Prisca Vaniyapilly in Travel Toolkit Visa

Get UK Visa In 5 Easy Steps

The United Kingdom has always been a tourist hotspot for many decades now and continues to remain a top tourist destination even today. It’s not hard to imagine why; the country has more or less everything to offer millions of tourists that flock to the country each year. Be it catching a glimpse of startling London Bridge, witnessing a bird’s eye-view of the London city from the London Eye or exploring the medieval castles and stunning countryside, there isn’t a thing you do in the United Kingdom that doesn’t count into your bucket list. And the rest, as they say, you don’t know what madness is, until you visit the United Kingdom.

If you’re planning an adventure to the UK, depending on your nationality and the reason for visiting, you may need to apply for a UK Visa.

THE UK VISA APPLICATION PROCESS:

Steps to get UK Visa:

STEP 1:

The first step while applying for any country visa is to identify the visa type. There are types of UK Visas that one can obtain for the UK visit; UK tourist visa, UK business visa, UK work visa, UK student visa etc. Depending on the purpose of your visit, the British High Commission issues a visa accordingly.

The UK visa from India is also called as a Standard Visitor Visa. You must apply for a Standard Visitor visa if your purpose of travel is tourism, business, to visit family and friends, take part in sporting events, receive medical treatment and so forth This type of short term UK visa allows a person to travel and stay in the UK for up to six (6) months. It is the most widely issued visa type for visit to the UK. There are longer validity UK visas as well such as a 2-year, 5-year and 10-years visa. However even for these long term UK visas; you are permitted to stay in the UK for up to 6 months only on each visit. Applicants are required to adhere to the visa rules and regulations while applying for a UK visa.

You can apply for a UK Visitor Visa up to three (3) months before your travel date to the UK. It is advisable to plan your trip well in advance in order you get enough time to prepare your documents and secure an appointment.

STEP 2

Once you determine the type of visa, it is very important to know and gather all the supporting documents required to apply for UK Visa online. Each visa type requires a different type of documentation. For every document you provide, you must include the original document and a photocopy. To make it simpler for you, here’s the document checklist:

Passport with minimum 6 months validity and minimum 2 blank pages for visa stamping (Include old passports if any)
UK Visa application form
UK visa fee
Appointments letter confirmation
Latest coloured Photograph with white background
Financial evidence to show that you can support yourself and other accompanying family members (spouse, children or in-laws) during your trip, eg. Bank statement, income tax returns, fixed deposits, property documents, other personal assets etc.
Certificate of employment or a leave letter from company if employed
Business documents if self-employed
Student ID card if student
Day wise itinerary with the tentative travel dates and plan
Invitation letter if visiting family or friend in the UK
Sponsorship letter & sponsor’s financial documents if being sponsored
Covering letter from Indian company and Invitation letter from host company if travelling for business purpose

Note – The UK High Commission is very particular about the documents provided by the applicant. Make sure you provide all the genuine and updated documents, otherwise the visa might get rejected.

STEP 3

As a part of your visa application, you need to fill the UK visa application form, pay the UK visa fee and book a visa appointment online. Applicants are required to visit the VFS Global visa application center in person for submitting the visa file and providing fingerprints and digital photograph. This process is known as “biometric information”.

The UK Immigration laws are extremely complicated and constantly changing. They have strict eligibility criteria and if you don’t apply the right way there is a a high risk of a UK visa rejection. Thus, it is essential you apply wisely through a reliable and experienced travel agency. Akbartravels.com takes care of your complete visa application – from reviewing and completing the application online to verifying documents, paying the visa fee online and scheduling appointments for obtaining your UK Visa, we never leave your side.

STEP 4

After deciding to hire Akbar Travel for your UK visa – our Visa Experts will complete you visa application online, pay visa fees, verify your documents and schedule a visa appointment as part of the UK Visa requirement. After completing the online process, the Visa Experts will handover the visa file and checklist to you for submission at the application center. Travel Agents are not permitted to apply for the UK visa on behalf of the applicant. On the appointment date, you will need to personally visit the Visa Application Centre (VFS) for documents and biometrics (fingerprints and digital photo) submission.

STEP 5

On the day of the appointment, visit UK VFS Global to submit your biometrics and visa file. Typically, the processing time for a UK visa is up to 15 working days. However, at times, the visa application may take longer for verification and examination. In that case, the application process may go up to 60 days or more.

The British High Commission will notify you about the visa status either through email or SMS (if you have opted for SMS service). Thereby, you can collect your passport from the application center in person or through a courier service (at an additional cost).

Priority Visa Service:

If you need the UK visa urgently, the application center provides a Priority and Super Priority Visa service, that will prioritize your application at every stage of the decision-making process. The UK Visas and Immigration provides a visa decision within 5 working days from the day you submit your biometric information.

Apply for your UK Visa

If you are planning a trip to UK but worried about the UK Visa process, your worry ends right here. We understand paperwork has never been a pleasant task, so leave the stress to us. Not only will we take care of all the little details for you — like your visa, accommodation, UK flights from India and holiday package, you’ll enjoy the peace of mind that everything is taken care of in one easy online booking.

Apply Visa Online

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Next Read: Tips to get Sri Lanka Visa for Indians »

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