Are There Any Other Temporary Entry Visas to The UK?

If you want to come to the UK for a holiday, a short course, seasonal work or a cultural exchange, the Standard Visitor visa is not your only choice. There are several temporary entry visa options, each with its own purpose, conditions and fees. If you do something your permission does not allow, you risk refusal, cancellation or future immigration problems.

Fees below are from the Home Office fee table in force from 8 April 2026. Fees and rules change often, so always check GOV.UK before you apply.

Overview of UK Temporary Entry Visas

Temporary routes let you come to the UK for a specific purpose and a limited time. Most do not lead to settlement (indefinite leave to remain), and most cannot be switched into a long-term route from inside the UK. Visitor rules are in Appendix V: Visitor and Appendix Visitor: Permitted Activities of the Immigration Rules; each temporary work route has its own appendix.

Visa or Electronic Travel Authorisation?

Whether you need a visa for a short visit depends on your nationality. 'Visa nationals' must apply for a visa before travelling. Most other nationals, including US, Canadian, Australian and European citizens, do not need a visa for visits of up to six months but must obtain an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) before travelling. An ETA currently costs £20. Irish citizens do not need either. Use the GOV.UK 'Check if you need a UK visa' tool to check.

Differences from Long-Term or Settlement Visas

Temporary visas generally offer no route to settlement. Long-term routes such as the Skilled Worker visa can be granted for up to five years at a time and can lead to settlement. Family routes such as the partner visa are granted for up to 2 years and 9 months at a time and can lead to settlement after five years' continuous residence as a partner.

The Immigration Health Surcharge is payable on top of the application fee for most visas of more than six months (usually £1,035 per year, or £776 per year for students and Youth Mobility Scheme applicants). You do not pay it on visit visas.

Standard Visitor Visa

The Standard Visitor visa is the main route for tourism, visiting family and friends, business activities such as meetings and conferences, short courses of study of up to six months, and private medical treatment. You cannot work for a UK employer or be paid by a UK organisation, except for limited permitted paid engagements.

Eligibility Criteria

There is no fixed minimum bank balance. You must show that you:

• will leave the UK at the end of your visit;
• can support yourself and any dependants, and pay for your return journey, without working or using public funds (or have a friend or relative who will support you);
• are visiting only for permitted activities; and
• will not live in the UK for extended periods through frequent or successive visits.

Your passport must be valid for the whole of your stay. The Home Office commonly refuses applications where the evidence of funds, the purpose of the visit or your circumstances at home is unclear or inconsistent. Give a clear, honest explanation and back it with documents.

Duration and Permitted Activities

You can usually stay for up to six months. A standard six-month visa costs £135. Frequent visitors can apply for a long-term visit visa valid for 2 years (£506), 5 years (£903) or 10 years (£1,128), but each stay is still limited to a maximum of six months. Permitted activities include:

• Tourism and visiting family or friends.
• Business activities such as attending meetings, conferences and interviews.
• Permitted paid engagements for certain professionals, such as a guest lecture.
• Study of up to six months at an accredited institution, and recreational courses of up to 30 days.
• Volunteering for up to 30 days with a registered charity.

From 8 October 2026, Statement of Changes HC 584 adds permitted activities for participants in the Erasmus+ programme, such as traineeships, job shadowing and training at UK organisations taking part in the programme.

If you are already in the UK as a visitor with less than six months' permission, you may be able to extend up to a total of six months. Longer stays are possible only in limited cases, such as private medical treatment, certain academics and doctors retaking the PLAB test.

Application Process

1. Apply online on GOV.UK. The earliest you can apply is three months before you travel.
2. Pay the fee and prove your identity, usually by attending an appointment at a visa application centre to give your fingerprints and photograph, or by using the UK Immigration: ID Check app if eligible.
3. Upload or provide your supporting documents, such as evidence of funds, your employment or studies, and details of your planned trip.
4. You will usually receive a decision within three weeks. Priority (£500) and super priority (£1,000) services are available in some countries.

Student Route Visas

You can usually study for up to six months as a Standard Visitor. Longer study requires either a Short-term Study visa (for English language courses only) or a Student visa.

