🇧🇼→🇬🇧Botswana→United Kingdom

Tourism, visiting family/friends, business meetings, short courses

• Apply online at gov.uk.
• Most applicants will be asked to attend a visa application centre.
• Fee is £135 (as of June 2026).
• Also covers business visits, so the UK has no separate short-term business visa.
• Long-term Standard Visitor visas (2, 5 or 10 years) are also available at higher fees.

Passing through the UK en route to another country

Two types: Direct Airside Transit visa (£41.50, remain airside without passing border control) and Visitor in Transit visa (£74.50, pass through border control and leave within 48 hours). Required for visa nationals changing flights in the UK, unless exempt under the Transit Without Visa (TWOV) scheme.

Studying a course at a licensed UK student sponsor for longer than 6 months

• Requires a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) from a UK Visas and Immigration-licensed sponsor.
• Application fee £558 when applying from outside the UK (June 2026).
• Degree-level students aged 18+ can usually stay up to 5 years; below degree level up to 2 years.

Studying at an independent (fee-paying) school in the UK, for children aged 4 to 17

• For children aged 4-17 attending a licensed independent school.
• Requires a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS).
• Application fee £558 from outside the UK (June 2026).
• Children aged 4-15 must be sponsored by an independent fee-paying school.
• Decision usually within 3 weeks.

Studying an accredited English language course lasting longer than 6 and up to 11 months

• Only for accredited English language courses lasting 6-11 months (shorter courses use the Standard Visitor route).
• Fee £228 (June 2026).
• Stay is the length of the course plus 30 days, up to 11 months.
• Cannot be extended, switched, or used for other subjects.

Working in an eligible skilled job with a UK employer

Requires a job offer from a UK licensed sponsor paying at least the required salary threshold. Standard fee from outside the UK is £819 for up to 3 years or £1,618 for more than 3 years (June 2026); lower fees apply if the job is on the immigration salary list.

Qualified doctors, nurses, health professionals and adult social care workers with a job offer from an approved UK health or care employer

• A subset of the Skilled Worker route with reduced fees and exemption from the immigration health surcharge.
• Fee £324 (up to 3 years) or £628 (more than 3 years) as of June 2026.
• Requires a certificate of sponsorship from a Home Office-approved health or care employer.
• Decision usually within 3 weeks.

Recognised or emerging leaders in academia/research, arts and culture, or digital technology

• No employer sponsorship required, but most applicants need endorsement from an approved body (or an eligible prestigious prize).
• Fee £766 total (£561 endorsement + £205 visa) as of June 2026.
• Grant up to 5 years at a time; leads to settlement after 3-5 years.
• Decision usually within 3 weeks from outside the UK.

Recent graduates of a top global university who want to work or look for work in the UK without a job offer

• For those who obtained an eligible qualification from a top-ranked university in the last 5 years.
• No sponsorship needed.
• Application fee £880 (June 2026).
• Grants 2 years (3 years for PhD holders); cannot be extended and does not lead directly to settlement.

Post-study work for those who have completed an eligible UK degree on a Student visa

• Unsponsored work route for recent UK graduates; applied for from inside the UK.
• Fee £937 (June 2026).
• Grants 2 years (18 months if applied on/after 1 January 2027), or 3 years for PhD holders.
• Cannot be extended and does not lead directly to settlement.

Commonwealth citizens with a grandparent born in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man who want to work in the UK

• For Commonwealth citizens (also British overseas citizens/nationals and Zimbabwean citizens) able to prove a UK-born grandparent.
• Fee £726 (June 2026).
• Grants 5 years; holders can work without sponsorship and apply for settlement after 5 years.
• Decision usually within 3 weeks.

Living and working in the UK for up to 2 years (age 18-30/35, select nationalities)

• Available to nationals of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Uruguay, Andorra, Iceland, India (ballot) and others via bilateral agreements.
• Fee £340 (June 2026).
• Base stay 2 years; Australian, Canadian and New Zealand nationals can extend by 1 further year.

Joining a spouse, partner, fiancé(e), child, parent or relative who is British or settled in the UK, for longer than 6 months

• For partners, fiancé(e)s, children, parents and adult dependent relatives of British citizens or settled persons.
• Application fee £2,064 per person from outside the UK (£1,407 inside) as of June 2026.
• Partner route initial grant is typically 33 months from outside the UK; leads to settlement after 5 years.
• Decisions usually within 12 weeks from outside the UK.

Coming to the UK to marry or register a civil partnership without intending to stay or settle

• For those who will marry or form a civil partnership in the UK but do not plan to settle afterwards.
• Fee £135 (June 2026).
• Stay up to 6 months.
• Those intending to settle after marriage should use the Family visa (fiancé(e)) route instead.

Receiving private medical treatment in the UK for longer than 6 and up to 11 months

• An extended Standard Visitor route for private medical treatment lasting up to 11 months.
• Fee £234 (June 2026).
• Requires evidence from a UK doctor/consultant, treatment details and ability to pay.
• Private treatment of up to 6 months uses the ordinary Standard Visitor visa (£135).

Setting up or running a business in the UK that is innovative, viable, and scalable

• Requires endorsement from a UKVI-approved endorsing body.
• No minimum investment amount specified.
• Application fee £1,357 per person when applying from outside the UK (June 2026), plus endorsement fees.
• Valid 3 years, renewable; leads to settlement after 3 years.

Working for a fast-growing UK business (a Home Office-approved 'scale-up' sponsor) in a high-skilled occupation

• Requires a job offer lasting at least 6 months from a Home Office-approved scale-up sponsor in an eligible occupation, meeting the salary threshold (raised to £36,000/year or £10.75/hour from April 2026) and B2 English (from 8 January 2026).
• Sponsorship is only required for the first 6 months; after that the holder can work, switch employer or become self-employed without new sponsorship for the rest of the visa.
• Flat application fee £937 (confirmed on gov.uk 'How much it costs' page, April 2026 fee table).
• Immigration health surcharge ~£1,035/year.
• Initial grant up to 2 years, extendable in further 3-year blocks; leads to settlement (ILR) after 5 years total residence.

Temporary employment in UK horticulture (fruit, vegetable and flower picking) or poultry processing

• For horticulture work, visa allows a stay of up to 6 months; for poultry work the scheme runs 2 October to 31 December each year.
• Requires sponsorship by a Home Office-licensed scheme operator and proof of sufficient personal savings; can enter up to 14 days before the job start date.
• Fee £340 (April 2026 fee table).
• 2026 allocation is 42,900 places (41,000 horticulture, 1,900 poultry).
• Temporary route only - does not lead to settlement or long-term residence; worker must return home once the visa expires.