UK visitor visa cost 2026 is an important expense to understand before planning a trip to the United Kingdom. Along with the visa application fee, travellers should budget for flights, accommodation, food, transport, insurance and other everyday expenses.
For travellers who require a Standard Visitor visa, the application fee currently starts at £135 for visits of up to six months. However, the visa fee is only one part of the total cost of travelling to the UK.
This guide explains the UK visitor visa cost 2026, current visa fees, supporting documents, financial requirements and the additional expenses you should consider before submitting your application.
Important: This article provides general information only and is not legal or immigration advice. Visa rules, fees and requirements can change. Always confirm the latest information with GOV.UK before applying.
As of August 2026, a Standard Visitor visa for a visit of up to six months costs £135.
The UK Home Office increased the fee from £127 to £135 on 8 April 2026.
Current visitor visa fees include:
| UK Visitor Visa | 2026 Fee | Maximum Stay Per Visit |
|---|---|---|
| Standard Visitor | £135 | Up to 6 months |
| 2-year long-term visa | £506 | Up to 6 months |
| 5-year long-term visa | £903 | Up to 6 months |
| 10-year long-term visa | £1,128 | Up to 6 months |
A long-term visa does not normally allow you to remain in the UK continuously for two, five or ten years. It allows repeated visits during its validity, with each visit generally limited to a maximum of six months.
Therefore, travellers should choose a long-term visa only when it genuinely suits their travel needs.
The Standard Visitor route covers several permitted reasons for visiting the UK.
These can include tourism, visiting family or friends, certain business activities, short periods of study and some other permitted activities.
Most Standard Visitors can stay for up to six months.
However, a Standard Visitor normally cannot use the route to take ordinary paid or unpaid employment for a UK company, access public funds, or effectively make the UK their main home through repeated visits.
Always check whether your intended activity is permitted before applying.
Not every traveller needs a Standard Visitor visa.
What you need depends primarily on your nationality and circumstances.
Depending on your passport, you may need:
Therefore, your first step should be checking the official GOV.UK visa checker rather than immediately paying for an application.
An ETA currently costs £20, but it is not an alternative that travellers can simply choose instead of a visitor visa. Your nationality and circumstances determine which permission you require.
Before calculating the UK visitor visa cost 2026, check whether your nationality requires a Standard Visitor visa or another form of travel permission.
If you require a Standard Visitor visa, the application must be completed online before travelling.
You can apply up to three months before your planned travel date.
After starting the application, you will also need to complete the required identity and document process. This can include attending a visa application centre for biometric information.
Do not leave the process until immediately before your planned departure. When planning the UK visitor visa cost 2026, remember to budget for other expenses that may arise during the application and travel process.
Allow enough time for the application, appointment and decision before making travel arrangements that would be difficult or expensive to change.
The online application asks for information about you and your planned trip.
According to GOV.UK, applicants need to provide information such as:
Depending on your circumstances, you may also need to provide details about previous travel, your employer, the person funding your trip or family members living in the UK.
The information in your application should be accurate and consistent with your supporting evidence.
There is no single identical document checklist for every visitor because evidence depends on the applicant’s circumstances and purpose of travel.
However, you must have a passport or other travel document that is valid for your entire stay.
Supporting evidence may also be used to demonstrate your personal circumstances, finances, purpose of travel and arrangements for the visit.
Depending on your circumstances, relevant evidence could include financial information, employment or business evidence, accommodation information and evidence explaining who will fund the trip.
Documents that are not in English or Welsh generally require a certified translation.
Additional evidence can also be required for particular activities, including certain study, academic, medical or permitted paid engagement visits.
Along with preparing these documents, applicants should include the UK visitor visa cost 2026 when calculating their overall travel expenses.
This is one of the most misunderstood parts of UK visitor visa planning.
There is no single fixed bank balance that every Standard Visitor must have.
For example, there is no general rule saying that every tourist must hold £3,000, £5,000 or £10,000 simply to qualify.
Instead, the immigration rules require a genuine visitor to have sufficient funds for the reasonable costs of the trip without working or accessing public funds.
