Transfer in London: do you need a transit visa to the UK? Do I need a transit visa for a layover in the UK? If I have a layover in London, do I need a visa?

We will tell you whether you need a visa to transit through London, when you can do without it and how to get one. The question of whether a UK visa is needed to travel in transit is becoming increasingly relevant. Despite the fact that London airport cannot be compared in size to Dubai, it remains one of the largest in the world and receives thousands of tourists, including those in transit. Britain is known for its strict visa regime, and this also applies to passengers on connecting flights.

Britain – Island state and you can get here either by air or by sea. The way in which the foreigner arrives and how long he will wait for a new flight directly determines whether he will need a transit visa to London. General conditions under which transit registration is not required:

  1. the connection will take no more than 24 hours;
  2. the passenger has transport tickets and a visa to a third country in his hands;
  3. entry and exit are carried out by one type of transport.

Transfer at the airport

The need to obtain a visa when transferring at an airport directly depends on how soon your plane arrives and at which airport you plan to land. Ideally, your flights depart and arrive at one of the airports: Heathrow and Gatwick in London. In this case, you can, without leaving the airport transit area, make a transfer in London within 24 hours without the need to obtain a transit visa.

Attention! If the connection time is longer than expected, or the new flight departs from another airport, then the transit zone will have to be left, which means permission will inevitably be required.

Entering the port

The British authorities do not want to leave any loopholes for illegal migrants to enter the country. Since the start of the migration crisis in 2015, foreigners arriving in sea ​​ports Islanders are not allowed to leave the ship and walk around. Now you will have to observe the city lights from the board, this is a strict rule, otherwise you will still have to apply for an English visa.

Who can do without a visa?

With the latest changes, the circle of people who can do without transit during a transfer has been expanded:

  • on the way to the USA, Canada, New Zealand or Australia with valid visas from these countries, as well as back from them;
  • on the way from the USA, Canada, New Zealand or Australia, with an expired visa from these countries, provided that the foreigner last entered these countries no more than six months ago.
  • a foreigner who has a residence permit in Switzerland, New Zealand, Australia, Canada since July 28, 2002, any Schengen country, or the USA since April 21. 1998;
  • a foreigner holding a national visa D of any Schengen country or Switzerland;
  • when traveling to or from Ireland with a valid Irish visa.

Other foreigners who are unable to meet the strict conditions are required to apply for a visa.

What is a transit visa?

This is a stamp in the applicant's passport, which allows you to stay in the UK for 48 hours to connect to an air or sea flight to a third country, in addition you can catch a glimpse of the beauty of London. Typically, an entry permit is valid for six months, but after activation only a couple of days remain. This is a very short-term visa and to obtain it you will have to go through the same procedure as for obtaining, for example, a tourist permit.

Documents for a transit visa

In fact, a transit visa to the UK and the procedures for obtaining it are identical to the usually short-term ones; you will have to submit the same impressive package of documents and visit the consulate. You must have with you:

  1. application form – application for a transit visa;
  2. a passport valid for another six months with two blank pages;
  3. copies or originals of all old passports, especially if they contain used visas;
  4. photograph 35 by 45 mm. Schengen format;
  5. policy health insurance for the entire duration of your stay in the country;
  6. a certificate from the place of employment about the position held, the amount of income and length of service;
  7. for pensioners - pension certificate;
  8. students - student ID;
  9. tickets for flights to London and for flights from England;
  10. hotel reservation for the duration of your stay in London.

Attention! A letter from the sponsor for those will also be useful. who cannot prove that they are financing the trip themselves

All documents must be submitted to English language, if they were originally compiled in Russian, then you will have to contact a translator and a notary for certification of the translation.
British consulate staff reserve the right to request additional documents confirming the purpose of the trip, the applicant’s actual connections with Russia and the intention to return.

Cost and processing time

The cost of obtaining such a permit on your own is about $80; if the visa has to be transferred to a new passport, it will double to $160.

So, we have answered the question of whether a transit visa is needed when transferring in London, but we must remember that the British authorities are very sensitive to migration issues. Even if the conditions are met visa-free entry Problems may arise for foreigners who have previously been deported from somewhere, have previously been convicted or have been refused an English visa.

An official message on the website of the British Consular Service informs that the visa service considers applications on such issues within up to 2 months. In practice, it usually takes 3 weeks.

UK aviation and sea ports are the largest transport hubs in the world and are actively used for transit passage in international passenger traffic. Since 2014, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland stepped up the fight against illegal immigrants and tightened the transit visa regime.

Previously, when traveling to a third country, you could easily enjoy excursions and shopping in London or Manchester. The law set aside a day for this and gave travelers from Russia a transit concession. Now even a simple transition with suitcases from one terminal to another requires a UK transit visa.

