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UK visitor visa cost: 6-month, 2, 5 and 10-year fees

A UK Standard Visitor visa costs £135 for up to 6 months. Long-term visas cost £506 (2 years), £903 (5 years) and £1,128 (10 years), each with a maximum stay of 6 months per visit. Fees are per person and are not refunded if the visa is refused.

Visiting the UK can involve one of several products with very different prices: a visit visa, a long-term visit visa, a special medical or academic visa, an electronic travel authorisation, or an extension once in the UK. Which of them applies depends on nationality and on the purpose of the trip.

This guide lists each price and what it buys: how long the permission lasts, how long you can stay on each visit, what happens to the fee if the application fails, and the extra costs around the fee. It then sets out some of the arithmetic that people ask about when comparing a long-term visa with repeated short ones, as plain sums and not as a view on which fits.

Prices are from the Home Office fee table dated 8 October 2026, which shows no change from the previous table, and from GOV.UK's Standard Visitor and ETA pages (the Standard Visitor page updated 8 October 2026), all read on 10 October 2026. This explains how the rules work. It does not say which visa suits a particular trip or person.

The fee list

For a visa applied for outside the UK, the fee table and GOV.UK's Standard Visitor page give:

  • Standard Visitor visa: £135, maximum stay 6 months.
  • Standard Visitor visa for medical reasons: £234, maximum stay 11 months.
  • Standard Visitor visa for academics: £234, maximum stay 12 months.
  • 2-year long-term Standard Visitor visa: £506, maximum stay 6 months per visit.
  • 5-year long-term Standard Visitor visa: £903, maximum stay 6 months per visit.
  • 10-year long-term Standard Visitor visa: £1,128, maximum stay 6 months per visit.
  • Visitor in Transit visa: £74.50, for people whose only reason for coming to the UK is to pass through to another country. The fee table also lists a direct airside transit visa at £41.50 and a landside transit visit visa at £74.50.

The fee table lists the 2-year long-term visa with a footnote: the fee is £135 where the applicant is a Chinese national applying in mainland China under the Chinese visa scheme.

Inside the UK, extending a Standard Visitor stay costs £1,172 and a super priority service adds £1,000, covered below. If you do not need a visa for your nationality, an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) costs £20.

Two points sit outside the fee list. There is no immigration health surcharge on a visit visa: GOV.UK says you do not need to pay it if you are applying for a visitor visa, and that you will pay for any NHS care at the point you use it, unless it is a free service. Biometrics are taken at the appointment as part of the application.

The 6-month visa and how stays are counted

GOV.UK says: "You can usually stay in the UK for up to 6 months." A Standard Visitor visa costs £135 for up to 6 months, and the earliest you can apply is 3 months before you travel. It must be applied for online, with an appointment at a visa application centre, and the usual decision time is within 3 weeks once you have applied, proved your identity and provided your documents.

Two limits sit alongside the 6-month maximum. The Rules in Appendix V (V 4.2) require that the visitor "will not live in the UK for extended periods through frequent or successive visits, or make the UK their main home". And GOV.UK, on the visitor's rights, says you cannot "live in the UK for long periods of time through frequent or successive visits". The 6 months is therefore a ceiling for one visit, not an entitlement to spend that long in the UK repeatedly.

The longer visas for special purposes are priced separately. A Standard Visitor visa for medical reasons costs £234 and permits up to 11 months, and one for academics costs £234 and up to 12 months. These have extra eligibility requirements and extra documents, which the GOV.UK pages list. The fee table also has "Private medical treatment visa - more than 6 months but not more than 11 months" and "Visiting academic - more than 6 months but no more than 12 months" at £234 each.

For a visit of more than 6 months, GOV.UK lists a tuberculosis certificate among the documents that may be needed.

Long-term visas: what you get and the conditions

GOV.UK says you can choose a long-term Standard Visitor visa "if you visit the UK regularly". It lasts 2, 5 or 10 years, and you can stay for a maximum of 6 months on each visit. The prices are £506, £903 and £1,128.

The same page sets conditions:

  • If you are under 18 when you apply, the long-term visa "will only be valid for up to 6 months after you turn 18", and you cannot get a refund on the fee.
  • "You may be given a shorter visa than requested if UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) believe you cannot meet the eligibility requirements for the duration of the visa you applied for."
  • "You will not get a refund of the application fee if you get a shorter visa or if your application is refused."
  • "Your visa may be cancelled if your travel history shows you are repeatedly living in the UK for extended periods."

