How to Apply for a UK Visa From India

The United Kingdom is not part of the Schengen area, so a Schengen visa does not cover it and a UK visa does not cover Europe. Indian citizens need a visa for almost every kind of trip to the UK, and the route you choose decides the form, the fee, the documents and how long you wait.

This guide gives a short overview of the main UK visa routes for Indians, then walks through the Standard Visitor visa in detail: the online application, the visa application centres in India, fees in pounds, decision times, the optional faster services, the documents caseworkers look at and what happens after the decision. Our existing UK posts cover the flight document question in depth, so this guide links to them instead of repeating that material.

Facts come from GOV.UK, the official UK government website, unless another source is named. Fees and services change, so confirm on GOV.UK on the day you apply.

Which UK Visa Do Indians Need?

Choose by purpose and length of stay. Most Indian travellers need the Standard Visitor visa, which covers holidays, visiting family or friends, business meetings, conferences, short courses of up to 6 months and private medical treatment. Longer study, work, joining family and some transit journeys each need a different route with its own fee, documents and decision time. The table is a quick map; the sections below explain each route.

Student, Graduate, Skilled Worker and Family applicants usually pay the immigration health surcharge as part of the application. Visitors and transit passengers do not.

What Are the Main UK Visa Routes for Indians?

Standard Visitor visa

The Standard Visitor visa is for stays of usually up to 6 months: tourism, visiting family or friends, permitted business activities such as meetings and conferences, study of up to 6 months, school exchanges and private medical treatment. It costs £135. A medical visit of up to 11 months costs £234, and an academic visiting for up to 12 months, with their family, also pays £234.

Long-term visitor visas: 2, 5 and 10 years

If you visit the UK regularly, you can apply for a long-term Standard Visitor visa that allows many visits over 2 years (£506), 5 years (£903) or 10 years (£1,128). Every visit is still limited to 6 months, and you must not make the UK your home through frequent or successive visits. UKVI caseworker guidance lets officers grant a shorter visa than you asked for if you meet the visitor rules but they have concerns about a long-term visa; the fee difference is not returned in that case. A clean record of earlier UK visits, or of travel to countries such as the USA, Canada, Australia or the Schengen area, makes a long-term visa easier to justify.

Student visa

For a course longer than 6 months at a licensed student sponsor, you need a Student visa. You need a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) from your university, money for your course fees and living costs, and English at CEFR B2 for degree-level study or B1 below degree level. The fee from outside the UK is £558, you can apply up to 6 months before the course starts, and a decision usually takes 3 weeks. Living costs are £1,529 a month in London and £1,171 a month elsewhere, for up to 9 months, held for at least 28 consecutive days ending within 31 days of applying. Our guide on whether a UK student visa needs a flight reservation covers the travel side.

Graduate visa

The Graduate visa is not applied for from India: you must be in the UK on a Student visa when you apply, after your university tells the Home Office you have completed an eligible course. It lasts 2 years if you apply on or before 31 December 2026 and 18 months if you apply on or after 1 January 2027, or 3 years for PhD graduates. The fee is £937 plus the health surcharge, and a decision usually takes 8 weeks. It cannot be extended, but you may be able to switch to a route such as Skilled Worker.

Skilled Worker visa

The Skilled Worker visa needs a job offer from a UK employer with a sponsor licence and a certificate of sponsorship. The application fee is £819 to £1,865 depending on the length of the visa and the job, plus a health surcharge of usually £1,035 a year. You usually need a salary of at least £41,700 or the going rate for the job, whichever is higher, and unless your employer certifies maintenance you need £1,270 in savings. A decision from outside the UK usually takes 3 weeks.

Family visa

To live with a spouse, partner, parent or child in the UK for more than 6 months, you need a family visa. From outside the UK it costs £2,064 for the applicant and each dependant, and a decision usually takes 12 weeks. Partners usually need to show a combined income of at least £29,000 a year and a good knowledge of English. If you only want to visit family for up to 6 months, the Standard Visitor visa is the right route instead.