IN new system There are exceptions, but overall it has become more complicated. Read on and you will fully understand all the intricacies of the new rules, and at the same time you will understand whether transit without a visa is possible in your case, and how best to implement it.

2 types of transit through the UK

According to the new rules in 2018, 2 types of transshipment stay in Great Britain are possible:

Airside It involves crossing the territory of the country through a special transit zone at the airport, when transferring from one plane to another.

For Russians, Ukrainians, Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Georgians, Kazakhs, Uzbeks and Turkmens, the possibility of concession remained. If a number of conditions are met, residents of these former CIS countries can do without a transit permit by using Airside. This opportunity does not apply to residents of Belarus and Moldova. They apply for and pay for “Direct Airside Transit visas”, which cost from 30 euros for the right to cross the transit zone at an English airport.

Landside This is a transit case when a transfer requires a change of airport. Either you need to stay overnight in an English hotel, or just walk around the city while waiting for a long time for the next flight. Another Landside option is when there is simply no transit zone at the landing airport (and there are most of them). In order to check in, pick up luggage or simply go from one port terminal to another, you need to apply for a “Non-Direct Airside transit visa national” or, more simply put, a UK transit visa.

Airside Features and Limitations

Let's start with the fact that transit zones exist only at 3 major airports:

  • Manchester City Airport;
  • Gatwick Airport (London);
  • Heathrow Airport (London).

At these airports, visa concessions under Airside are possible for Russians if the following conditions are met:

  1. Do not leave the transit zone until departure to a third country.
  2. Fly to a third country no later than 23:59 the next day after the date of arrival in the UK. (For example, if you arrived on April 20 at 23:59, and departed on April 22 at 00:05, you need to apply for a transit visa on a general basis).
  3. You must fly to any other country (with the exception of Ireland) and have with you all permits to enter that state by law.
  4. Your transit must be carried out by the same mode of transport (air). On ground transport this rule does not apply. If you need to transfer from an airplane to a sea vessel, you need to apply for a transit visa. (We will consider the case when you need to transfer from ship to ship, or simply spend the time the cruise ship is parked on British soil, separately below).

Who is allowed to walk around London without a visa during transit?

A Landside permit may not be required if:

  • You can present a residence permit in countries such as: Switzerland, Canada, Australia, USA, New Zealand, as well as any of the Schengen countries;
  • You are the holder of a long-term visa of group “D” to the countries of the European Union or Switzerland.
  • You are traveling to Ireland and you have a biometric visa to enter this country.
  • You are traveling from Ireland with a biometric visa for it, and 3 months have not yet passed since you entered Ireland.

Attention! In case of moving to Ireland via England, only biometrics are effective for visa-free transit.

  • You are traveling to (from) one of 4 countries: USA, Canada, Australia or New Zealand and you have a visa or residence permit for this country.
  • You are coming from one of these 4 countries with an expired visa, but six months have not yet passed since your last entry into this state.

Important! Your route to this country should be logical, without any detours or long detours. Therefore, if you fly from Russia to Australia or New Zealand via England, customs officers will not understand you and will suspect you of illegal migration. Explaining to them that you just wanted to look at the British and therefore chose such a difficult route is very undesirable. Therefore, for Russians, only the USA and Canada remain on the list.

Attention! Visa-free transit is not available to holders of US electronic visas or electronic residence permits. And also to holders of American visas of categories YY and ZZ with 2 possible entries:

  • “Not a visa. Foil prepared at DHS request";
  • "Processed for I-551."

Don't flatter yourself! Even if you have legal rights to a conditional visa-free entry in the transit zone or Landside, the customs officer has the right to refuse you. In this case, travel through the territory of the country will be prohibited, and the voyage will be disrupted.

Advice: Experienced travelers are advised to play it safe and carry with them printouts of excerpts from transit legislation (with full email address UK government website from which the documents were copied). Be prepared to answer in detail the questions of the customs officer about your route: from the arrival station to the departure station during a transit trip around the country. If you have an online reservation for trains or buses, you need to present it.


Do I need a visa to transit through London at seaports?

The good news is that the concession for transit through England on a cruise continues to apply even after the introduction of the new rules.

Passengers cruise ships can use 24-hour British transit to freely visit an English port under the following conditions:

  1. The liner stays in the port of Britain for no more than 24 hours.
  2. The previous and next stops of the liner were (will be) not in an English port. (You can visit even 2 British ports without a visa, if between them there is a stopover in a non-British one, but, for example, in a Schengen port).

The procedure for obtaining a visa-free transit permit at the ports is simple: The immigration officer will stamp your passport indicating the time of arrival and let you go for a walk in any direction. The main thing for you is to return to your ship on time. Because no one will wait for you, and the official period of permission to stay on British soil will expire.

