The UK is one of the most popular countries in the world to visit. There’s so much to see and do there, so we understand how easy it is to get excited about taking a trip. But before you arrive in the UK, you’ll need to apply for a UK visit visa from Dubai.
At Remitly, we want to make it easier for people to travel and see more of the world. That’s why we’ve put together this guide to help you apply for the UK Standard Visitor visa. We’ll walk you through what you need to know, from preparing the required documents to completing your online UK visa application. So let’s get into it.
Understanding the UK Standard Visitor visa
The UK Standard Visitor visa is what you need for a short stay in the United Kingdom. Usually, this visa is issued for up to six months, and it covers several purposes, including tourism, visiting family or friends, business trips, academic visits, and medical treatment. It’s one of the most common visa types issued by UK Visas and Immigration.
Who needs the Standard Visitor visa?
Not everyone needs this visa. If you’re a UAE national, you can travel to the UK without a visa for short visits with an electronic travel authorisation (ETA). This authorisation lets you visit the UK for tourism or to visit family, and allows you to stay in the country for up to six months at a time.
However, if you’re a resident of the UAE but not an Emirati citizen, you may need a UK visit visa before you travel.
Ultimately, it depends on which passport you hold. Holders of passports from countries such as the US, Australia, Japan, and those in the European Union, as well as the UAE, only need an ETA. However, if your passport is from India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Egypt, China, Iran, or Nepal, for example, you’ll need a visitor visa.
What can you do on a Standard Visitor visa?
The UK Standard Visitor visa allows you to travel and visit family. You can also study on short courses, participate in cultural or sporting events, and hold business meetings with partners. However, you can’t work full-time or study for more than six months.
When you’re applying for your UK visa from the UAE, it’s important to state the reason for your travel clearly and provide documents to support your application. These may include proof of employment, financial stability, and accommodation details. Let’s take a look at some of the documents you’re likely to need.
Key documents you’ll need
To apply for a UK Standard Visitor visa, you’ll need to provide:
- Your current home address.
- The dates you’re planning to travel to the UK.
- Proof of accommodation.
- An estimate of how much you expect your trip to cost.
- A document proving how much you earn in a year if you have an income. This can be a bank statement, a tax return, or pay stubs.
- Your parents’ names and dates of birth. Get their birth certificates if possible.
- A valid passport with at least six months left before expiry.
- A UAE residence visa or other proof of your legal status in the UAE if you are not a citizen.
- Proof of your ties to the UAE. This could be a tenancy agreement, mortgage documents, details of family connections, or proof of employment.
Depending on what you intend to use your visa for, you may also be asked for:
- Details of your travel history over the past 10 years.
- Your employer’s address and telephone number.
- Your partner’s name, date of birth, and passport number.
- The name and address of anyone paying for your trip.
- The name, address, and passport number of any family members you have in the UK.
Note that any documents not written in English or Welsh will need to be officially translated.
How to apply: a five-step process
1. Apply online
You can apply online here.
First of all, you’ll be asked to select your language. There are 19 choices available, including English, French, Russian, Turkish, Hindi, Arabic, and others, so you should find one that works for you.
Next, you’re asked for biometrics. This means your fingerprints and a facial photo—usually, these need to be taken at a visa application centre. In the UAE, VFS Global operates the application centres—they’re in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. This is where you submit your biometrics.
Once you’ve confirmed you know where to go to do that, you can start your application by entering your email address and password.
You’ll be asked for your personal information, too. That means your name, telephone number, relationship status, address, passport number, nationality, and immigration status.
Financial information
Then comes the section on your financial circumstances. You’ll need to enter:
- Your employment status.
- Your income and savings.
- What you expect the visit to cost. This includes the flights, likely living costs, and any tuition fees if you plan to study in the UK.
- You’ll be asked how much money you usually spend in your home country per month.
- You’ll also be asked if anybody else is paying for your trip. If so, you’ll need to say whether it’s a family member or a friend, an employer, or another organisation. You’ll also need to explain how much they’re paying, and why.
Trip purpose
Next, they’ll ask you about what you plan to do on your trip—including your spoken language preferences and the main reason for your visit. If you plan to take any courses or training while in the UK, this is where you tell them about it.
Family
Then comes the section about your family. You’ll be asked you how many people are financially dependent on you, as well as your parents’ details. If you don’t have that information, you can click the box indicating that.
You’ll be asked about any family you have in the UK. If you have any, you’ll be asked for details on them, such as their names, addresses, and UK passport numbers.
Are you travelling with anyone else who’s not your partner or dependent? If you are, you need to give the details of one of your travel companions, but not all of them.
Where are you staying in the UK?
The next question is about your accommodation in the UK. If you’ve already booked it, you can give the address. While it’s not obligatory to have accommodation already booked to get a visa, it can strengthen your application.