Transit visas

If you change flights in the UK without passing through border control, you may need a Direct Airside Transit visa (£41.50). If you pass through border control, for example to collect and recheck luggage, and leave within 48 hours, you may need a Visitor in Transit visa (£74.50). For a longer stopover, apply for a Standard Visitor visa. Holders of a valid Standard Visitor visa do not need a separate transit visa. Check the GOV.UK visa checker for your exact route.

What Can You Do on a UK Standard Visitor Visa?

A Standard Visitor visa lets you visit the UK for tourism, to see family or friends, for permitted business activities such as meetings, conferences and negotiations, for a course of up to 6 months, for a school exchange, or for private medical treatment. You can usually stay up to 6 months. You must show that you will leave at the end of your visit, that you can support yourself and any dependants, and that you can pay for your return or onward journey.

You cannot do paid or unpaid work for a UK company or as a self-employed person, claim public funds, marry or register a civil partnership (that needs a separate visa), or live in the UK through frequent or successive visits. Caseworkers look at your travel history and ties to India to judge whether your visits are genuine.

Long-term visitor visas

If you visit the UK often, you can apply for a long-term Standard Visitor visa valid for 2, 5 or 10 years. Each visit is still limited to 6 months. If you are under 18, the visa is valid until 6 months after your 18th birthday at most. A strong travel history with earlier UK visits that complied with their conditions helps this application.

How Do You Fill In the GOV.UK Visitor Visa Form?

The visitor application is completed online on GOV.UK, and you can save and return to it. Have your passport, travel history and finances in front of you before you start, because the answers you give are what caseworkers compare with your documents. The form asks for:

1. Personal details: name exactly as in your passport, date of birth, nationality, passport number, issue and expiry dates.
2. Contact details and your home address in India, with how long you have lived there and whether you own or rent it.
3. Family details: your parents' names and dates of birth, your partner and children, and any family in the UK.
4. Travel details: planned arrival and departure dates, the purpose of the visit, where you will stay and who is paying.
5. Employment and income: your employer's name, address and phone number, your job, your monthly income after tax and your monthly spending.
6. Trip cost: an estimate of what the visit will cost and how much of it you will pay.
7. Travel history: visits to the UK and to other countries in the past 10 years, and any earlier visa refusals or immigration problems anywhere.
8. Any criminal convictions and other declarations.

Answer every question truthfully. UKVI caseworker guidance tells officers to check that what you declare on the form, such as income, large account deposits and support from family, matches the documents you provide, and to look closely at false statements. At the end you choose the visa length, pay the fee online and are taken to book your appointment.

How Do You Book a UK Visa Appointment and Give Biometrics?

After paying, you book an appointment at a visa application centre through the provider's site linked from GOV.UK. You choose the city, date and time, and any optional paid services, such as priority processing where available. Each family member applies and pays separately and needs their own appointment, though you can usually attend together.

At the appointment you prove your identity with your passport, have your fingerprints and a photo taken, and provide the documents that show you meet the rules, either uploaded in advance or scanned at the centre as instructed. There is no separate fee for biometrics. GOV.UK says you get your passport back on the same day, although the centre may keep some other documents while your application is processed. Because you keep your passport, you can travel elsewhere while you wait, but check you will have it when your decision needs to be linked or a vignette added.

Where Are the UK Visa Application Centres in India?

UK visa application centres in India are run by VFS Global on behalf of UK Visas and Immigration. GOV.UK's Find a visa application centre service sends Indian applicants to the provider's booking site to choose a centre, so the current list is shown there when you book.

The most recent official list we could confirm is in a British High Commission New Delhi announcement of 2021. It names nine Indian cities offering the Super Priority Visa service at their centres: Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai (South) and Pune.

Other cities may have centres or occasional mobile services that are not in that announcement, and services at each centre can change. Confirm the exact address, opening days and services for your city on the booking site linked from GOV.UK before you travel to an appointment. Unlike some Schengen countries, the UK does not tie you to a consulate by state, so you can usually book the centre that suits you.

What Documents Do You Need for a UK Visitor Visa From India?

