The United Kingdom and its thriving economy attract business people from all around the world. The UK’s economy is ranked above regional and world averages.
If you do not own a British passport and wish to carry out your business activities in the UK, you might need to apply for a visa first. The UK Business Visitor Visa is a subcategory of the Standard Visitor Visa.
You must apply for a UK business visitor visa if you plan to:
If you wish to carry out any business activity in the UK and apply for the UK Business Visitor visa you must first make sure that you meet the eligibility requirements:
You have to apply for a UK business visa online, on the website of the UK government before submitting your application in person at a visa application centre in your country. The step-by-step process is as follows:
The Standard Business Visitor Visa is valid for 6 months, during which time you can attend meetings, conferences, and do other business activities. If you visit the UK for business often, you can apply for a long-term visitor visa, which is issued for 2, 5, or 10 years, allowing you to stay in the UK for six months at a time.
You can extend your stay in the UK only up to six months, if you were originally issued a visa for a shorter period of time. Even if you have a 10-year business visitor visa, you can only stay for six months at a time.
If you want to stay longer than six months or work in the UK, you have to apply for a different visa type, such as a work visa or a startup visa.
UK business visitor visas are issued within three weeks. Depending on the work load of the visa application centers, this period may be extended up to six weeks or longer. So, you should submit your visa application well in advance of your trip; the earliest you can do so is three months before your travel date.
The visa fee depends on how much you intend to stay in the UK. The following table lists fees for the different types of Standard Visitor Visas.