We remind you that residents of Moldova and Belarus will not be able to take advantage of this opportunity and will need to apply for an English transit visa. Otherwise, they will remain in the ship's cabin for the entire stay.

Important point! The decision whether or not to go for a walk in English city transit tourist, always remains with the immigration officer. He has the right to prohibit exit even if he has a transit visa!

How to check if you need a visa for a layover in London

To consolidate the material covered, let's check it point by point. You will need to arrange a visa in advance from the British Embassy for your layover in London if:

  1. You arrive at an airport where there is no transit area (Any station except Gatwick and Heathrow).
  2. You do not have a residence permit in the European Union, USA, Switzerland, New Zealand, Australia and Canada.
  3. Your flight to your destination country departs later than 11:59 pm the day after you arrive in the UK.
  4. You arrive in England by plane and leave it by another means of transport.
  5. You are not traveling to the USA or Canada with a visa issued for that country.
  6. You do not have a long-term D visa for the Schengen countries or Switzerland.
  7. You do not travel to Ireland with a biometric visa issued for that country.
  8. You are traveling from Ireland with a biometric visa, but more than 3 months have passed since your arrival in this country.

Who is 100% not eligible for transit visa-free travel to England?

It is better for you to immediately issue a transit document if:

  1. You have already been deported or denied entry into any country at least once.
  2. You have problems with the law in any country in the world.
  3. Have you been denied a UK visa at least once?
  4. You had a precedent for violating the visa regime in previous visits to this country.

Where and how to apply for a transit visa through the UK

To apply for a British transit visa, you must first contact the British consulate or embassy. Please note that the entire visa preparation process may take up to 2 months.

Transit is a fairly common occurrence for travelers. Firstly, prices for tickets with transfers are usually lower, and secondly, not every city can be reached by direct flight, especially from Russia. We have already talked about transit visas and the most popular countries for transit, and now let’s look in more detail at the UK and how to apply for a transit visa to the UK.

UK airports are a fairly popular transfer point when traveling from Russia to other countries North America, which has become popular recently in Iceland and many other countries. Until recently, the UK government was flexible and allowed transit without a visa for a limited period in quite a large number of cases, even giving the right to go into the city. Now the country's migration rules have become stricter, and Russians planning a layover there must, in most cases, obtain a transit visa to the UK.

Before you worry about how to apply for a UK transit visa, you first need to make sure that you really need a visa. You can count on transit without a visa only when you fly through Heathrow and Gatwick airports in London, as well as through Manchester Airport, and do not plan to leave the transit area at the airport. Please remember that baggage claim and check-in counters are located outside the transit area. Additionally, your next flight to a third country must depart before midnight the day after your arrival.

It is worth noting that in order to undergo transit without a visa, Russian citizens must fall under one of the following conditions:

  • Travel to Australia, New Zealand, the United States or Canada with a valid visa from that country
  • Arrive from Australia, New Zealand, the United States or Canada after staying in that country for less than six months
  • Have a residence permit in Australia, New Zealand, one of the EU countries or Switzerland, Canada (issued no earlier than 06/28/2002) or the USA (issued no earlier than 04/21/1998)
  • Hold a European or Swiss visa category D
  • Fly to or from Ireland (less than 3 months after entry) and have a valid Irish biometric visa (only relevant if you are obtaining an Irish visa outside of Russia, as biometric data is not collected for this visa in Russia)

Electronic visas and electronic residence permits are not accepted for consideration and are not a reason for allowing visa-free transit.

Although it is still possible to make a connection without a transit visa in the UK, whether you will actually be allowed to do so is always at the discretion of the immigration officer at the airport. If a visa is required at the airport, the cost will be £30, and you will need to have a passport, tickets and visa for the destination country, as well as an immigration form.

How to apply for a transit visa to the UK

A UK transit visa gives you the right to stay in the country for 48 hours. Applying for a visa takes place in several stages:

  • filling out an online form,
  • payment of the cost of the visa (92 US dollars according to the official website),
  • registration on the website of visa centers and entering all the details of your application,
  • interview.

At the interview you will need a printed and completed application form, tickets to the third destination country within 48 hours of arrival in the UK, a third country visa (if applicable), and 2 color photographs.

Applying for a transit visa to the UK may take some time, so it is better to do this in advance (no earlier than 3 months before the trip).

Now you know how to apply for a transit visa to the UK and when planning your next trip, you can include, for example, London in your itinerary. You can also read about how to apply for other categories of visas to the country of the Beatles and Sherlock Holmes on our website. Aviasales is always ready to help you find cheap tickets.

Have a nice trip!

I really love long connections between flights, when you can see another city along the way. Visa-free transit in London is an excellent opportunity to visit the city without a visa, i.e. free of charge without all the visa bureaucracy. But from 1 December 2014, the UK is significantly tightening the rules for transit on visas (TWOV).