UKVI's official guide to supporting documents for visitors says you must show you are a genuine visitor doing a permitted activity, that you will leave at the end of the visit, and that you can support yourself and pay for your return or onward journey and any other costs. Its list is not mandatory or complete; the aim is to back up what you said on the form. Every applicant needs a valid passport. Documents not in English or Welsh need a full translation with the translator's confirmation that it is accurate, the date, their full name, signature and contact details.

Salaried employees

• A letter from your employer on company letterhead with your role, salary, start date and the company's contact details, ideally confirming your approved leave.
• Recent salary slips and bank statements where the salary credits are visible.
• Income tax returns or Form 16 if you have them, as further proof of earnings.

Self-employed applicants and business owners

• Business registration documents, such as company or GST registration.
• Recent invoices that confirm ongoing self-employment.
• Business and personal bank statements showing the origin of the funds, plus tax returns.

Students in India

• A letter on headed paper from your school, college or university confirming your enrolment and your leave of absence for the trip.
• Parents' or sponsor's financial documents if they are paying, with proof of relationship.

Retired applicants

The UKVI guide does not have a separate retiree section, so the same principles apply: show where your money comes from and why you will return. Pension statements, bank statements showing pension credits, and evidence of property or family ties in India usually do this, along with your previous passports showing travel.

Sponsored or invited visitors

If someone else is paying for your travel, maintenance or accommodation, UKVI asks for evidence of what support is given and how, that the sponsor has enough money to support themselves and you, your relationship to them, and, if they are in the UK, that they are there legally, for example a copy of their British passport or residence document. An invitation letter with their address and your plans helps. Business visitors should add an invitation from the UK company or event organiser and a letter from their employer.

TB test

If you are coming to the UK for more than 6 months, you need a tuberculosis test certificate from an approved clinic, because India is on the GOV.UK list of countries where the test is required.

Travel and accommodation proof

GOV.UK does not ask you to buy flights before the decision, and the UKVI documents guide reminds applicants that no document guarantees a visa, so be careful about non-flexible bookings. The form asks for your travel dates and where you will stay, so a plan that matches your leave and funds helps. A verifiable flight itinerary for visa purposes, with a real PNR and dates that match your hotel nights, shows that plan without paying full airfare; a BookForVisa flight or hotel reservation is a flat $15 per person, valid 48-72 hours, with free date changes on the booking day only.

Some travellers search for a dummy ticket for this step; what helps is a real, checkable reservation rather than a template or an edited file. For a walkthrough focused only on the flight question, see our UK visitor visa flight booking guide for Indians and our answer on whether a UK visitor visa needs a flight ticket before approval.

How Much Money Do You Need in Your Bank Account for a UK Visitor Visa?

There is no fixed minimum balance for a Standard Visitor visa. GOV.UK says you must have enough money to support yourself and any dependants without working or public funds, or have family or friends who will support you, and be able to pay for your return or onward journey. What counts as enough depends on the length and cost of the trip, where you stay and who pays.

UKVI caseworkers look for financial documents that show you actually have access to the money and where it came from, such as bank statements that detail the origin of the funds. The guidance asks them to compare these with what you declared on the form, including income and large deposits.

• Show your regular income arriving, for example monthly salary credits, so the balance matches your declared earnings.
• Explain any large recent deposit, such as a property sale, a fixed-deposit maturity or a gift from a parent, with a document showing its source.
• Keep the trip cost in proportion to your income; a trip costing several months of declared earnings needs a clear explanation.
• If a sponsor pays, give their statements and income proof as well as your own, and show how they are related to you.
• Use statements from your bank, with your name and account details visible, rather than screenshots.

How Much Does a UK Visa Cost for Indians?

A UK Standard Visitor visa costs £135 for up to 6 months. Fees are set in pounds by the Home Office and are the same for Indian applicants as for other nationals.

GOV.UK publishes these fees in pounds only. The rupee amount you pay depends on the exchange used at payment, so we do not quote a fixed INR figure; check the total on the payment screen. Optional services at the visa application centre, such as priority processing, are paid on top of the visa fee, and their prices are listed by the provider when you book.

