Documents Checklist
Visitor Visas
When you submit your visitor visa application, you will be able to book an appointment at a Visa Application Centre to provide
your biometric information (i.e. fingerprints and photograph). Most of the documents required to support your visa application
can be uploaded electronically, or you can take them to your visa appointment for scanning.
Certain documents must be originals and cannot be uploaded.
This guide will help you prepare the necessary documents.
Minimum Supporting Documentation
These documents are mandatory to support a visitor visa application.
You must submit ORIGINALS (not copies) of these documents at your visa appointment.
- Your passport, which must be valid for the whole of your stay in the UK.
- If you are not a citizen of the country from which you are applying, proof that you have the right to reside there
(e.g. residence permit or visa).
Recommended Supporting Documentation
The UK Visas and Immigration service does not explicitly list the documents required to support a visitor visa application.
However, if you want to use a visitor visa for study purposes, you will have to provide evidence to
show that your proposed study plan is permitted, you have the funds to pay for your studies and you will leave the UK at the end
of your visit. These documents can be uploaded electronically, or scanned at your visa appointment.
- Documentary evidence to prove that your planned activities in the UK are allowed by the visitor rules.
For example, a Certificate of Enrolment from the university, college or school showing full details of the
course you will study (e.g. name, level, fees, start and end dates).
- If you are self-funded, financial evidence to prove you can pay your tuition fees, accommodation and living
expenses for the duration of your visit (e.g. bank statements and payslips for the last 6 months').
- If you rely on funds belonging to somebody else, proof of their income, their relationship to you
and their written consent.
- If you bring family members, proof that you have the means to support them during your visit.
- Documentary evidence to show that you will leave the UK at the end of your visit and you have the
means to pay for your return or onward journey (e.g. a return airline ticket).
- Certified translations of any documents that are not in English (see below).
If You Are Under 18
If you are under 18 years of age, the following additional documents are also mandatory:
- Your birth certificate (and certified translation if not in English).
- A letter of consent to study in the UK signed by both parents.
- A copy of your parent's passport, which must show the passport number and your parent's signature.
- Proof that you have somewhere suitable to live in the UK. If you are staying with a relative, their name,
date of birth, address, relationship and their consent in writing.
Certified Translations
Any document that is not in English must be accompanied by a certified translation.
Documents must be translated by a professional translator and must comply with the following rules.
Please make sure your translator is aware of this.
- The translation must include a statement from the translator that this is a full and accurate translation of the original document.
- The translator must provide their full name and sign and date the translation.
- The translation must include the translator's address and contact details.
In most cases, the translator will stamp each page of the translation, then sign and date on top of the stamp.
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