Travel history
The next section is about your travel and immigration history. If you’ve the UK in the last 10 years, you’ll be asked for details of your trip.
You’ll also be asked:
- If you’ve ever received medical treatment in the UK.
- If you’ve ever received a National Insurance Number.
- If you hold a UK driving licence.
- If you’ve ever received government benefits in the UK.
- If you’ve been issued a UK visa in the past 10 years, and if so, when it was issued.
- If you’ve travelled to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the USA, Switzerland, or the European Economic Area. Again, this applies to the last 10 years. If you don’t have the exact dates of your travels, get as close as you can.
- Whether you’ve travelled to any country in the past 10 years other than the ones listed. If so, you need to give details about that travel.
- If you’ve ever been refused a visa.
- If you’ve ever entered the UK illegally.
- If you have any criminal convictions, warrants, or court judgements against you. Even penalties for driving offences, such as disqualification for speeding, must be recorded.
You’ll be asked if you’ve committed war crimes, if you’re a member of a terrorist organisation, or you hold extremist views.
Finally, there’s section where you can add any other information you feel may be necessary in your application—this is where you explain any gaps in the information you’ve provided.
List of documentsWhen you’ve answered all these questions, you’ll see a list of the documents you need to provide with your visa application. This section is split into mandatory documents and others. For now, tick each box to confirm you’ll provide each one—you’ll be asked to upload them later.
Next, you need to accept the terms and conditions of your application and make a declaration that you’ve told the truth.
Once you’ve done all that, it’s time to pay your visa application fee.
2. Pay the visa fee
At the time of writing, the fee for a six-month UK Standard Visitor visa is £127—around 627 AED. You’ll pay at the end of your online visa application with a credit or debit card.
3. Book your appointment
After you’ve submitted your visa application on gov.uk, you have 240 days to book and attend an appointment to provide your biometric data. You’ll need to contact VFS Global to book this appointment.
4. Attend your appointment
At your appointment at the application centre, you need to bring your appointment confirmation or the QR code you’ll be given by the gov.uk application system. You’ll also need a printout of your document checklist from the visa application. Take a valid passport with at least one blank page for the visa, too.
At the application centre, you’ll be asked to submit your fingerprints and photograph. A digital scanner will collect all 10 of your fingerprints, and you’ll have your photo taken.
Make sure that your fingers are free from any kind of decoration, cuts, or abrasions, because these can affect the ability of the machine to capture your biometric data. The photograph must clearly show your face with no hair across your eyes and no sunglasses or tinted spectacles. Religious head coverings are allowed.
Children under five years old must have their photograph taken, but they do not have to provide fingerprints.
If you uploaded your documents during your visa application, you don’t need to bring them to this appointment. You will, however, need to bring a clear, full-colour image of each page of your passport. If you didn’t upload them during that process, then you’ll need to bring them and use the VFS document upload service, which costs an additional fee.
5. Wait for the decision
It takes around three weeks from the date your application is submitted to get a decision. It’s also possible to pay for a faster decision, which generally takes around five working days. There’s also a super-priority service which can receive you a decision by the end of the next working day. It costs £500 (about 2,467 AED) for the priority service and £1,000 (about 4,935 AED) for the super-priority service.
If you plan to use these services, make sure your application is as clear and straightforward as possible—if the Home Office needs to take some extra time to verify your information, you won’t be refunded.
Get everything together and get packing
Applying for a UK visit visa from the UAE is a straightforward online process, but you do have to provide quite a bit of information, so it’s a good idea to get your documentation in place before you begin—then you can easily and honestly answer all the questions you’ll be asked.
It’s important to answer as truthfully as possible. Being caught in a lie will not only ruin your current application, but it may make it harder to obtain visas from other countries in the future.
Make sure you have all your information correct, and you should have no problem getting your visa to visit the UK. There’s so much to see and enjoy in there, so get your application in as soon as you can and get to work planning your trip!
FAQs
How long does it take to get a UK visit visa from Dubai?
Most applications can be processed in around three weeks, but if you’re in a hurry it’s possible to pay extra for fast processing and receive a decision in as little as one working day.
How much money do I need to show in my bank account?
There’s no fixed amount you need to have to get a visitor visa for the UK. You need to be able to demonstrate that you have enough to support yourself during your stay, however long that is. A good guideline would be somewhere in the region of £1,800–£3,600 per month, about 8,900–17,765 AED.
Can I apply for a long-term visitor visa?
Long-term visitor visas are available for those who want to study, do business, or receive medical treatment in the UK. You apply at www.gov.uk.
What happens if my visa application is refused?
If you feel your request was incorrectly refused, you can apply for a reconsideration request. However, you must be in the UK to do this. If your application is refused, you can reapply, but make sure that you address the reason why it was refused in the first place, and ensure you provide all the necessary documents so you don’t get refused again.