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UK Standard Visitor: application steps

Quick answer

Use GOV.UK to check whether you need a Standard Visitor visa, an ETA or another route. If you need a visa, apply through the official service and follow its supporting-document and identity instructions. A photo may be taken at an appointment or requested digitally, depending on the instructed process.

Official Standard Visitor steps Prepare a document copy

Reviewed 27 Oct 2026 against GOV.UK Standard Visitor guidance · Check your UK entry route · Supporting-document guidance · Proving your identity · ETA guidance · Digital photograph guidance

In this guide
  1. Official screenshots and examples
  2. 1. Check your visa or ETA route
  3. 2. Gather evidence for your circumstances
  4. 3. Complete the official application
  5. 4. Pay through the official channel
  6. 5. Follow your identity instructions
  7. 6. Supply a digital photo only when requested
  8. 7. Follow UKVI’s messages
  9. Prepare supporting copies, keep official forms intact
  10. Questions

Visual guide · reviewed 27 Oct 2026

Official screenshots and examples

Public authority guidance captured on 27 October 2026. Use the linked official page for the current instructions and your application’s own checklist.

  1. 1. Open the official Standard Visitor guide

    Use this public guide to reach the current application steps and entry-route checker. Follow the identity and document instructions issued for your application.

    Public guidance · captured 27 October 2026. Personalised application screens are not shown.

    Full image Official source

1. Check your visa or ETA route

Use the official checker for your nationality and visit. ETA is a separate travel authorisation, not a visitor visa. Work, study and other purposes have their own official routes.

2. Gather evidence for your circumstances

Use the supporting-document guidance and the checklist in your application. Follow translation instructions where relevant. There is no single set of supporting files that fits every visitor.

3. Complete the official application

Start from GOV.UK’s Standard Visitor page and use the official application service it links to. Review the details yourself, and retain the access information and confirmations issued to you.

4. Pay through the official channel

Check the current charge in the government service and pay it yourself. TravelPrepKit’s document-preparation charge is separate from government application charges.

5. Follow your identity instructions

Follow the instructed visa application centre appointment or identity-check process. An appointment may collect a photograph and fingerprints; an app-based route is used only when the application directs you to it.

6. Supply a digital photo only when requested

Supply a digital face photo only when your application requests one. Follow GOV.UK’s guidance and use an original, unaltered image; do not change it with software. Follow the separate appointment instructions if your photograph and fingerprints will be collected there.

7. Follow UKVI’s messages

Follow any further requests, decision and passport-return instructions through the official process. Document preparation is not a visa application or a promise of approval.

Prepare supporting copies, keep official forms intact

Use your application’s checklist and upload instructions for each supporting scan. Enter those requirements in custom document preparation, then inspect small text, stamps and every required page. These settings are your requirements, not a government-verified preset.

Keep original government forms and barcode confirmations. Do not flatten, resize or compress a validated form or confirmation through the document-copy tool; follow the authority’s instructions for that original file.

Questions

Is an ETA a Standard Visitor visa?

No. Use GOV.UK’s checker to identify the route for your nationality and purpose before applying.

Do I need to upload a face photo?

Follow your application’s identity instructions. A visa application centre can collect your photograph and fingerprints, while a digital image may be requested in the instructed process.

Can I compress a supporting scan here?

Yes, using custom document requirements from your application. Keep original forms, barcode confirmations and documents whose signatures or editable fields must remain intact out of scan-style preparation.

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