Can I come to the United Kingdom as a general visitor?
This page explains how you can come to the United Kingdom as a general visitor.
If you are a national of the European Economic Area (EEA) or a member of their family, see the For European citizens section.
To come to the United Kingdom as a general visitor, you must be able to show that:
- you are 18 or over;
- you only want to visit the United Kingdom for up to six months, or up to 12 months if you are accompanying an academic visitor;
- you intend to leave the United Kingdom at the end of your visit;
- you have enough money to support and accommodate yourself without working or help from public funds, or you and any dependants will be supported and accommodated by relatives or friends;
- you can meet the cost of the return or onward journey; and
- you are not in transit to a country outside the common travel area.
You must also show that, during your visit, you do not intend to:
- take employment, produce goods or provide services, including the selling of goods or services directo to members of the public;
- undertake a course of study;
- marry or form a civil partnership, or give notice of marriage or civil partnership;
- carry out the activities of a business visitor, a sports visitor or an entertainer visitor; or
- receive private medical treatment.
For more information about your rights and responsibilities as a general visitor, see the Visitors' rights and responsibilities section.
Terms explained
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European Economic Area
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Irish Republic, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom. Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway are not members of the European Union (EU) but citizens of these countries have the same rights to enter, live in and work in the United Kingdom as EU citizens.
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Public funds
Public funds are income-related benefits paid by the state. They include income support, income-based job seekers allowance, housing and homelessness assistance, housing and council tax benefit, working families' tax credit, a social fund payment, child benefit and any disability allowance. Benefits paid as a result of contributions, such as the state pension, are not considered to be public funds. Social housing is not considered to be a public fund either. Claiming public funds when you are not eligible is known as benefit fraud and it is a criminal offence.