UK Transit visa

What is a UK transit visa?

GOV.UK's guidance is titled "Visa to pass through the UK in transit". You might need one if you are passing through the UK on your way to another country. Which of the two transit visas applies depends on whether you will go through UK border control when you arrive; your airline can tell you.

Whether you need a transit visa at all depends on your nationality and, for many travellers, on the other visas and permits you hold. GOV.UK's "Check if you need a UK visa" service gives a definitive answer for your nationality and journey.

The two transit visas

• Direct Airside Transit visa (DATV) — £41.50

  For passengers changing flights in the UK on the way to another country who will not go through UK border control. You stay in the airport transit area. You must apply for another type of visitor visa instead if you are travelling to or from Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.

• Visitor in Transit visa — £74.50

  For passengers changing flights who will go through UK border control — for example to check in luggage for a connecting flight — and who will leave the UK within 48 hours and will not work or study while here.

If you need to stay more than 48 hours, or to pass through the UK frequently over a period of more than 6 months, you need a Standard Visitor visa rather than a Visitor in Transit visa. A long-term Standard Visitor visa (2, 5 or 10 years, 6 months per visit) is available for regular transit. Holders of an ETA do not need to apply for a Standard Visitor visa.

Eligibility in detail

Transit visas are visitor visas. The genuine visitor requirements apply, narrowed to a journey of no more than 48 hours.

• Genuinely in transit

  You are changing flights in the UK on your way to another country. Your onward journey should be booked or confirmed, and you may be asked to prove it.

• You will leave within 48 hours

  For a Visitor in Transit visa. A DATV holder does not enter the UK at all.

• Admissible to your destination

  If you are not a national of the country you are travelling to, you must show you are allowed to enter it — a residence permit, green card or valid visa. If you are neither a national nor a resident there, you may need to explain why you are going and where you will stay.

• No work or study

  The Visitor in Transit visa is only for passengers who will not work or study while in the UK.

• Funds and intention

  As a visitor you must be able to support yourself during the stopover and intend to leave — the decision maker will look at the coherence of your journey.

• Valid passport or travel document

  A current passport or other valid travel document is required.

What you can and cannot do

Transit visas are the narrowest visitor permission.

You can:

• DATV: change flights in the UK without going through UK border control, remaining in the airport transit area.
• Visitor in Transit: go through UK border control — for example to check in luggage for a connecting flight — and continue your onward journey, leaving the UK within 48 hours.

You cannot:

• stay in the UK for more than 48 hours on a Visitor in Transit visa
• enter the UK, collect baggage or leave the airport on a DATV
• work or study
• use a DATV to travel to or from Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man — another visitor visa is required
• rely on a transit visa for frequent transits over more than 6 months — a Standard Visitor visa is required
• marry, register a civil partnership or claim public funds (as with every visitor route)

Transit Without Visa: passing through border control

GOV.UK's conditions for visa nationals to transit landside without a Visitor in Transit visa, reproduced as published.

You may be eligible to transit without a visa if:

• you arrive and depart by air
• you have a confirmed onward flight that leaves on the day you arrive or before midnight on the day after you arrive
• you have the right documents for your destination (for example a visa for that country)

One of the following must also apply:

• you are travelling to (or on part of a reasonable journey to) Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the USA and have a valid visa for that country
• you are travelling from (or on part of a reasonable journey from) Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the USA and have a valid visa for that country
• you are travelling from (or on part of a reasonable journey from) Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the USA and it is less than 6 months since you last entered that country with a valid entry visa
• you have a permanent residence permit issued by Australia or New Zealand
• you have a common format residence permit issued by a European Economic Area (EEA) country or Switzerland
• you have a permanent residence permit issued by Canada on or after 28 June 2002
• you have a uniform format category D visa for entry to a country in the EEA or Switzerland
• you have an Irish biometric visa (marked 'BC' or 'BC BIVS' in the 'Remarks' section) and an onward flight ticket to the Republic of Ireland
• you are travelling from the Republic of Ireland and it is less than 3 months since you were last given permission, on the basis of holding a valid Irish biometric visa, to land or be in Ireland
• you have a valid USA permanent residence card issued by the USA on or after 21 April 1998
• you have a valid USA I-551 Temporary Immigrant visa issued by the USA (a wet-ink stamp version will not be accepted)
• you have an expired USA I-551 Permanent Residence card issued by the USA on or after 21 April 1998, with a valid I-797 letter authorising extension
• you have a valid standalone US Immigration Form 155A/155B issued by the USA (attached to a sealed brown envelope)

Transit Without Visa: staying airside

GOV.UK's list of documents that remove the need for a Direct Airside Transit visa, reproduced as published.

