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UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) is responsible for making millions of decisions every year about who has the right to visit or stay in the country, with a firm emphasis on national security and a culture of customer satisfaction for...

• Updated: 30 January 2026

You may need a visa to come to the UK to visit, study or work.

UK border control - passport checks, visas for entering, customs, transiting and layovers.

• Overview

  Your identity document (for example your passport or identity card) will…

• Before you leave for the UK

  Check what documents you’ll need to enter the UK. You’re a British citizen…

• At border control

  You’ll need to show your identity document, such as your passport or…

• Baggage checks

  You must co-operate if you’re stopped and asked about your baggage. If you…

• Layovers and transiting through a UK airport

  Passing through a UK airport while on the way to another country is called…

Compare visas to visit, work, study or join a family member already in the UK. How to apply and what the decision on your application means.

Information about Immigration Enforcement. Immigration Enforcement is part of the Home Office .

• Updated: 30 August 2024

Information about the UK’s points-based immigration system for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens.

• Updated: 9 September 2023

UK Visas and Immigration now manages applications for people who want to visit, work, study or settle in the UK. Previously, this was part of UKBA (UK Border Agency) which closed in 2013.

• Updated: 15 April 2021

This series brings together documents relating to Home Office statistics on migration.

• Updated: 8 January 2026

Apply for the Registered Traveller service to get through UK border control faster and without filling in a landing card

This series brings together documents relating to Home Office research and evaluation on migration.

• Updated: 29 January 2026