A long-term visa is therefore not just a bigger version of the 6-month visa. The decision maker has to be satisfied that the applicant will meet the eligibility requirements across the period, and the visa can be granted for a shorter term than the one paid for.

The Rules also say the visitor must show enough funds for the visit and must not work. These requirements are the same as for a single visit. A long-term visa does not change what a visitor may do, only how often they may come.

The arithmetic people ask about

These are plain sums from the published fees. They say nothing about whether a long-term visa would be granted or suit a given pattern of visits.

  • Two 6-month visas cost 2 × £135 = £270, three cost £405 and four cost £540. The 2-year visa at £506 is the price of just under four short visas.
  • The 5-year visa at £903 is the price of about six and a half short visas (6.7 × £135). The 10-year visa at £1,128 is about eight and a third (8.4 × £135).
  • For a family of four, four 6-month visas are 4 × £135 = £540 for one trip. Four 2-year visas are 4 × £506 = £2,024.
  • A refusal does not return the fee. A refused family application for four 6-month visas followed by a second application costs £540 twice, £1,080 in all.

Every figure above is per applicant, and each person has their own application and appointment.

The sums leave out the other costs of getting to a visa application centre. GOV.UK says the centre "could be in another country", so there may be a cost of travel. They also leave out the cost of the trip itself, which matters because the application asks how much you think it will cost and the Rules ask whether you have enough funds to cover "all reasonable costs in relation to their visit".

There is no figure on any of these pages for how many visits a long-term visa should be matched to. The decision maker looks at the applicant's circumstances and travel history, and GOV.UK says a visa can be shortened or cancelled on that basis.

If you do not need a visa: the ETA

Some nationalities visit the UK with an electronic travel authorisation instead of a visa. GOV.UK says it costs £20, and that you "usually need an ETA rather than a visa if you're from Europe, the USA, Australia, Canada or certain other countries". An ETA:

  • lets you travel to the UK, Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man for up to 6 months;
  • is for tourism, visiting family or certain other reasons;
  • "lasts for 2 years or until your passport expires, whichever is sooner", with as many trips as you like while valid;
  • usually gets a decision by email within a day, but can take up to 3 working days;
  • is not refunded after you apply, and a rejected application means applying again; and
  • "does not guarantee entry".

Each person travelling needs their own ETA, including babies and children. GOV.UK warns: "Other websites may charge more to apply. Avoid websites that imitate government services."

Whether you need an ETA, a visa or neither depends on the nationality on your passport. GOV.UK has a check service for this, and the visa national list in the Immigration Rules (Appendix Visitor: Visa national list) sets out who needs a visa. Our guide to a UK visitor visa from Nigeria is an example for one nationality on that list.

Extending a visit from inside the UK

GOV.UK says you may be able to extend your stay if you have permission to be in the UK for less than 6 months, up to a total of 6 months. "You must apply to extend your stay and pay the £1,172 fee regardless of your nationality." The fee table lists "Visitor extension - main applicant and dependants" at £1,172. A super priority service adds £1,000.

  • Example: GOV.UK's own example is that if you have been in the UK for 3 months, you can apply to extend for 3 more months.
  • Longer than 6 months is possible only for a patient receiving medical treatment, an academic who still meets the requirements, or a graduate retaking the PLAB test or doing a clinical attachment.
  • Medical treatment can be extended repeatedly, at £1,172 each time, with a requirement that you have paid for treatment so far and can pay for further treatment, plus a letter from a registered medical practitioner or NHS consultant.
  • Timing: the application must be made in the UK before your current permission expires, and you must not leave the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man before a decision or the application is withdrawn.
  • Decision times: within 8 weeks on the standard service, or by the end of the next working day after the biometrics appointment (2 working days at weekends) on super priority.
  • Biometrics: a UKVCAS appointment for fingerprints and a photograph, at no fee.

The extension fee is much higher than a new visa, which is an arithmetic fact, not a recommendation. What is allowed in a particular case, including whether the Home Office would accept an extension for a given reason, is a question about an individual application.

Other costs around a visit

Besides the fees above, a visit can involve costs that are set by others.