How Long Does a UK Visa Take From India?

You will usually get a decision on a Standard Visitor visa within 3 weeks of your appointment. GOV.UK says you will be contacted if your case is complex and will take longer, for example if documents need to be verified or you need to attend an interview. Apply as early as the 3-month window allows if your travel dates are fixed.

Priority and super priority services

You may be able to pay for a faster decision. GOV.UK says priority service usually gives a decision within 5 working days, and super priority usually gives a decision by the end of the next working day, counted from your appointment. Availability depends on your centre and visa route, and you find out whether it is offered when you book or at the centre. Family and settlement routes have longer priority times.

Paying for a faster service only speeds up when the file is looked at; it does not change the rules. A weak file gets the same outcome, just sooner.

Planning timeline for a visitor visa

What Happens After the UK Visa Decision?

If your application is successful, you will usually get an eVisa, a digital record of your immigration status. You create a UK Visas and Immigration account to view it and prove your status, and you link it to the passport you will travel on. Check the dates, name and passport number as soon as you have access, and update your account if you renew your passport.

If you are refused, the letter gives the reasons. Read them closely and fix each one before applying again, rather than resubmitting the same file. A new application needs a new fee.

At the UK border, carry the documents that supported your application, including proof of where you will stay and your return plans, as Border Force officers can ask about them.

Why Are UK Visitor Visas Refused?

UKVI's Visit caseworker guidance tells officers to refuse if they are not satisfied that the applicant is a genuine visitor. The factors it lists show what your file needs to answer:

• Travel and immigration history: compliance with earlier UK visas and travel to countries such as the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and the Schengen area count in your favour; earlier immigration breaches elsewhere count against you.
• Ties to India: officers weigh your family, social and economic circumstances; someone with no job or studies at home and most of their family in the UK may be seen as having few ties.
• Funds: documents that do not confirm the declared income or source of support, or unexplained large deposits.
• Credibility: reasons for the visit that do not fit your personal, family and economic background, or information that cannot be verified.
• Sponsor discrepancies: differences between what you and your UK host say, on points the host would be expected to know.
• Frequent or long visits: a pattern of travel suggesting the UK is becoming your home.
• Previous deception by you, your sponsor or close family in an earlier application.

Most of these are addressed by consistency: the same dates, amounts and purpose on the form, in your documents and in your host's letter.

What Do Real UK Visa Applications From India Look Like?

Example 1: salaried couple from Bengaluru, two-week holiday

Priya and Arjun both work in IT and plan 14 days in London and Edinburgh in May. In mid-February they each complete a GOV.UK form, pay £135 each and book the same morning at the Bengaluru centre. Their files contain employer letters confirming approved leave, three months of salary slips, six months of bank statements showing salary credits, previous passports with Schengen and Singapore trips, hotel bookings and a matching flight reservation. Decision time is usually 3 weeks, leaving plenty of margin before May.

Example 2: retired parent from Pune visiting a daughter in Manchester

Suresh, 66, wants to spend 10 weeks with his daughter, a Skilled Worker visa holder. His file includes pension statements, bank statements showing pension credits, property papers in Pune, and from his daughter an invitation letter, a copy of her passport and UK permission, her payslips and bank statements, and proof that she is his daughter. Because his daughter is paying part of the trip, both sets of finances are explained.

Example 3: business owner from Ahmedabad, trade visit with short notice

Meera runs a textile export firm and has a buyer meeting in London in 12 days. She applies for a Standard Visitor visa, books at Ahmedabad and asks the centre about priority service, which usually gives a decision within 5 working days where offered. She includes GST registration, recent invoices, company and personal bank statements, the UK buyer's invitation and a short cover letter explaining the meeting. If she visits several times a year, a 2-year long-term visa at £506 may suit her better next time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Friendly reminder: BookForVisa prepares flight and hotel reservations to support visa applications and onward-travel proof. Requirements vary by destination, consulate, visa category and applicant situation. A reservation supports your file; it is not a paid ticket for travel and does not guarantee visa approval or entry.