Guidance

UK visa requirements (accessible version)

Updated 22 February 2024

Guidance to help carriers check their passengers’ travel documents. It lists the countries and territories of citizens who need a visa for the UK.

Nationals of countries and territories who need a visa to enter or transit the UK

  • Afghanistan
  • Albania
  • Algeria
  • Angola
  • Bangladesh
  • Belarus
  • Burundi
  • Cameroon
  • China (People’s Republic of) (1)
  • Congo
  • Congo Dem. Republic
  • Cyprus (northern part of) (2)
  • Dominica
  • Egypt
  • El Salvador
  • Eritrea
  • Eswatini (Swaziland)
  • Ethiopia
  • Gambia
  • Georgia
  • Ghana
  • Guinea
  • Guinea-Bissau
  • Honduras
  • India (3)
  • Iran
  • Iraq
  • Ivory Coast
  • Jamaica
  • Kenya
  • Kosovo
  • Lebanon
  • Lesotho
  • Liberia
  • Libya
  • Malawi
  • Moldova
  • Mongolia
  • Myanmar (Burma)
  • Namibia
  • Nepal
  • Nigeria
  • North Macedonia
  • Pakistan
  • Palestinian Territories
  • Russia
  • Rwanda
  • Senegal
  • Serbia
  • Sierra Leone
  • Somalia (2)
  • South Africa (5)
  • South Sudan
  • Sri Lanka
  • Sudan
  • Syria (6)
  • Tanzania
  • Timor-Leste
  • Turkey (5)
  • Uganda
  • Venezuela (non biometric)
  • Vanuatu
  • Vietnam (3) and (5)
  • Yemen
  • Zimbabwe

Nationals of the countries and territories who need a visa to enter or transit the UK landside

  • Armenia
  • Azerbaijan
  • Benin
  • Bhutan
  • Bolivia
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Burkina Faso
  • Cambodia
  • Cape Verde
  • Central African
  • Chad
  • Comoros
  • Cuba
  • Djibouti
  • Dominican Republic
  • Ecuador
  • Equatorial Guinea
  • Fiji
  • Gabon
  • Haiti
  • Indonesia (5)
  • Kazakhstan
  • Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of)
  • Kyrgyzstan
  • Laos
  • Madagascar
  • Mali
  • Mauritania
  • Montenegro
  • Morocco
  • Mozambique
  • Niger
  • Philippines
  • Sao Tome e Principe
  • Surinam
  • Taiwan (4)
  • Tajikistan
  • Thailand
  • Togo
  • Tunisia
  • Turkmenistan
  • Ukraine
  • Uzbekistan
  • Venezuela (biometric)
  • Zambia

Airside Transit (where available)

Airside transit passengers are those who do not need to change airports and do not need to pass through the UK border. Passengers cannot transit ‘airside’ to the Republic of Ireland or anywhere within the common travel area.

Landside Transit

Landside transit passengers are those who need or wish to pass through the UK border and enter the UK (for example, to change airport, to collect baggage or arrive at airports where no airside transfer is possible).

Transit without visa (TWOV) - airside

All visa nationals seeking to transit the United Kingdom ‘airside’ without a visa must:

  • arrive and depart by air
  • have a confirmed onward flight departing the same day from the same airport
  • hold the correct documents for their destination (for example, a visa for that country if required)

National countries and territories who need a visa to enter or transit the UK listed above need a visa to transit ‘airside’ unless they hold one of the following:

  1. a valid visa for entry to Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the USA (whether or not the holder is travelling to or from these countries).

  2. a visa for entry to Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the USA as part of a reasonable journey from the country in respect of which the visa is held and it is less than 6 months since the holder last entered that country with a valid entry visa.

  3. a valid permanent residence permit issued by:

  • Australia
  • Canada, issued after 28 June 2002
  • New Zealand
  • USA issued after 21 April 1998; or a valid US Immigrant visa endorsed with a US arrival stamp (a wet-ink/ADIT stamp version will not be accepted by UK border control); or an expired I-551 Permanent Residence card provided it is accompanied by a valid I-797 letter authorising extension; or a standalone US Immigration Form 155A/155B (attached to a sealed brown envelope)
  1. a valid common format residence permit issued by an EEA state or Switzerland

  2. a valid common format category D visa for entry to an EEA state or Switzerland

  3. a valid Irish biometric visa endorsed BC or BC BIVS (in order to transit to a destination other than the Republic of Ireland or the Common Travel Area)

  4. a valid Schengen Approved Destination Scheme (ADS) group tourism visa where the holder is travelling to the country that issued it

  5. a valid airline ticket from the Schengen area; provided the holder can demonstrate they entered there no more than 30 days previously on the basis of a valid Schengen ADS visa

E-visas or e-residence permits are not acceptable unless the airline is able to verify it with the issuing country.

Transit without visa (TWOV) - landside

All visa nationals seeking to transit the United Kingdom ‘landside’ without a visa must:

  • arrive and depart by air
  • have a confirmed onward flight that departs before 23:59 the following day
  • hold the correct documents for their destination (for example, a visa for that country if required)

National countries and territories who need a visa to enter or transit the UK listed above need a visa to transit ‘landside’ unless they hold one of the following:

  • a valid visa for entry to Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the USA and a valid airline ticket via the UK as part of a reasonable journey to that country

  • a valid visa for entry to Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the USA and a valid airline ticket via the UK as part of a reasonable journey from that country

  • a visa for entry to Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the USA as part of a reasonable journey from the country in respect of which the visa is held and it is less than 6 months since the holder last entered that country with a valid entry visa
  • a valid permanent residence permit issued by:

  • Australia (b)
  • Canada, issued after 28 June 2002 (c)
  • New Zealand (d)
  • USA issued after 21 April 1998; or a valid US Immigrant visa endorsed with a US arrival stamp (a wet-ink/ADIT stamp version will not be accepted by UK border control); or an expired I-551 Permanent Residence card provided it is accompanied by a valid I-797 letter authorising extension; or a standalone US Immigration Form 155A/155B (attached to a sealed brown envelope)

  • a valid common format residence permit issued by an EEA state or Switzerland
  • a valid common format category D visa for entry to an EEA state or Switzerland
  • a valid Irish biometric visa endorsed BC or BC BIVS and travelling to the Republic of Ireland
  • an Irish biometric visa endorsed BC or BC BIVS and travelling FROM the Republic of Ireland provided it is less than 3 months since the holder last entered there

E-visas or e-residence permits are not acceptable for landside transit.

