Visa nationals

Visa nationals are those who need a visa for every entry to the United Kingdom (UK), though some may be able to “Transit Without Visa”. Those who need visas for transit as well are listed below under Direct Airside transit.

Afghanistan

Georgia

Pakistan

Albania

Ghana

Peru

Algeria

Guinea

Palestinian Authority

Angola

Guinea Bissau

Philippines

Armenia

Guyana

Qatar

Azerbaijan

Haiti

Russia

Bahrain

India

Rwanda

Bangladesh

Indonesia

Sao Tome & Principe

Belarus

Iran

Saudi Arabia

Benin

Iraq

Senegal

Bhutan

Ivory Coast

Serbia

Bolivia**

Jamaica***

Sierra Leone

Bosnia-Herzegovina

Jordan

Somalia

Burkina Faso

Kazakhstan

South Africa*

Burma (Myanmar)

Kenya

Sri Lanka

Burundi

Korea (Dem. People's Rep)

Sudan 

Cambodia

Kosovo

Surinam

Cameroon

Kuwait

Swaziland*

Cape Verde

Kyrgyzstan

Syria

Central African Republic

Laos

Tajikistan

Chad

Lebanon

Tanzania

China, People's Rep.of

Lesotho*

Thailand

Colombia

Liberia 

Togo

Comoros

Libya 

Tunisia

Congo, Democratic Republic of

Macedonia 

Turkey

Congo, Republic of

Madagascar

Turkmenistan

Cuba

Malawi

Uganda

Cyprus, northern part of

Mali 

Ukraine 

Djibouti 

Mauritania 

United Arab Emirates 

Dominican Republic 

Moldova

Uzbekistan 

Ecuador 

Mongolia

Vatican City (service & emergency passports only) 

Egypt 

Montenegro

Venezuela** 

Equatorial Guinea 

Morocco

Vietnam 

Eritrea 

Mozambique 

Yemen

Ethiopia

Nepal 

Zambia

Fiji  

Niger

Zimbabwe

Gabon 

Nigeria 

Gambia

Oman

 

 

* Since 1 July 2009, nationals of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland need a visa to enter or transit through the UK.

** Since 18 May 2009, nationals of Bolivia and Venezuela need a visa to enter or transit through the UK.  Venezuelan nationals holding valid biometric passports containing an electronic chip issued since 2007 will be exempt from the visa requirement.

*** Since 3 March 2009, nationals of Jamaica need a visa to enter or transit through the UK.

Direct Airside Transit Visa (DATV) nationals

In addition to needing a visa to enter the United Kingdom, nationals of the following countries also need a visa to transit through the UK, known as Direct Airside Transit Visa (DATV

Afghanistan

Kosovo 

Albania

Lebanon

Algeria

Lesotho***

Angola

Liberia

Bangladesh

Macedonia

Belarus

Malawi

Bolivia**

Moldova

Burma

Mongolia

Burundi

Montenegro

Cameroon

Nepal

China, Peoples Republic of

Nigeria 

Colombia

Palestinian Authority

Congo

Pakistan

Congo, Democratic Republic of

Rwanda

Cyprus, northern part of  

Senegal

Ecuador

Serbia (including documents issued by the United Nations Mission in Kosovo)

Eritrea

Sierra Leone

Ethiopia

South Africa*

Gambia

Sudan

Ghana 

Somalia

Guinea

Sri Lanka

Guinea-Bissau

Swaziland***

India

Tanzania

Iran

Turkey

Iraq

Uganda

Ivory Coast

Venezuela**

Jamaica***

Vietnam

Kenya

Zimbabwe

 

* Since 1 July 2009, nationals of South Africa need a visa to enter or transit through the UK.

** Since 18 May 2009, nationals of Bolivia and Venezuela need a visa to enter or transit through the UK.  Venezuelan nationals holding valid biometric passports containing an electronic chip issued since 2007 will be exempt from the visa requirement.

*** Since 1 July 2009, nationals of Lesotho and Swaziland need a visa to enter or transit through the UK.


Passengers exempt from the DATV requirement

Holders of certain documents are, regardless of nationality, exempt from the requirement to hold a Direct Airside Transit Visa when transiting the UK.

A transit passenger is not required to hold a transit visa if he holds, or a person with whom he arrives in the United Kingdom holds on his behalf:

a.     a valid visa for entry to Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the United States of America and a valid airline ticket for travel via the United Kingdom as part of a journey from another country or territory to the country for which the visa is held;

b.    a valid visa for entry to Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the United States of America and a valid airline ticket for travel via the United Kingdom as part of a journey from the country for which the visa is held to another country or territory;

c.     a valid airline ticket for travel via the United Kingdom as part of a journey from Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the United States of America to another country or territory, provided that the transit passenger does not seek to transit the United Kingdom on a date more than six months from the date on which they last entered Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the United States of America with a valid visa for entry to that country;

d.    a valid USA I-551 Permanent Resident Card issued on or after 21st April 1998;

e.     a valid Canadian Permanent Resident Card issued on or after 28th June 2002;

f.     a valid common format Category D visa for entry to an EEA State;

g.    a valid common format residence permit issued by an EEA State pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No. 1030/2002;

h.     a diplomatic or service passport issued by the People’s Republic of China; or

i.      a diplomatic or official passport issued by India; or

j.      a diplomatic or official passport issued by Vietnam.

Notes:

1.     A valid U.S. immigrant visa packet (form 155A/155B) is a valid visa for DATV exemption purposes.

2.     An expired I-551 Permanent Resident Card issued on or after 21 April 1998 when accompanied by an I-797 letter issued by the Bureau of Citizenship authorising its extension, exempts the holder from the DATV requirement.

3.     Holding either an I-512 Parole letter or an I-797C (Notice of Action) instead of a valid U.S. visa; or a Transportation Letter instead of a valid U.S. Permanent Residence Card issued on or after 21 April 1998; or a U.S Visa Foil endorsed, "NOT A VISA. FOIL PREPARED AT DHS REQUEST" does NOT qualify for exemption from the DAT visa requirement.

4.     Holding a valid travel document with a U.S. ADIT stamp worded – “Processed for I-551. TEMPORARY EVIDENCE OF LAWFUL ADMISSION FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE VALID UNTIL…. EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZED” does NOT qualify for exemption from the DAT visa requirement.

5.     Whether holders of non-national (including refugee travel documents) require a DATV depends on their nationality and whether they qualify for one of the exemptions listed above. So, for instance, the holder of a non-national travel document (for example, a refugee travel document) who is a national or a citizen of one of the countries listed on the DATV list (for example, Afghanistan) will require a direct airside transit visa if they are travelling to the UK to transit on to a third country.

Transiting to the Republic of Ireland

Passengers must pass through immigration control in order to take a flight to Ireland. Visa nationals (and passengers qualifying for DATV exemption above) may Transit without Visa providing they fullfil the TWOV conditions and are properly documented for entry into Ireland.

DATV nationals transiting to Ireland must obtain a visit visa - not a Visitor in Transit visa which is only for transit to a destination outside the Common Travel Area (Rules HC395 paragraph 47 refers).

All visa nationals wishing to transit the UK but spend longer doing so than the 24 hours permitted under the TWOV concession must obtain a visitor in transit visa for stays up to 48 hours or a visit visa.