Business Visit
A Business Visitor Visa allows you to attend meetings, conferences, site visits and negotiations in the UK for up to six months. Employment or providing services in the UK is not allowed.
- Screening A few questions about your work, your family and your plans.
- Documents A checklist built around your route and who is coming with you.
- Expert review A qualified adviser reads every document before anything is filed.
- Application Every answer is checked against the published rules for your route.
- Submission Filed, with everything that went with it kept in one place.
- Arrival We stay with you through the crossing and the first steps after.
Application fee
£135
GOV.UK, Standard Visitor visa
Maximum stay per visit
Up to 6 months
GOV.UK, visit the UK on a business trip
Long-term visa validity
2, 5 or 10 years
GOV.UK, long-term Standard Visitor
What is the Standard Visitor visa for business visits?
The Standard Visitor visa lets you come to the UK for permitted business activities, such as meetings, conferences and contract negotiations, while remaining employed and paid overseas. You must be a genuine visitor who will leave at the end of the trip, and you cannot fill a role in a UK organisation or take payment from a UK source.
Who this route is for
The published rules are for someone genuinely coming to carry out permitted business activities on behalf of their overseas employer or their own overseas business, who will leave again at the end of the trip. The visitor must remain paid from outside the UK and must not take on a role that amounts to filling a position within a UK based organisation.
Requirements
- Not filling a role in a UK organisationPermitted business activities must not amount to employment, or to filling a role or providing short-term cover for a role in a UK based organisation, and you must remain employed and paid outside the UK.
- Genuine visitorYou must satisfy the decision maker that you are a genuine visitor coming to do a permitted activity.
- Leave the UK at the end of the visitYou must intend to leave the UK at the end of your trip.
- Remaining paid from outside the UKYou must not receive payment from a UK source for the activities you undertake in the UK, other than the limited exceptions the rules allow, such as reasonable expenses.
- Sufficient funds for the tripYou must have enough money to cover all reasonable costs of the visit, including the return or onward journey, without working or claiming public funds.
- Valid passport or travel documentYou must hold a passport or travel document valid for the whole of your stay.
- Length of each visit on a long-term visaA long-term Standard Visitor visa lasts 2, 5 or 10 years, and you can stay for a maximum of 6 months on each visit.
Documents typically needed
- Passport or travel documentValid for the whole of your stay in the UK.
- Your employer's address and telephone numberNeeded for some business-visit applications.
- Letter of invitationFrom the organiser, if you are attending a business event or conference.
- Employer's letter for an intra-corporate visitConfirming you are working with your UK based colleagues, and that any client work is not the main purpose of the visit.
- Evidence of sponsor supportThe relationship between you and the sponsor, for example if they're your employer, if a UK company is funding your trip.
- Certified translationsFor any document that is not in English or Welsh.
How to apply
Check if you need a visa
Depending on your nationality you may need to apply for a Standard Visitor visa, use an electronic travel authorisation, or travel without either.
Confirm your trip is a permitted business activity and gather your evidence
Check the business activity is covered by the permitted activities, then gather your employer's details, any letter of invitation, and evidence of funds.
Apply online
If you need a visa, apply online before you travel and book an appointment at a visa application centre.
Prove your identity and give biometric information
Attend your appointment to have your fingerprints and photo taken and provide your supporting documents.
Wait for a decision
Keep your passport and documents available while your application is considered.
Fees & costs
- Standard Visitor visa (up to 6 months)
- £135
- Electronic travel authorisation (up to 6 months, where eligible)
- £20
- Extend your stay (up to a total of 6 months)
- £1,172
Fees are set by the Home Office and can change. Source: GOV.UK https://www.gov.uk/visit-uk-business-trip
Processing times
- Apply outside the UK
- Usually within 3 weeks
- Extend your stay (standard service)
- Usually within 8 weeks
Standard service times published by the Home Office; a faster decision may be available for an extra fee.
What you can and can't do
Permitted
- Attend interviews, meetings, conferences and seminars
- Negotiate and sign deals and contracts
- Attend trade fairs to promote your business
- Get work-related training not available in your home country, if employed overseas
- Give a one-off or short series of talks, provided they are not for profit or a commercial event
- Carry out site visits and inspections
Not permitted
- Do paid or unpaid work for a UK company or as a self-employed person, unless doing a permitted paid engagement or event
- Sell things at a trade fair
- Claim public funds
- Marry or register a civil partnership, or give notice of this
Duration and extending a stay
A business visit is intended to be temporary, and permission is granted for a period covering the trip. Anyone who wants to stay longer than originally granted can apply to extend, provided the total time in the UK as a Standard Visitor stays within the route's overall limit and the published requirements continue to be met.
If the application is refused
A refusal letter sets out the reasons under the published rules. Standard Visitor refusals do not always carry a right of appeal, and the letter explains whether an appeal is available for that decision.
Common questions
Can I attend business meetings in the UK without a work visa?
Can I sell goods at a UK trade fair as a business visitor?
Can a UK company pay me for business activities during my visit?
Can I work with my UK based colleagues from my overseas employer?
How long can a business visit last?
Can I combine a business trip with sightseeing?
What happens if a business visitor application is refused?
Talk it through with one of our solicitors.
Book a consultation and one of our immigration solicitors will go through your situation, the documents involved, and what happens next.
Permitted Paid Engagement Visit
For experts invited to do pre-arranged paid work in the UK, such as a lecture or a performance. You must finish it in your first 30 days.
Read the guide →Tourist Visit
Travel to the UK as a Standard Visitor for a holiday, sightseeing, or to see family and friends, for up to 6 months at a time.
Read the guide →Family and Friends Visit
Travel to the UK to spend time with relatives and friends, attend family events and enjoy short visits of up to 6 months.
Read the guide →Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA)
Digital permission to visit the UK for up to 6 months. Most travellers from Europe, the USA, Canada and Australia need one, not a visa.
Read the guide →