That can include accommodation, everyday expenses, planned activities, dependants travelling with you and your return or onward journey.
Your financial position should therefore make sense in relation to your planned trip. The UK visitor visa cost 2026 is fixed for the relevant visa type, but there is no single fixed bank balance that applies to every visitor.
A short trip with prepaid accommodation may have a very different budget from a six-week holiday involving hotels and extensive travel.
Having money in an account is not the only consideration.
UKVI caseworker guidance says financial evidence should correlate with information declared in the application, including income and the source of support.
For example, unexplained large deposits may require context because the evidence should support the financial circumstances described in the application.
Rather than trying to reach an arbitrary bank-balance target, applicants should focus on providing truthful and consistent information that demonstrates how the trip can realistically be funded.
Understanding the UK visitor visa cost 2026 is only the first step because flights, accommodation and daily expenses can cost considerably more than the visa itself. In certain circumstances, a third party can provide financial support, accommodation or both.
For example, a family member may offer accommodation during your visit.
However, sponsorship does not remove the need to satisfy the relevant visitor requirements.
The immigration rules allow third-party support where the required conditions are met, including having a genuine personal or professional relationship with the visitor. Although a sponsor may help with travel expenses, the UK visitor visa cost 2026 and funding arrangements should still be considered carefully when planning the application.
Your application should clearly explain who is paying for the trip and how the arrangements work.
The £135 application fee should not be treated as your complete UK travel budget.
Your actual costs can include:
Costs vary considerably depending on where you stay, when you travel and how long you remain in the UK.
London, for example, can produce a very different budget from a trip where you stay free of charge with relatives outside the capital.
Consider a traveller planning a seven-day holiday. To understand the UK visitor visa cost 2026 in context, it helps to compare the application fee with the other expenses involved in a typical trip.
A simplified planning budget might look like this:
| Expense | Example Budget |
|---|---|
| Standard Visitor visa | £135 |
| Return flight | £400–£900 |
| Accommodation | £500–£1,000 |
| Food | £200–£350 |
| Local transport | £80–£150 |
| Attractions | £100–£250 |
| Travel insurance | £20–£80 |
| Other spending | £100–£200 |
Illustrative total: approximately £1,535–£3,065
This is not an official UKVI financial requirement.
It is simply an example showing why travellers should calculate their own realistic trip costs rather than relying only on the visa application fee.
Airfares and accommodation in particular can vary dramatically.
Start with the costs that are easiest to estimate.
Check realistic flight prices for your intended dates. Next, research accommodation in the city where you intend to stay.
Then estimate daily spending.
For example, create separate amounts for food, public transport, attractions and personal purchases.
Finally, include a buffer for unexpected expenses.
A simple formula is:
Visa + flights + accommodation + daily expenses + activities + insurance + emergency buffer = estimated UK trip cost
Using a realistic budget can help you understand whether your planned trip is financially manageable before you submit an application.
Start with the UK visitor visa cost 2026, then add estimated flights, accommodation, transport, food and other daily expenses to calculate a realistic total.
Planning your UK trip involves much more than paying the visa fee. Before travelling, take time to understand the Cost of Living in the UK (2026): A Complete Beginner’s Guide to get a clearer idea of everyday expenses. You can also use our UK Monthly Budget for a Single Person (2026) guide to understand typical monthly costs. If you want to keep your overall travel expenses under control, our 25 Easy Money Saving Tips That Actually Work in 2026 offers practical ways to plan spending and build better saving habits before your trip.
Be careful about committing large amounts of money before receiving a decision.
A visa application does not guarantee approval.
Therefore, when researching flights and hotels, check cancellation and refund conditions carefully. Avoid assuming that submitting an application means your visa will automatically be granted.
The safest approach is to follow the latest official guidance relevant to your application and avoid unnecessary non-refundable commitments.
Under the visitor rules, applicants must satisfy the decision-maker that they are genuine visitors.
Among other requirements, this means showing that you intend to leave the UK at the end of the visit, that your purpose is permitted and that you can meet the reasonable costs associated with your trip.
Visitors must also not use frequent or successive visits as a way to effectively live in the UK.
