Guidance

Diplomatic visa arrangement: caseworker guidance

Immigration staff guidance about the diplomatic visa arrangement (DVA) visa and permission to enter the UK on the DVA visa route.

• From: UK Visas and Immigration and Border Force
• Published: 18 February 2025
• Last updated: 18 August 2026
  Show all updates

  1. 18 August 2026

     This guidance has been updated to add India to the Granting entry clearance section.

  2. 3 August 2026

     Updated to reflect changes to Appendix V: Visitor of the Immigration Rules, which extends the Diplomatic Visa Arrangement to diplomatic passport holders from India.

  3. 11 November 2025

     Guidance updated to change references to Part 9 to Part Suitability.

  4. 18 February 2025

     First published.

Documents

Diplomatic visa arrangement caseworker guidance (accessible)

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Diplomatic visa arrangement caseworker guidance

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Details

UK Visas and Immigration guidance for staff about the diplomatic visa arrangement (DVA) visa and permission to enter the UK on the DVA visa route.