You do not need a Direct Airside Transit visa if you have one of the following:

• a visa for Canada, New Zealand, Australia or the USA (this can be used for travel to any country)
• a permanent resident visa issued by Australia or New Zealand
• a common format residence permit issued by a European Economic Area (EEA) country or Switzerland
• a permanent resident card issued by Canada on or after 28 June 2002
• a uniform format category D visa for entry into a country in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland
• an Irish biometric visa (marked 'BC' or 'BC BIVS' in the 'Remarks' section)
• a Schengen Approved Destination Scheme (ADS) group tourism visa where the holder is travelling to a Schengen country
• a flight ticket from the Schengen area, if you can prove that you entered the Schengen area in the previous 30 days on the basis of a valid Schengen ADS visa
• a valid USA I-551 Temporary Immigrant visa issued by the USA (a wet-ink stamp version will not be accepted)
• a valid USA permanent residence card issued by the USA on or after 21 April 1998
• an expired USA I-551 Permanent Residence card issued by the USA on or after 21 April 1998, with a valid I-797 letter authorising extension
• a valid standalone US Immigration Form 155A/155B issued by the USA (attached to a sealed brown envelope)

ETAs and transit

• If your nationality is eligible for an ETA, you need one to pass through border control at a UK airport before continuing your onward journey. Check with your airline if you are not sure.
• You do not need an ETA if you transit airside without passing through border control.
• Holding an ETA means you do not need a Visitor in Transit visa or a DATV, and you do not need a Standard Visitor visa for a stopover of more than 48 hours.
• An ETA costs £20, lasts 2 years or until your passport expires, and does not guarantee entry. Decisions usually arrive within a day but can take up to 3 working days.
• Visa nationals cannot get an ETA. Their options are a transit visa or the Transit Without Visa conditions above.

Fees and costs

Figures as published on GOV.UK, last updated 13 November 2024. GOV.UK notes transit fees may change slightly depending on which country you apply from. No Immigration Health Surcharge applies.

Direct Airside Transit visa

£41.50

Visitor in Transit visa

£74.50

Standard Visitor visa — if staying over 48 hours

£135

Electronic travel authorisation — if your nationality is eligible

£20

Biometrics (fingerprints and photograph)

No fee

Faster decision services

Vary by country — check with your visa application centre

Processing times

Published UKVI processing times for applications made outside the UK, last updated 26 June 2026.

Transit (DATV and Visitor in Transit) — decision after your appointment

3 weeks

Standard Visitor

3 weeks

ETA — decision by email

Usually within a day; up to 3 working days

Processing starts when you attend your visa application centre appointment and ends when you receive the decision email. Times are based on the UK working week and include UK public holidays. GOV.UK says you may be able to get your visa faster, or access other services, depending on the country you are in — check with your visa application centre. You are not required to book travel before you apply, though you may be asked to show that your onward journey is booked or confirmed.

Documents you will need

• A current passport or other valid travel document.
• If you are not a national of the country you are travelling to: evidence you are allowed to enter it, such as a residence permit, green card or valid visa.
• If you are neither a national nor a resident of your destination: an explanation of why you are going there, and possibly details of where you are staying.
• Proof that your onward journey is booked or confirmed — a flight booking email, a printed or mobile ticket or boarding pass, or confirmation from a travel agent.
• For a Visitor in Transit visa, evidence of your circumstances at home that supports your intention to continue your journey and not remain in the UK.
• Bring your visa and documents with you when you travel through the UK.

Application process

Common refusal reasons

Each of these maps to a requirement in the Visitor Rules or to the general grounds for refusal. A refusal letter will tell you which applied.

• The decision maker is not satisfied you are genuinely in transit — the onward journey is not booked or confirmed, or the routing through the UK does not make sense for the stated destination.
• You cannot show you are allowed to enter your destination country — no visa, residence permit or other admission document where one is required.
• The stopover exceeds 48 hours, or the pattern of travel shows frequent transits better suited to a Standard Visitor visa.
• The decision maker is not satisfied you will leave the UK — ties to your home country or to your destination are not evidenced.
• Funds for the stopover and onward travel are not evidenced.
• The wrong visa was applied for — a DATV where you will in fact pass through border control, or a transit visa for a journey to Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.
• Previous overstaying, breach of conditions or deception in a UK application, engaging the general grounds for refusal.
• Criminal convictions or other conduct within the general grounds for refusal.
• False or undisclosed information, or documents that cannot be verified.

Source note

Information sourced from GOV.UK ("Visa to pass through the UK in transit", last updated 13 November 2024; "Check if you need a UK visa" transit outcomes for the Transit Without Visa conditions, accessed 26 August 2026; "Get an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) to visit the UK", last updated 28 May 2025; "Visa processing times: applications outside the UK", last updated 26 June 2026) and reproduced under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Rules change; we verify requirements at the point of instruction.

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