If you have the right to live in the UK or you're from the European Economic Area (EEA) countries (countries of the European Union), you don't need a visa or entry clearance.
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland.
Nationals of countries listed on the visa required list (below) need to apply for a visa before travelling to the UK. You shouldn't apply to come to the UK as a visitor if you intend to work once you've arrived.
If you aren't on the visa required list, you are recommended to apply for an entry clearance certificate for the full duration of your stay before travelling. This isn't yet mandatory for all nationalities (see UK residence permits below) but has several advantages.
An entry certificate is cheaper than an application to extend your stay once you are in the UK.
Since the introduction of charging for extensions of stay in the UK, immigration officers at entry ports no longer grant extensions of stay. All applications now have to be made to the Home Office.
Non-visa nationals who aren't on the UK residence permits (UKRP) list who arrive at a UK port without entry clearance can only be given a maximum of six months' leave. To extend their stay further, they will have to apply to the Home Office.
Nationals of Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea and United States who are coming to the UK for more than six months must obtain a UK residence permit before travelling. The permit isn't transferable – it doesn't allow residence in other EU member countries.
Nationals arriving from these countries who don't have prior entry clearance will be refused entry to the UK. If you aren't sure of the type of entry clearance you need, you should contact your nearest British Embassy or High Commission for advice. If you are moving to the UK from the following countries, you are likely to require a visa before travelling.
If you are moving to the UK from the following countries, you are likely to require a visa before travelling.
Afghanistan Gabon Nigeria
Albania Gambia Oman
Algeria Georgia Pakistan
Angola Ghana Peru
Armenia Guinea Russia
Azerbaijan Guinea-Bissau Rwanda
Bahrain Guyana Sao Tome e Principe
Bangladesh Haiti Saudi Arabia
Belarus India Senegal
Benin Indonesia Serbia & Montenegro
Bhutan Iran Sierra Leone
Bosnia Herzegovina Jamaica Somalia
Burkina Faso Jordan Sri Lanka
Burundi Kazakhstan Sudan
Cambodia Kenya Surinam
Cameroon Korea (North) Syria
Cape Verde Kuwait Taiwan
Central African Republic Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan
Chad Laos Tanzania
Colombia Lebanon Thailand
Comoros Liberia Togo
Congo Libya Tunisia
Croatia Macedonia Turkey
Cuba Madagascar Turkish Republic of North Cyprus
Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire) Maldives Turkmenistan
Djibouti Mali Ukraine
Dominican Republic Mauritania Uzbekistan
Ecuador Mongolia Vietnam
Egypt Morocco Yemen
Equatorial Guinea Mozambique Zambia
Eritrea Myanmar Zimbabwe
Ethiopia Niger
Fiji
Additionally, people holding passports or travel documents issued by the former Soviet Union or by the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (except Croatia and Slovenia) must obtain visas.