You can apply for a UK Tourist Visa from India maximum 3 months prior to your travel. You should get the decision within 3 weeks once you have paid the Visa fee. However, it can take longer in some cases.

The documents required when you apply for a UK Tourist Visa from India are:

• Latest passport or any other valid travel document

• A blank page in the Passport for Visa and the Passport must be valid for your entire stay in the UK

You will have to provide certified translated copies of documents that are not in Welsh or English.

You may have to provide extra documents if you are re-arriving at the UK:

• For private medical treatment

• As an academic on sabbatical intending to stay for 1 year

• To apply as a donor of an organ

• As a potential Entrepreneur

• To take the PLAB – Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board test or sit the OSCE – Objective Structured Clinical Examination

• In transit to a nation outside the Channel Islands, Isle of Man, Ireland, and the UK

Other details that you will require include:

• The dates that you are planning for arriving and staying in the UK

• Details of the places where you will stay during your visit

• Approximation of the cost of your trip

• Your existing home address and the duration that you have been residing there

• The names and dates of birth of your parent

• Your annual earnings

You can also require:

• Your travel history details for the last ten years as per your Passport

• Address and telephone number of your employer

• Name, date of birth and Passport number of your partner

• The name and address of the person if they are paying for your trip

• Name, address and passport numbers of your family members in the UK if any

• Details of any immigration, civil, or criminal offenses if you have committed

You have to apply for the UK Tourist Visa online from India. You will have to book an appointment at a VAC in India as a part of your online application. You must also make payment of the required Visa fee.

Your biometric details must be submitted at your appointment. This includes digital face photograph and your fingerprints. The following information must also be carried:

• Your appointment confirmation and fee payment receipt if any

• Print-out of your application form dated and signed

• Your valid travel document or Passport with a minimum 1-page blank on both sides

• Supporting documents in originals and with translation in English if not in the English language

The UK Tourist Visa fee from 29 March 2019 is as follows:

• Short-term (Single or Multiple entries, up to 6 months) – 95 Pounds

• Long-term (Valid for a maximum of 2 years) – 361 Pounds

• Long-term (Valid for a maximum of 5 years) – 655 Pounds

• Long-term (Valid for maximum 10 years) – 822 Pounds

The Standard Visitor visa has replaced the:

• Family Visitor visa

• General Visitor visa

• Child Visitor visa

• Business Visitor visa, including visas for academics, doctors and dentists

• Sports Visitor visa

• Entertainer Visitor visa

• Prospective Entrepreneur visa

• Private Medical Treatment Visitor visa

• Approved Destination Status (ADS) visa

With the UK standard visitor visa, you can:

• Participate in business related activities

• Study in the country for up to 30 days if you have taken the visa for this purpose

• Take part in an exchange program or educational visit if you are under 18 years of age

• Pass through the UK in transit when travelling to another country

However, with this visa you cannot:

• Live in the country for long periods through frequent visits

• Do paid or unpaid work during your stay here

• Marry or enter a civil partnership or give a notice for the same

• Obtain public funds