Short-Term Study Visa

The Short-term Study visa is only for English language courses lasting more than six months and up to 11 months, at an accredited institution. You must be 16 or over. You can stay for the length of your course plus 30 days, up to a maximum of 11 months. The fee is £228, and the Immigration Health Surcharge (£776 for the stay) also applies.

You do not need a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS); instead you need an acceptance letter from your course provider. You must show you can support yourself without working or using public funds. You cannot work, bring dependants, or extend your stay. Depending on your nationality, you may need a tuberculosis (TB) test.

Student Visa for Longer Courses

The Student visa is for courses at a licensed student sponsor. It costs £558, whether you apply from outside the UK or extend or switch inside the UK. You need 70 points: 50 for a valid CAS from a licensed sponsor, 10 for English language and 10 for financial requirements.

You must show money for your course fees plus living costs for up to nine months: currently £1,529 per month in London and £1,171 per month elsewhere, held for 28 consecutive days. Under Statement of Changes HC 584, these rise to £1,570 and £1,203 per month for applications made on or after 30 November 2026.

Degree-level students can usually work up to 20 hours a week during term time and full time during official vacations; students below degree level are limited to 10 hours in term time. After a degree-level course, you may be able to apply for the Graduate visa, which currently lasts two years (three years for PhD graduates). For applications made on or after 1 January 2027, the standard Graduate visa will last 18 months; PhD graduates will still receive three years.

Dependants and Restrictions

Since 1 January 2024, most students cannot bring dependants. You can usually only bring a partner or children if you are studying a postgraduate research course (such as a PhD) or are a government-sponsored student on a course lasting longer than six months. Dependants must meet their own maintenance and relationship requirements and cannot access public funds.

There is no right of appeal against a refused Student visa application. If the refusal contains a caseworking error you can request an administrative review, usually within 28 days (14 days if you are in the UK), or you can make a fresh application.

Temporary Work Visas

The Temporary Work routes (formerly known as Tier 5) are for short-term work in specific categories. Most require a certificate of sponsorship (CoS) from a licensed sponsor, maintenance funds of £1,270 held for 28 days (unless an A-rated sponsor certifies maintenance), and payment of the Immigration Health Surcharge. The application fee for each Temporary Work route is £340. None lead directly to settlement.

Skilled Worker Visa (Long-Term Alternative)

The Skilled Worker visa is a long-term route, included here for comparison. It requires a job offer from a licensed sponsor in an eligible occupation, generally at RQF level 6 (graduate level) or above, paying at least £41,700 a year or the going rate for the job, whichever is higher (lower thresholds apply in some cases). New applicants must show English at CEFR level B2. The fee from outside the UK is £819 for up to three years or £1,618 for longer. The visa can be granted for up to five years at a time and can lead to settlement.

Creative Worker Visa

The Creative Worker visa is for people working in the creative industry, such as entertainers and artists, with a UK licensed sponsor. The fee is £340. You can stay for up to 12 months, or the period on your certificate of sponsorship plus up to 28 days, whichever is shorter. If you stay with the same sponsor you may be able to extend up to a maximum of 24 months in total.

You can do secondary work in the same sector for up to 20 hours a week, but you cannot start your own business or access public funds. The route does not lead to settlement. If you will work in the UK for three months or less, you may be able to use the Creative Worker visa concession instead. The rules are in Appendix Temporary Work - Creative Worker.

Seasonal Worker Visa

The Seasonal Worker visa is for horticulture work (for example, picking fruit, vegetables or flowers) for up to six months, and poultry work between 2 October and 31 December each year. The fee is £340. You must be 18 or over and be sponsored through one of the approved scheme operators, which hold the sponsor licences for this route.

There is no English language requirement, but you must usually show maintenance funds of £1,270. You cannot bring dependants, take a permanent job, take a second job, or access public funds. The number of visas available each year is set by the government.

Youth and Cultural Exchange Visas

These routes let young people and exchange participants live, work or train in the UK for a limited period.

Youth Mobility Scheme

The Youth Mobility Scheme visa lets eligible young people live and work in the UK for up to 24 months. The fee is £340, the Immigration Health Surcharge is £776 a year, and you must have savings of £2,530. Citizens of Australia, Canada and New Zealand can extend for a further 12 months.

