visit : prohibited and permitted activities for visitors .. 27. Tourism and leisure .. 27. Educational exchange visits .. 27. Recreational study .. 28. Volunteering .. 28. Assessing whether the applicant intends to do work or employment which is prohibited for a visitor.

3 29. Permitted activities for visitors : business and other work-related activities .. 30. General business activities .. 30. Jobseeking .. 31. Remote working .. 31. Intra-corporate activities .. 31. Manufacturing and supply of goods .. 31. Clients of UK export companies .. 32. Overseas roles requiring specific activities in the UK .. 33. Work-related training .. 33. Graduates of medical, dental or nursing schools .. 33. Science, research and academia .. 34. Legal .. 34. Religion .. 34. Creative .. 35. Sport .. 35. visitors being paid in the UK .. 37. Study for visitors .. 37. Genuine study .. 39. Studying at a UK Institution by distance learning .. 39. Part-time study on a course exceeding 6 months in the UK .. 40. Accredited institutions .. 40. Long-term Visit visa holders .. 40. State education: children of visiting academics in UK for 12 months .. 41. Transiting the UK as a Standard' or Marriage/Civil Partnership' visitor.

4 41. Visit : period of stay granted .. 43. Long-term Visit visas (multiple entry ) .. 43. Page 3 of 76 Published for Home Office staff on 06 October 2021. Extensions for long-term multiple- entry Visit visas .. 43. Single entry Visit visa: when and how to grant .. 44. Short duration visa: when and how to grant .. 44. Grounds for limiting the duration of a visa .. 44. Visit : suitability .. 46. Part 9: grounds for refusal .. 46. Change of circumstances and cancellation .. 46. Visit : children .. 48. Child welfare duty .. 48. Child not travelling or residing with their parent or guardian .. 48. At the border .. 49. Visit visa applications: parental consent and responsibility for care in home country .. 49. Border Force: parental consent .. 50. Private foster 50. In England and Wales .. 50. In Scotland .. 51. In Northern Ireland .. 51. Child visiting to stay with a host 51. At the border .. 51. Child Visit organised by a charity.

5 52. Accompanied children (visa nationals) .. 52. Issuing an accompanied visa to a child .. 53. Accompanied children at the 53. Unaccompanied children .. 53. Visit : Medical treatment for visitors .. 55. Reciprocal healthcare agreement .. 55. Assessing a Visit for private medical treatment .. 56. Length of 56. Extension of stay for medical treatment: showing funds .. 57. Referral to a medical officer: when you must do this .. 57. Applications at the border for private medical treatment .. 57. People escorting private medical treatment visitors .. 57. Organ donors .. 58. Secondary applications from organ donors .. 58. Confirming the details of a doctor in the UK .. 59. Requesting a report from a doctor (not the medical inspector) .. 59. Page 4 of 76 Published for Home Office staff on 06 October 2021. Surrogacy .. 59. Visit : Approved Destination Status (ADS) .. 61. ADS Visit visas .. 61. Visit : permitted paid engagements (PPE).

6 62. Permitted paid engagement visitors : assessing applications .. 62. Visiting academic examiners or assessors .. 63. Evidence .. 63. Visiting lecturers .. 63. Evidence .. 64. Other recognised organisations who may invite visiting examiners or assessors or visiting lecturers for PPE .. 64. Designated air pilot examiner .. 64. Qualified lawyers .. 65. Evidence .. 65. Arts, entertainment or sporting professionals .. 65. Evidence .. 66. EEA, Swiss and B5 JSSK 66. Visit : marriage and civil 68. Visa 68. Non-visa nationals who have not applied for a Marriage/Civil Partnership visitor visa to come to the UK to marry or enter into a civil partnership .. 68. Non-legal marriages .. 69. Changing an existing civil partnership to a marriage .. 69. Holders of existing Visit visas who want to enter the UK to marry or enter into a civil partnership .. 69. Giving notice of intention to marry or enter into a civil partnership.

7 69. Assessing a Visit where the intention is to give notice or to marry or enter into a civil partnership .. 70. Assessing whether the marriage or civil partnership is a sham .. 70. Visit : referrals to other caseworking 71. Visit : recording requirements and other procedures for visitor cases .. 72. UKVI: granting a short duration visa .. 72. UKVI and Border Force: credibility and intentions borderline 72. UKVI: MP letter in support of an application .. 72. UKVI: employers using visitors to undertake work or fill a role .. 73. UKVI: child not travelling or residing with their parent or guardian .. 73. UKVI: parental consent and responsibility for care in home country .. 73. UKVI: child visiting to stay with a host family .. 73. Page 5 of 76 Published for Home Office staff on 06 October 2021. UKVI: requesting a report from a doctor (not the medical inspector) .. 73. UKVI: extension of stay where a person is receiving NHS medical treatment.

8 74. Visit : endorsements and LTE/ LTR codes .. 75. Visit visa endorsement codes .. 75. Endorsements for accompanied children (visa nationals).. 75. entry codes at the border .. 75. On entry refusal codes at the border .. 75. EEA, Swiss and B5 JSSK 75. Page 6 of 76 Published for Home Office staff on 06 October 2021. About this guidance This guidance tells you about applications for visas, permission to enter and permission to stay in the UK for visitors . Contacts If you have any questions about the guidance and your line manager or senior caseworker cannot help you or you think that the guidance has factual errors then email the Visit and Visa Policy team. If you notice any formatting errors in this guidance (broken links, spelling mistakes and so on) or have any comments about the layout or navigability of the guidance then you can email the Guidance Rules and Forms team. Publication Below is information on when this version of the guidance was published: version published for Home Office staff on 06 October 2021.

9 Changes from last version of this guidance Updated hyperlinks to the Immigration Rules Clarification of the provisions for au-pairs in the Visitor Rules Clarification of the provisions for jobseekers in the Visitor Rules Clarification of the provisions for business visitors coming to the UK to manufacture and supply goods Clarification of the scope of activities permitted under the Permitted Paid Engagement visitor route Consolidation of the guidance on medical treatment into one section Updated guidance on considering applications for long term validity visas Related content Contents Page 7 of 76 Published for Home Office staff on 06 October 2021. Quick guide: Visit visa This section is a quick reference guide to the process for making a decision on a Visit visa application, made outside the UK. This does not apply in respect of applications for Transit visitor visas (see: Transit guidance) but note that Standard and Marriage/Civil Partnership visitors can transit the UK.

10 When considering a Visit visa application you need to consider: if the applicant meets the validity requirements all the mandatory identity checks if the applicant falls to be refused under suitability grounds of Part 9: grounds for refusal see Part 9 guidance for more information is a third party providing support - do they have a genuine relationship- is the third party in the UK in breach of immigration laws - can and will the third party provide support for the duration of the applicant's stay if there are additional eligibility requirements for their type or purpose of Visit , does the applicant meet them, see: o children (Complex if unaccompanied). o Approved Destination Status (ADS). o private medical treatment (Complex). o organ donor (Complex). o study (for up to 6 months). o academics (more than 6 months) (Complex regardless of duration). o work related training o marriage and civil partnership (Complex).