Apply for a UK visa in St Helena
Updated 1 July 2026
© Crown copyright 2026
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/st-helena-apply-for-a-uk-visa/apply-for-a-uk-visa-in-st-helena
To apply for a UK visa in St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha you need to:
- apply online
- pay your visa fee
- visit the Governor’s office to provide your biometrics, documents and passport
Important steps to follow when applying online
You must complete the following steps to apply online for a UK visa in St Helena:
-
Return to the ‘Select a country to provide your biometrics’ page on your visa application form and enter ‘South Africa’ as the country in which you are making your application and wish to provide your biometrics. This is for processing purposes only; you will not need to travel to South Africa.
-
On the next page, ‘Check available biometric enrolment locations’, confirm that you have checked available biometric enrolment locations and can travel to a location in the ‘My selected country’ field. This is for processing purposes only; you will not need to travel to South Africa.
-
Continue with your application as normal.
-
Do not follow the guidance on the ‘Documents’ page about providing your documents with our commercial partner. You must instead follow the steps in the ‘Provide documents and biometric information’ section below to provide your documents to the Governor’s Office in Jamestown.
-
On the ‘Choose a service’ page, select ‘Standard service’ (you must not select any other service option). Other service options will not be available to you and will cause a significant delay to your application.
-
Check your answers, and then pay for your application if it is correct. You will not be able to change any of your answers after you have paid.
-
Do not continue to our commercial partner’s website to provide your documents and biometrics when you land on the ‘Further actions you must complete’ page. This will cause a significant delay to your application. You must instead follow the ‘Provide documents and biometric information’ section below to provide your documents and biometrics. You can still download your supporting documents checklist, download your application form and cancel your application and get a refund.
Pay your fee
You must pay for your visa online to complete your application.
If you are applying for a long-term visa (more than 6 months) you will need to pay the immigration health surcharge (IHS) fee when you are applying and will be given a reference number for the payment.
Your application will not be complete if you have not paid your visa application fee.
Provide documents and biometric information
You can complete your online application and pay your visa fee. After you have completed your online application, you must phone the Governor’s Office, St Helena to arrange an appointment to provide your documents and biometrics (fingerprints and facial photograph) at the address below.
The Castle
Jamestown
STHL 1ZZ
St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
Telephone: +290 22555 or +290 22308
On the day of your appointment, you will be required to provide your biometric data.
You will also need to:
- print out and bring the front page of your application form which is the declaration page that has your barcode on it
- bring your documents checklist
- bring an original valid passport and photocopies of your supporting documents
Post your documents
You will need to post:
-
the front page of your application form which has your barcode on it
-
your document checklist
-
photocopies of your supporting documents and a clear colour copy of your passport or travel document - this must include:
-
the biographic page (with your photo)
-
any observations page
-
all pages containing visas or stamps
-
Please copy the pages in order and make sure the copies are sharp and clear, so all text is easy to read.
You must post these to:
VFS Global,
UK Visa Application Centre,
The Podium at Menlyn 4th Floor,
43 Ingersol Road,
Lynnwood Glen,
Pretoria
The above address accepts both non-settlement and settlement applications.
If you make a successful application for a visa to come to the UK (England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland), you will get an eVisa. This replaces previous physical immigration documents.
Before you travel to the UK, you will need to sign in to your UKVI account to view your eVisa and check your permission.
UKVI stopped issuing visa vignette (stickers) to successful new applicants on 1 July 2026.
Contact us
For any enquiry you can contact our international contact service.
Make a complaint
Letters or emails about decisions to refuse a UK visa will not be treated as complaints. If you do not agree with the decision on your visa application, please use the existing appeals channels.
If you have a complaint about how your visa application has been handled, or the conduct of UK Visas and Immigration staff you should follow the complaints procedure.