Citizens of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Korea can apply if aged 18 to 35. Citizens of Andorra, Iceland, Japan, Monaco, San Marino and Uruguay, and certain British nationals, can apply if aged 18 to 30. Citizens of Hong Kong and Taiwan (aged 18 to 30) must first be selected in a ballot.

You can do most types of work, but not as a professional sportsperson. Self-employment is allowed only if your premises are rented, your equipment is worth no more than £5,000 and you have no employees. You cannot bring dependants on this visa.

Government Authorised Exchange Visa

The Government Authorised Exchange visa is for people coming to the UK through an approved exchange scheme for work experience or training, an Overseas Government Language Programme, research or a fellowship. Depending on the scheme, you can stay for up to 12 or 24 months. The fee is £340.

Your certificate of sponsorship must come from the organisation that runs the approved scheme (the 'overarching body'), a higher education institution, or a government department or agency. You must usually show maintenance funds of £1,270. Work must be in line with your sponsored scheme, although limited secondary work is permitted. From 8 October 2026, HC 584 adds an Erasmus+ scheme to the list of approved schemes, for eligible traineeships, teaching placements and training assignments of up to 12 months.

The approved schemes and their operators are listed in Appendix Government Authorised Exchange Schemes of the Immigration Rules. Check that your programme is on that list before relying on this route.

Family and Marriage Visitor Visas

Visiting family in the UK for up to six months is normally done on a Standard Visitor visa (or ETA if you do not need a visa). Coming to the UK to marry is covered by a separate route.

Marriage Visitor Visa

The Marriage Visitor visa lets you visit the UK for up to six months to give notice of, and then marry or enter into a civil partnership at, a licensed venue. The marriage must take place within six months of your arrival. The fee is £135.

You must intend to leave the UK afterwards and must not be planning to settle here. You cannot work, study, bring dependants, access public funds, or extend or switch to another visa from inside the UK. You need this visa even if you would not normally need a visa to visit the UK: an ETA cannot be used to marry, register a civil partnership or give notice of either. If you intend to live in the UK with your partner after the wedding, you will usually need a family (partner) visa instead.

You will usually receive a decision within three weeks of proving your identity. Priority services are available in some locations.

Marrying Outside The UK

There is no separate 'Proposed Marriage Visitor' visa. If you want to visit the UK for other purposes linked to a wedding taking place elsewhere, such as seeing family or making arrangements, you would normally apply as a Standard Visitor (or travel with an ETA if eligible), and you must meet the usual visitor requirements.

Medical and Transit Visas

Visiting for Medical Treatment

You can come to the UK for private medical treatment on a Standard Visitor visa for up to six months. If your treatment will take longer, you can apply for a visa of up to 11 months, which costs £234. If you are in the UK and need further treatment, you can apply to extend your stay for further periods of six months (£1,172 each time).

You must show that you have a medical condition requiring private consultation or treatment in the UK, that you have made arrangements for it, that you have enough money to pay for the treatment and your stay, and that you will leave the UK afterwards. You will need a letter from your doctor or consultant giving details of the condition, the estimated cost and duration of treatment, and where it will take place. You cannot use NHS treatment unless you are entitled to it. Separate rules apply to living organ donors.

Transit Visa Options

Your nationality, and whether you will pass through UK border control, decide whether you need a transit visa.

• Direct Airside Transit visa (£41.50): for nationals of certain countries who are changing flights in the UK without passing through border control.
• Visitor in Transit visa (£74.50): for visa nationals who will pass through border control but leave the UK within 48 hours.

You do not need a transit visa if you have an ETA, a Standard Visitor or Marriage Visitor visa, or certain other documents. If you need to stay longer than 48 hours, apply for a Standard Visitor visa instead.

Airside vs. Landside Transit

Airside transit means changing flights without passing through UK border control. Landside transit means going through border control, for example to change airports or stay overnight. Non-visa nationals who pass through border control need an ETA. Check with your airline whether your connection involves going through border control, and use the GOV.UK visa checker to confirm what you need before you book.