Consequently, the application should present a coherent picture.
Your purpose, duration, finances, accommodation and other circumstances should make sense together.
Generally, the Standard Visitor route cannot be used for ordinary employment in the UK.
There are specific permitted activities under the visitor rules, including certain business and professional activities, but these should not be confused with having general permission to work.
If the primary purpose of your trip is employment, you should check which UK immigration route applies to your circumstances.
When comparing the UK visitor visa cost 2026, frequent travellers should also consider whether a long-term visitor visa makes financial sense for their circumstances. They can be useful for people who genuinely need to visit the UK regularly.
Current fees are £506 for two years, £903 for five years and £1,128 for ten years.
However, paying for a long-term visa does not guarantee that the full requested validity will be granted.
GOV.UK states that an applicant may receive a shorter visa if UKVI considers that the eligibility requirements are not met for the requested duration. The application fee is not refunded simply because a shorter visa is issued.
Additionally, each visit is normally limited to six months.
Therefore, compare your likely number of future trips before paying the significantly higher fee.
One mistake is focusing entirely on the visa fee while ignoring the actual cost of the trip.
Another is believing online claims about a guaranteed minimum bank balance.
The visitor rules do not set one universal amount for every applicant.
Travellers should also avoid building an unrealistic itinerary that does not match their available resources.
Finally, never provide false financial information or documents. Your application should accurately reflect your circumstances.
Visa fees themselves are set by the government, so there is little opportunity to reduce the application charge.
However, the wider travel budget can often be controlled.
Compare flights across suitable dates, consider travelling outside peak periods, and compare accommodation before booking.
Using public transport instead of taxis can also reduce daily costs.
Likewise, planning free attractions alongside paid activities can significantly lower entertainment spending.
Most importantly, create the budget before booking rather than trying to manage the costs afterwards.
For a typical Standard Visitor application, remember these key points:
Visa fee: £135
Typical maximum stay: Up to 6 months
Earliest application: 3 months before travel
Fixed minimum bank balance: No universal amount
Passport: Must be valid for the whole stay
Long-term options: 2, 5 and 10 years
Work: Ordinary UK employment is generally not permitted under the visitor route
Always verify these details before applying because immigration rules and fees can change.
The UK visitor visa cost 2026 starts at £135 for a Standard Visitor visa for visits of up to six months. The UK visitor visa cost in 2026 is £135 for a standard visit of up to six months, but successful trip planning requires looking beyond the application fee.
Flights, accommodation, food, transport, insurance and everyday spending can make the real cost of a UK holiday considerably higher.
More importantly, there is no universal bank-balance figure that guarantees a visitor visa. Your finances should reasonably support the cost and circumstances of your particular trip.
Create a realistic budget, provide accurate information and use official GOV.UK guidance when preparing your application.
Always check the latest information through the UK Government Standard Visitor guidance, UK Immigration Rules and current Home Office immigration fee schedule before applying.
The current fee for a Standard Visitor visa for up to six months is £135. The fee took effect on 8 April 2026.
There is no universal minimum bank-balance requirement for Standard Visitors. Applicants must instead show that they can reasonably cover the costs of their visit, including accommodation and their return or onward journey.
A Standard Visitor can usually stay for up to six months, subject to the permission granted and the applicable visitor rules.
You can apply up to three months before your planned travel date.
The current application fee is £506. However, each visit is normally limited to a maximum of six months.
The current 2026 fee is £903.
The current application fee is £1,128.
No. There is no guaranteed balance that automatically results in approval. UKVI considers whether the applicant meets the visitor requirements and whether their circumstances and evidence support the proposed visit.
Third-party financial support or accommodation can be permitted where the applicable requirements are satisfied. The application should accurately explain the relationship, arrangements and source of support.
No. An ETA and a Standard Visitor visa are different forms of travel permission. Which one you need depends on factors including your nationality and circumstances.
The UK visitor visa cost 2026 for a Standard Visitor visa of up to six months is currently £135.
Contributor at SavingGuideHub, writing practical guides on finance, savings, and insurance.
Sharing practical finance and savings guidance.
