Immigration requirements

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.

European Union member states

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.

Visa and entry clearance

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.

UK residence permits (UKRPs)

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.

Visa required

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.