UK Visa Types and Categories: Complete 2026 List

UK visas are grouped by purpose: work, study, family, visit, talent and business, settlement, and specialised or humanitarian routes. There is no single "UK visa" application. The right route is chosen by reason for entry, with the fee, eligibility test, and supporting documents set by that route's own Immigration Rules.

Work visas

Work routes cover people coming to the UK for paid employment with a UK-based sponsor or, in a small number of routes, on a self-sponsored basis. Most work routes sit within the Points-Based System.

• Skilled Worker visa: the principal work route. Requires a UK sponsor with a Home Office sponsor licence, a Certificate of Sponsorship for an eligible occupation, a minimum salary at the relevant threshold, and English language at B1 CEFR.
• Health and Care Worker visa: a Skilled Worker variant for eligible roles in the NHS, social care, and adult care. Lower fees and Immigration Health Surcharge exemption apply for eligible occupations.
• Senior or Specialist Worker visa (Global Business Mobility): for senior employees of overseas businesses transferring to a UK linked entity.
• Graduate Trainee visa (Global Business Mobility): for trainees on structured graduate programmes posted to the UK arm of a multinational.
• UK Expansion Worker visa: for senior staff sent to set up a new UK arm of an overseas business.
• Service Supplier visa: for contractual service suppliers from countries with a relevant trade agreement.
• Secondment Worker visa: for secondees on a high-value contract or investment between an overseas business and a UK business.
• Minister of Religion visa: for people taking a position in a UK faith community.
• International Sportsperson visa: for elite-level sportspeople and coaches endorsed by their UK governing body.
• Seasonal Worker visa: for short-term agricultural and poultry work under quotas set each year.

The list of approved sponsors and the Home Office fee schedule for each route are at GOV.UK: visas and immigration.

Study visas

Study routes are for people taking a place at a UK educational institution.

• Student visa: for adults studying a course at degree level or, in some cases, at below-degree level. Requires a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies from a Home Office-licensed sponsor, English language evidence, and funds for fees and maintenance.
• Child Student visa: for children aged 4 to 17 attending an independent fee-paying school in the UK.
• Short-term Study visa: for short English language courses of 6 to 11 months at accredited institutions.
• Graduate visa: a post-study route allowing eligible graduates of UK higher education to stay and work for 2 years (3 for PhDs). No sponsor required.

The Student visa is by some way the largest study route by volume. The Graduate visa is unsponsored, so it does not require a job offer or salary threshold to be granted; subsequent switches into work routes do.

Family and partner visas

Family routes are for people joining a UK-based partner, spouse, parent, or other qualifying relative.

• Spouse or Partner visa (Appendix FM): for the husband, wife, civil partner, or unmarried partner of a British citizen, settled person, refugee, or person with humanitarian protection. Subject to the Minimum Income Requirement and English language tests.
• Fiance, Proposed Civil Partner visa: for someone coming to the UK to marry or form a civil partnership within six months, after which they switch to a Spouse or Partner visa.
• Parent visa: for the parent of a British or settled child where the parent has sole responsibility or shared parental responsibility under specific conditions.
• Child of a settled person or visa holder: dependent child applications attached to a parent's leave or settlement.
• Adult Dependent Relative visa: for an elderly or seriously ill parent, grandparent, sibling, or adult child of a British citizen or settled person, where personal care needed cannot reasonably be obtained in the country of residence.

The family route Immigration Rules sit in Appendix FM and Appendix FM-SE of the Immigration Rules. The Minimum Income Requirement and English-language thresholds apply to the partner routes.

Visit visas

Visit routes are for short-term entry to the UK for tourism, business meetings, visiting family, or a small list of permitted paid engagements. Visit visas do not lead to settlement and do not allow study beyond short courses or work beyond very limited categories.

• Standard Visitor visa: the main short-stay route, up to six months, for tourism, business visits, visiting friends and family, private medical treatment, and a defined list of permitted activities.
• Marriage Visitor visa: for people coming to marry or form a civil partnership in the UK without then settling.
• Permitted Paid Engagement visa: for short paid engagements such as a one-month lecture series or an examiner role.
• Transit visa: for changing flights or travelling through the UK to another destination.

Nationals of many countries do not need a visit visa for short stays but may need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) instead. The ETA is a digital pre-travel permission issued before boarding; it is not a visa but is required for visa-exempt nationalities before flying to the UK.

Talent and business routes

Talent and business routes are for people whose case for coming is exceptional skill, founding a business, or making a significant economic contribution. They do not require an employer sponsor.

• Global Talent visa: for leaders and emerging leaders in academic research, arts and culture, and digital technology, endorsed by an approved UK body. No employer sponsor or salary threshold; the endorsement is the gate.
• Innovator Founder visa: for people setting up an innovative, viable, and scalable business in the UK, with an endorsement from an approved endorsing body.
• High Potential Individual visa: for recent graduates of universities on the Home Office's Global Universities List. No job offer required; valid for 2 years (3 for PhDs).
• Scale-up visa: for high-skilled employees sponsored by a UK scale-up business, with reduced restrictions after the first six months.
• UK Expansion Worker (Global Business Mobility): for the small team setting up a UK arm of an overseas business.

The Investor visa closed to new applicants in February 2022 and is no longer a current route. Older Tier 1 (Investor) holders may still be on their original leave but no new applications are accepted.

Settlement and citizenship

Settlement is the grant of Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), the UK's permanent residence status. Citizenship (British naturalisation or registration) is the further step taken by most settled people after one year on ILR (immediately for spouses of British citizens).

• Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR): granted on completion of a qualifying period on a settlement-eligible route (typically five years for Skilled Worker, family, and Global Talent; ten years on Long Residence). Requires the Life in the UK test and English-language B1.
• EU Settlement Scheme: settled status for EU, EEA, and Swiss citizens and their family members who were resident in the UK before the end of the Brexit transition period.
• BN(O) Hong Kong visa: for British National (Overseas) status holders from Hong Kong and their families, with a five-year route to settlement.
• British naturalisation: registration of British citizenship by an adult who has been settled for at least 12 months (or who is married to a British citizen).

Different fees and absence rules apply to each settlement route. The ILR application fee is published in the visa fee schedule. The Life in the UK test fee and approved English-language test fee are separate.

Specialised and humanitarian routes

Several routes outside the main work, study, and family families respond to specific humanitarian or community-tie situations.

• Ukraine schemes: the Ukraine Family Scheme (closed to new applicants in February 2024), the Homes for Ukraine sponsorship route, and the Ukraine Extension Scheme for people already in the UK.
• Afghan schemes: the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) for eligible people resettled from Afghanistan.
• Refugee Family Reunion: for the pre-flight partner and children of someone granted refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK. No application fee, no income requirement, and a specific evidence test.
• Ancestry visa: for Commonwealth citizens aged 17 or over with a grandparent born in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, or in Ireland before 1922. Five-year route to settlement.
• Right of Abode: not a visa but a recognition document for Commonwealth citizens with a UK-born parent under specific historic conditions.

What about a "UK Heritage" visa? There is no UK visa called the Heritage visa. The closest matches are the Ancestry visa (for Commonwealth citizens with a UK-born grandparent) and the BN(O) Hong Kong route (for British National (Overseas) status holders). Both are described above.

What about a "UK Lottery" visa? There is no UK Lottery visa. The UK does not run a Diversity Visa programme equivalent to the United States DV-1 lottery. Public-facing UK immigration routes are by qualifying criteria, not by random selection.

How to choose the right route

The GOV.UK route checker at GOV.UK: check if you need a UK visa walks the applicant through a short series of questions and points to the right starting page. Use it before any other research. It will route to the visit, ETA, or full visa application depending on nationality and reason for coming.

For longer-term cases, the structural questions are:

1. What is the reason for coming? (work, study, family, business setup, humanitarian, visit)
2. Is there a UK sponsor for that reason? (employer, educational institution, family member, endorsing body)
3. Does the applicant meet the route's specific eligibility test? (salary threshold, financial requirement, English language, age)
4. How long is the intended stay? (visitor up to six months, work up to five years and renewable, family up to thirty months and renewable, talent up to five years)
5. Is settlement intended at the end? (yes for most work, family, and talent routes; no for visit, Graduate, or Short-term Study)

If the answer to question one is "joining a UK-based partner or family member", the family route family is the right starting point. If the answer is "taking up a job offer with a UK employer", the work route family is. If the answer is "studying at a UK institution", the study route family is. If the case is humanitarian, the specialised routes are the right place to start. Each route then has its own fee, evidence requirements, and processing-time targets published on GOV.UK.

For complex cases, particularly where a previous refusal exists, where there are family-life arguments under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, or where a switch between routes inside the UK is needed, an OISC-registered immigration adviser or a solicitor regulated by the SRA is the appropriate professional contact.

Frequently asked questions

How many UK visa categories are there?

The UK immigration system groups visas into seven broad categories: work, study, family, visit, talent and business, settlement, and specialised or humanitarian routes. Within those categories there are around forty individual routes set out in the Immigration Rules, each with its own eligibility criteria and fee.

Is there a UK "Heritage" visa for people with British family roots?

No UK visa is officially called the Heritage visa. The closest equivalents are the Ancestry visa (for Commonwealth citizens with a UK-born grandparent) and the British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) Hong Kong visa. Eligibility for each is set in the Immigration Rules; check GOV.UK for the current criteria.

Does the UK have a visa lottery like the US Diversity Visa?

No. The UK does not operate a Diversity Visa lottery. There is no randomised allocation route into the UK immigration system. All UK visas require the applicant to meet the specific eligibility criteria of a named route.

What is the difference between a work visa and a sponsor licence?

The visa is held by the worker. The sponsor licence is held by the UK employer that wishes to employ a foreign worker. Both must be in place: the employer applies for and maintains a sponsor licence, then issues a Certificate of Sponsorship to a named worker, who then applies for a Skilled Worker (or relevant) visa.

Can I switch from one UK visa type to another from inside the UK?

Many switches are allowed under the Immigration Rules: Student to Skilled Worker, Graduate to Skilled Worker, partner of a settled person to Spouse, and so on. Some switches are not allowed, particularly from visitor routes. The official switching matrix is on GOV.UK, and the specific switch fee is the same as the application fee for the destination route.

Is the UK Investor visa still open?

No. The Tier 1 (Investor) visa closed to new applicants on 17 February 2022. Holders of existing Tier 1 (Investor) leave may continue on their original visas until they expire, but no fresh applications are accepted. The replacement for high-net-worth entrepreneurs is the Innovator Founder visa, which has different criteria.

Where is the official list of all UK visa routes?

The starting point is GOV.UK: visas and immigration, which links to every current route. The route checker at GOV.UK: check if you need a UK visa walks an applicant through a few questions and points to the correct page. The Immigration Rules themselves are published on legislation.gov.uk and on the Home Office pages on GOV.UK.