  • Visa application centre services. GOV.UK says to check with your centre whether it offers a priority or super priority service for the visa you are applying for. The fee table lists £500 for priority and £1,000 for super priority for visa applications outside the UK.
  • Translations. Documents not in English or Welsh must be accompanied by certified translations.
  • Travel to the appointment. The centre could be in another country.
  • A TB test, if you will be in the UK for more than 6 months and have lived in a listed country, with the certificate valid for 6 months from the X-ray. GOV.UK's TB page does not state a price.
  • Healthcare. NHS care is charged at the point of use unless it is a free service, and a visit visa carries no surcharge.
  • Insurance, flights and accommodation, which the application asks you to estimate and which the funds test looks at.

The Home Office fee is not the whole cost of a visit, and it is also not the whole cost of a refusal: a second application carries a second fee.

Finding a regulated adviser

Which visit product matches a plan, how a travel history will be read and whether an application is ready to submit are questions about a named person's case. Only an IAA-registered adviser (the Immigration Advice Authority, formerly the OISC), a solicitor or another authorised person may give that advice. GOV.UK explains how to find an immigration adviser.

The Migratio directory lists IAA-registered advisers (with their level) and SRA-regulated solicitors, each with their regulator and registration number. Migratio is not regulated by the IAA or the SRA and does not give immigration advice. This page explains how the rules work; it does not tell you what to do in your case.

Questions people ask

How much does a UK visitor visa cost?

£135 for a Standard Visitor visa of up to 6 months, per GOV.UK and the 8 October 2026 fee table. Long-term visas cost £506 for 2 years, £903 for 5 years and £1,128 for 10 years, each with a maximum stay of 6 months per visit.

Can I stay in the UK for the whole of a 2, 5 or 10-year visitor visa?

No. GOV.UK says a long-term Standard Visitor visa lets you stay for a maximum of 6 months on each visit, and that the visa may be cancelled if your travel history shows you repeatedly living in the UK for extended periods.

Is the visitor visa fee refunded if I am refused?

No. GOV.UK says you will not get a refund of the application fee if you get a shorter visa or your application is refused. If you cancel, you get the fee back only if UKVI has not started processing the application.

Do I pay the NHS surcharge on a visitor visa?

No. GOV.UK says you do not need to pay the immigration health surcharge for a visitor visa. You will need to pay for NHS care at the point you use it, unless it is a service that is free.

How much does it cost to extend a UK visit?

£1,172 per person, whatever your nationality, plus £1,000 if you use the super priority service. You can extend a stay of under 6 months up to a total of 6 months, and apply before your current permission expires.

What is the difference between a visitor visa and an ETA?

An ETA costs £20, lasts 2 years or until your passport expires, and is for nationals who do not need a visa, up to 6 months per visit. A visitor visa is for nationals on the visa national list, costs £135 for 6 months, and needs an appointment.

Sources

Last checked 2026-10-10.

Related guides

  • UK visitor visa from Nigeria: cost and documents — A person travelling on a Nigerian passport needs a visa before visiting the UK: Nigeria is on the Immigration Rules' visa national list. A Standard Visitor visa for up to 6 months costs £135, is applied for online, needs an appointment at a visa application centre, and is usually decided within 3 weeks.
  • UK visitor visa refused: what you can do next — A refused UK Standard Visitor visa application has no administrative review (Appendix Visitor is not on the list in Appendix AR) and visitor refusals do not usually carry an appeal. The usual next step is a new application, which costs £135 for a 6-month visa and is decided on the evidence it contains. Judicial review is only for unlawful decisions and must be started within 3 months.
  • UK visa refused: appeal, administrative review or reapply? — Your refusal letter says whether you can ask for an administrative review (£80; 14 days in the UK, 28 days outside, 7 if detained) or appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (£82 or £144; 14 or 28 days). Appeals are only for refused protection or human rights claims and a few other decision types. Making a new application withdraws a pending administrative review.
  • Overstayed your UK visa: what the rules say — Overstaying means staying after your permission has ended. Under Part Suitability a short gap can be disregarded in limited cases (an application within 14 days with a good reason beyond your control, or after an in-time application was refused or rejected). Overstayers have no right to work, rent or claim benefits, and leaving can trigger re-entry bans of 12 months to 10 years.
  • How to check a UK immigration adviser is registered — In the UK only a "qualified person" may give immigration advice: an IAA-registered adviser, a solicitor, barrister or chartered legal executive, or someone working under their supervision. Ask for the regulator and registration number, then check it yourself on the IAA Adviser Register or the SRA Solicitors Register.