If you are not a British Citizen or a citizen an EU country, you may need an entry clearance before you travel to the UK. The list of countries for which a visa is needed for a visit to the UK is available on our website, as is the list of countries which require a visa to travel through the UK (Direct Airside Transit Visa).
Even if your country does not appear on this list, you may need a visa for other reasons, such as getting married in the UK.
You should apply for a UK visitor visa at the UK Mission in the country where you are normally and legally resident. You should plan to apply for your travel visa well in advance of your proposed travel date. Some travel visas may be processed in 24 hours, but others may take longer, especially in cases where an interview is required. The process could take up to several weeks.
Once you have a valid UK travel visa, you should be allowed entry to the UK on arrival unless your circumstances have changed, you gave false information, or you did not tell the entry clearance officer important facts when you applied for your visa. The final decision, however, rests with the immigration officer at the UK port of arrival.

Tier 1 Visa (General) Overview

Skilled migration plays an important part in the United Kingdom's effort to keep its economy globally competitive. As part of the UK's five-tier points based immigration system, Tier 1 (General) allows highly skilled individuals who score the requisite points to immigrate to the UK without any kind of sponsorship from an employer. Highly skilled individuals include doctors, scientists, engineers, MBAs, and other educated workers. If you can speak English, have earned at least the equivalent of a bachelors degree, and can show that you have earned a relatively good income in your home country, Tier 1 (General) is the right scheme for you.

Since 2002, the UK has been actively encouraging skilled migrants to immigrate to the country -- first through the HSMP and now through its Tier 1 (General) visa for general highly skilled migrants, which replaced the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP) on 30 June 2008.

Tier 1 (General) is very similar to the previous HSMP, save for the notable exception of the removal of the MBA provision which allowed those with MBAs from a list of specific universities to claim an automatic 75 points.. English language requirements are also more stringent. You can use our Tier 1 General Highly Skilled Migrants points calculator to assess your chances of being granted a Tier 1 visa under this sub-category.

Specific Criteria

The following tables show the amount of points a you can score for specific criteria. A score of 75 must be attained.

Qualifications

Previous Earnings

Like the previous HSMP, points for previous earnings are calculated by converting non-sterling currency to Sterling (British Pounds), then the Sterling figure is converted to points, taking into account the relative difference in the level of earnings between countries. The difference is converted using an 'uplift ratio' that is applied top the entered amount. Different countries have different uplift ratios depending on factors such as GDP per capita, etc. Please use our Tier 1 (General) points calculator to assess your income.

Age

The younger you are, the more points you can score. You can score a maximum amount of 20 points if you are under 28 years of age.

UK Experience

English Language Ability

To apply for a Tier 1 visa, you must show that you are profficient in English by proving one of the following:

European Framework for Language Learning (equivalent to a grade C or better at GCSE or an approximate overall band score of 6.5 on an IELTS exam) Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, New Zealand, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and The Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, the USA.

National Academic Recognition Information Centre data. The countries include Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Ireland, Jamaica, New Zealand, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and The Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, the UK, the USA. Note: Canada is NOT included in this list.

English-taught degree is acceptable enough to satisfy the English language requirement.

Successful proof of one of these criteria will earn you the required 10 points for the English language requirement.

Tier 2 Visa (Work Permit) Overview

Tier 2 was implemented on 27 November 2008 and offers an entry route into the United Kingdom for skilled workers who are citizens of countries outside of the European Economic Area.. In all cases people applying for entry under this scheme MUST be in possession of a JOB OFFER and fulfill other requirements as detailed for the different categories.

Tier 2 has four categories

General: for people coming to the United Kingdom with a job offer to fill a gap that cannot be filled by a settled worker which may or may not be on the Shortage Occupation List +
Intra Company Transfers: for employees of multi-national companies who are being transferred by an overseas employer to a skilled job in a UK-based branch of the organisation +
Sports People: for elite sportspeople and coaches whose employment will make a significant contribution to the development of their sport at the highest level *
Ministers of Religion: for those people coming to fill a vacancy as a Minister of Religion, Missionary or Member of a Religious Order *

+ To qualify for inclusion under the General and Intra Company Transfer categories of Tier 2, a job must require a skill level of S/NVQ level 3 or above as indicated in the codes of practice relevant to the sector and to the job
* Ministers of religion and sports people on temporary assignment should apply for entry under Tier 5 for Temporary Workers
Tier 2 replaced the UK Work Permits scheme. People wanting to extend their leave to remain in the UK who were initially granted leave under the Work Permit scheme are allowed to switch into Tier 2. For a complete list of categories eligible to switch please see Tier 2 - Switching from another scheme.
If you do not have a job offer and can be categorized as highly skilled then Tier 1 (General) for Highly Skilled Migrants may offer an appropriate route of entry to the UK.

Tier 3 Visa Overview

Under the new points based system, employment-based immigration will be broken into five tiers. Tier 3 encompasses unskilled, temporary migration for employment that is largely seasonal in nature.
Tier 3 was designed to replace schemes such as the current Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS) and the Sectors Based Scheme (SBS). However, the UK government recently stated that Tier 3 would be suspended from implementation for an indefinite period of time.
The United Kingdom feels that it can source employees from within the European Union to meet the labor demands of employers that hire unskilled, seasonal labor. The government has recently started earmarking programs such as SAWS and SBS for nationals of Bulgaria and Romania, who have had temporary labor restrictions placed on both of their nations upon their accession to the European Union in 2007.
The changes to SAWS and the SBS have drawn criticism from key stakeholders such as the agricultural industry. Employers feel that they cannot meet labor demands with only EU migrant workers. If this is true, expect to see Tier 3 to become a reality in the future.

Tier 4 Visa Overview

The United Kingdom's upcoming new points based system, broken into five tiers covering highly skilled migrants to unskilled workers, will also include Tier 4 for international students.

Students coming to the UK under a Tier 4 visa will require a university or other qualified UK educational institution to sponsor them. They will also need to score enough points to be accepted as an international student in the UK. How the points system for students will work has not been decided yet.
The current system grants visas for an initial period of one year, which may or may not change under the tiered system. Foreign students have been historically allowed to work -- 20 hours while school is in session and 40 hours during holidays.

Tier 4 for international students is expected to go into effect at the beginning of 2009.
International students also have special immigration options available to them upon graduation under the new points based system. Once a student graduates from an eligible UK educational institution, they can apply for a Tier 1 visa under the Post-Study Work sub-category. This will allow international graduates to remain in the UK for two years. Once completing their period under Post-Study Work, a graduate can move into another sub-category or tier.

Fee Schedule for UK Immigration

Please note that those who are resident in the EU will in many cases need to pay 17.5% VAT on top of the prices quoted below. These prices exclude government fees:

A. Highly Skilled Immigration

B. Work Permits

C. Permanent Residence (Indefinite Leave to Remain)

D. Nationality

E. Family Immigration

F. EEA and Swiss Nationals

G. Long Residence

H. Business Immigration

I. Extension Applications

J. Further Leave to Remain - Immigration Employment Documents