The decision to allow a passenger to transit without a visa (TWOV) under the scheme is decided by an immigration officer at the UK border.

UK permanent residents

If a visa national is permanently resident in the UK they do not need a visa, as long as they return to the UK within 2 years of their last departure.

Passengers with the right of abode in the UK

If a visa national has a ‘certificate of entitlement to the right of abode’ label in their valid passport they do not need a visa.

Holders of non-national and refugee travel documents

If the passenger holds a refugee travel document issued by the UK they do not need a visa. If the passenger holds any other non-national or refugee travel document they need a visa to enter the UK.

Whether holders of non-national and refugee travel documents require a direct airside transit visa (DATV) depends on their original nationality, and whether they qualify for one of the exemptions listed above. Persons recognised as stateless under the 1954 UN Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons are not required to hold a DATV and may transit airside without a visa.

Seafarers

A seafarer travelling on duty, who is a visa national (including those in transit through the UK) does not need a visa if they hold a valid seafarer’s book issued by one of these countries which also contains a statement that it is issued under ILO108 (or convention of 1958) or ILO185, having previously ratified ILO108 (or convention of 2003):

  • Algeria
  • Anguilla
  • Angola
  • Antigua and Barbuda
  • Azerbaijan
  • Barbados
  • Belarus
  • Belize
  • Bermuda
  • Brazil
  • British Virgin Isles
  • Bulgaria
  • Cameroon
  • Canada
  • Cuba
  • Czech Republic
  • Denmark
  • Djibouti
  • Dominica
  • Estonia
  • Fiji
  • Finland
  • France
  • Ghana
  • Greece
  • Grenada
  • Guatemala
  • Guinea-Bissau
  • Guyana
  • Honduras
  • Iceland
  • India
  • Iran
  • Iraq
  • Ireland
  • Italy
  • Kyrgyzstan
  • Latvia
  • Liberia
  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg
  • Malta
  • Mauritius
  • Mexico
  • Moldova (Republic of)
  • Montserrat
  • Morocco
  • Norway
  • Panama
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Romania
  • The Russian Federation
  • Seychelles
  • Slovenia
  • Solomon Islands
  • Spain
  • Sri Lanka
  • St Lucia
  • St Vincent and the Grenadines
  • Sweden
  • Tajikistan
  • Tanzania
  • Tunisia
  • Turkey
  • Ukraine
  • United Kingdom (including the Falkland Islands and Gibraltar)
  • Uruguay

A seafarer does not need to be a national of the country that issued the document.

Contact details

Please contact the relevant area, if you need further advice.

Area Telephone
Aberdeen Airport +44 3000 738455
Belfast Airport +44 28 944 84323
Birmingham Airport +44 300 073 8162 / 8619
Bournemouth +44 1202 579233
Bristol Airport +44 300 106 5296
Cardiff +44 300 106 4188
East Midlands Airport +44 300 073 8033
Edinburgh Airport +44 300 106 3509
Exeter Airport +44 1392 366492
Gatwick Airport +44 3000 739902
Glasgow Airport +44 300 106 3530
Harwich Docks +44 300 106 5543
Heathrow Airport Terminal 2 +44 300 106 5154 / 55 / 56
Heathrow Airport Terminal 3 +44 300 106 3278
Heathrow Airport Terminal 4 +44 300 106 5560 / 70
Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 +44 300 106 5025
Humberside +44 1302 522300
Inverness +44 1667 460054
Leeds Bradford Airport +44 300 106 5500
Lerwick +44 159 569 0614
Liverpool Airport +44 151 448 1448
London City Airport +44 207 055 5900
Luton Airport +44 1582 878700
Manchester Airport Terminal 1 +44 161 261 5901
Manchester Airport Terminal 2 +44 161 261 5902
Manchester Airport Terminal 3 +44 161 261 5903
Newcastle Airport +44 191 286 0629
Newhaven Docks +44 1273 865936
Norwich +44 300 106 5005
Plymouth +44 1752 689200
Poole +44 1202 634555
Prestwick +44 1292 478675
Portsmouth Docks +44 2392 817615
Robin Hood Airport +44 1302 522300
Southampton Airport +44 300 1063 591 / 590 / 589
Southend Airport +44 1702 538574
Stansted Airport +44 300 0738 842 / 123 / 662
Teesside Airport +44 1642 446211

Produced by the carriers liaison section, Home Office.

(1) Holders of diplomatic passports do not require a visa. Service passport holders may transit without a visa. Holders of a public affairs passport may not transit without a visa. Service and public affairs passport holders do not require a visa if travelling with a serving Chinese government minister on an official visit to the UK

(2) Passport not recognised by HM Government – visa should be issued on a Form for Affixing a Visa (FAV).

(3) Holders of diplomatic or official passports may transit without a visa.

(4) Passports that include a personal ID number on the biodata page are exempt from the visa requirement.

(5) Holders of diplomatic passports do not require a visa for official visits, tourist visits or transit.

(6) Holders may not use a B1/B2 USA visa to transit the UK.