This news is especially relevant for EasyJet passengers, as this low-cost airline allows passengers who do not have a UK visa, but have a ticket for a flight from London within the next 24 hours from any of its airports, to board. The rule applies to all traditional airlines and is reflected in the timatics. But WizzAir does not allow passengers without a visa to board, without providing conditions for TWOV.

Many people are looking for cheap tickets from London to the Caribbean, Canary Islands and Madeira, etc., they are often found in many destinations in mailing lists and forums. Well, a pint of ale along the way in a London pub - why not?! Now in most cases this becomes meaningless.


From travel.ru:

The new transit scheme applies to citizens of all countries who require a UK visa. If previously anyone who flies to a third country and has tickets in hand confirming the next flight could apply for visa-free transit, now it is necessary to obtain a transit or tourist visa in advance. There are only a few exceptions.

1. Without a visa in the case of a 24-hour transit, it is allowed to leave the transit zone if the foreigner flies to Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the USA with a valid visa from that country. If a foreigner flies from these states, then no more than 6 months must have passed since the last entry into that territory (that is: if a person left to study in the USA a year ago and did not leave the States for a year, then when returning home through Britain he will not be able to use visa-free transit).

2. The right to visa-free transit will give a residence permit in the countries listed above, as well as in the states of the European Economic Area and Switzerland. At the same time, it is stipulated that a residence permit for Canada must be issued after 06/28/2002, and for the USA - after 04/21/1998.

3. Holders of a valid category D visa (long-term visa allowing a stay of more than 90 days - including work, study, family reunion) issued by one of the countries of the European Economic Area or Switzerland will be able to count on 24-hour visa-free transit.

4. A transit tourist will also be released from the airport if he flies to Ireland with a valid Irish biometric visa. To fly to reverse direction No more than 3 months must have passed since your last entry and stay in Ireland with a valid biometric visa. For Russians, this point is not relevant: in our country, biometrics are not required when applying for an Irish visa; Thus, having a visa from this country does not give you the right to visa-free transit.

In addition, the trip of a foreigner applying for visa-free transit must meet several more criteria. All travel segments are by air only, with a confirmed onward ticket and departure time no later than 11:59 pm the day after arrival in the UK. The transit route must be justified: for example, there are no direct flights from the country of permanent residence to the country of destination, or flights through Britain are much cheaper or take less time (that is, a flight from Moscow to Paris via London is unlikely to look logical from the point of view of a border guard. Not This route looked logical before, but the decision was made by the border guard on the spot. Now this is simply excluded).

Original:

“Transit Without Visa Scheme
50A. A visa national must meet the requirements in paragraphs 50B and 50C when seeking leave to enter the UK in order to be granted leave to enter under the transit without visa scheme.

50B. The requirements to be met by a visa national seeking leave to enter the United Kingdom under the transit without visa scheme are that he:
(i) has arrived and will depart by air; and
(ii) is sincerely in transit to another country, meaning the purpose of his visit is to travel via the UK en route to another destination country, and he is taking a reasonable transit route; and
(iii) does not intend to access public funds, undertake employment or study in the UK; and
(iv) intends and is able to leave the UK before 23:59 hours on the day after the day when he arrived; and
(v) has a confirmed booking on a flight departing the UK before 23:59 hours on the day after the day when he arrived; and
(vi) is assured entry to his country of destination and any other countries he is transiting through on his way there.

50C. The visa national must also:
(i) be traveling to (or on part of a reasonable journey to) Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the USA and have a valid visa for that country; or
(ii) be traveling from (or on part of a reasonable journey from) Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the USA and it is less than 6 months since he last entered that country with a valid entry visa; or
(iii) hold a valid residence permit issued by either:
(a)Australia;
(b) Canada, issued after 28 June 2002;
(c) New Zealand;
(d) USA, issued after 21 April 1998 including: a valid USA I-551 Temporary Immigrant visa (a wet-ink stamp version will NOT be accepted by UK border control); a permanent residence card; an expired I-551 Permanent Residence card provided it is accompanied by a valid I-797 letter authorizing extension; a standalone US Immigration Form 155A/155B; or
(e) an EEA state or Switzerland; or
(iv) hold a valid uniform format category D visa for entry to a state in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland; or
(v) be traveling on to the Republic of Ireland and have a valid Irish biometric visa; or
(vi) be traveling from the Republic of Ireland and it is less than 3 months since the applicant was last given permission to land or be in the Republic by the Irish authorities with a valid Irish biometric visa.

Leave to enter under the transit without visa scheme
50D. A person seeking to leave to enter the United Kingdom on arrival under the transit without visa scheme may be admitted for a period ending no later than
23:59 hours on the day after the day on which he arrived, with a prohibition on employment, study and recourse to public funds, provided the Immigration Officer is satisfied that the requirements of paragraphs 50B and 50C are met."