How do you get a UK visit visa from Pakistan? (2026)

Do Pakistanis need a visa to visit the UK, or is an ETA enough?

You need a visa. Pakistan is on the visa national list in Appendix Visitor, which names the nationalities that must get entry clearance before travelling to the UK for any purpose. Paragraph V 1.1 of Appendix V: Visitor says a visa national must apply for and obtain entry clearance before arriving. A family wedding, a London holiday and a business meeting all need the same thing.

Where the ETA fits in

The electronic travel authorisation, or ETA, is a digital permission for nationalities that do not need a visa, such as visitors from Europe, the USA, Canada and Australia. Pakistan is not on the GOV.UK ETA eligibility page, which says other nationalities cannot get an ETA and should check whether they need a visa instead. If anyone offers you an ETA on a Pakistani passport, walk away.

Is the Standard Visitor visa the right one?

For tourism, family visits, most business trips and short courses, yes. Marriage in the UK needs a Marriage Visitor visa. A degree needs a Student visa, covered in the guide to studying in the UK from Pakistan. A UK job needs a work visa, such as the route in the UK Skilled Worker visa guide. Applying as a visitor when your real plan is study or work is a quick route to refusal.

What can you do in the UK on a visit visa?

GOV.UK says you can usually stay for up to 6 months. The visit has to be the real purpose, and you have to go home afterwards.

Tourism and visiting family

Sightseeing, visiting relatives, family events and volunteering of up to 30 days are all permitted. Many Pakistani families apply to see children, siblings or grandchildren settled in the UK.

Business visits

The GOV.UK business visitor page lists the permitted activities. The main ones are:

• attending interviews, meetings, conferences and seminars;
• negotiating and signing deals and contracts;
• promoting your business at trade fairs, without selling anything there;
• carrying out site visits and inspections;
• work-related training not available at home, if you are employed overseas.

A Lahore exporter meeting a buyer in Leicester fits these rules. A developer doing paid project work for a London client does not.

Short courses and study

The GOV.UK visit to study page allows up to 6 months of study at an accredited institution, including English language courses, but not at an academy or state-funded school. GOV.UK also lists recreational courses of up to 30 days. A degree needs a study visa.

What you cannot do

• Do paid or unpaid work, apart from the permitted activities above.
• Claim public funds or benefits.
• Live in the UK for long periods through frequent or successive visits.
• Marry or register a civil partnership without a Marriage Visitor visa.

How much does a UK visit visa cost from Pakistan?

As of 15 September 2026, the Home Office fee table in force since 8 April 2026 and the GOV.UK application page both list the figures below. A fee table dated 8 October 2026 shows the same visit visa amounts. Check again on the day you pay.

The fees are set in pounds, so the rupee amount depends on the exchange rate when you pay. GOV.UK says there is no refund if you are refused, or if you are given a shorter visa than you applied for. A long-term visa granted to someone under 18 is only valid until 6 months after their 18th birthday.

A long-term visa suits someone with a settled pattern of visits, such as parents who see a daughter in Birmingham every year and always leave on time. For a first visit, a 6-month visa is usually the sensible choice. Paying for 10 years does not make a thin file stronger.

How long does a UK visit visa decision take?

On its visa processing times page, GOV.UK gives 3 weeks for a Standard Visitor visa applied for outside the UK. That is a usual time, not a promise, and files needing extra checks can take longer. The earliest you can apply is 3 months before you travel, so plan backwards from your travel date.

Priority and super priority services in Pakistan

The GOV.UK faster decision page describes two paid options. Priority costs £500 on top of the visa fee and usually brings a decision within 5 working days. Super priority costs £1,000 and usually brings a decision by the end of the next working day.

VFS Global’s Pakistan pages list visit visas as eligible for both the priority service and the super priority service, but availability can vary by centre. If the option does not appear when you book, it is not available to you. VFS Global also warns that cases which are not straightforward, such as those with an earlier UK, US, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand or Schengen refusal, may miss the faster timescale. The extra fee is not refunded after a refusal.

What documents do you need for a UK visit visa?

The GOV.UK application page says you need a passport valid for your whole stay. The form asks for your travel dates, accommodation, trip costs, home address, parents’ names and dates of birth, income, any criminal or immigration history, and, depending on your circumstances, your travel history for the past 10 years.

Beyond that, the Home Office guide to supporting documents for visitors describes evidence that helps. There is no single checklist for everyone. A strong file is one where the documents fit together.

Bank statements and funds

The guide asks for financial documents that clearly show you have access to the money, such as bank statements showing where the funds came from. For most applicants, that means PKR statements from your own account, issued or stamped by the bank, long enough to show your normal pattern of income and spending. The guide lists bank statements and letters issued more than a year before the date of application among the documents you should not use as evidence.

Income and employment

If you are employed, the guide suggests a letter from your employer on company headed paper, confirming your start date, salary, role and the company’s contact details. In Pakistan, support it with recent salary slips, an approved leave letter or NOC for your travel dates, and your FBR income tax return with your NTN if you file one.

Business or property evidence

If you run a business, show that it exists and pays you: registration papers, chamber of commerce membership, FBR returns and business bank statements. Property documents in your name support your reasons to return, but they do not replace evidence of income.

Travel history

The guide suggests copies of previous passports showing travel to other countries. Earlier trips abroad, each followed by a return to Pakistan on time, help show that you travel and come home. Bring your old passports.

Invitation letter, accommodation and sponsor documents

If you are visiting family, a letter from your host should give their name, address, UK immigration status, your relationship, the dates of your visit and who is paying for what. Add proof of their status and address. If you are staying in a hotel, a booking you can cancel shows where you will stay.

If someone else is paying, paragraph V 4.3 of Appendix V only counts that support where the person has a genuine relationship with you, is not in breach of UK immigration law, and can and will provide it. So include the sponsor’s own bank statements or income evidence, not just a letter. A NADRA Family Registration Certificate helps prove a family relationship.

Translations

A document not in English or Welsh needs a full translation the Home Office can verify, with the translator’s confirmation that it is accurate, their name, signature, contact details and the date. Many property papers in Pakistan are in Urdu, so allow time for this.

When I review a visitor file, I start by putting the bank statements next to the employment evidence and the application form. If the salary in the letter, the credits in the statement and the income on the form do not agree, that is the first thing to fix.

How do you prove ties to Pakistan and pass the genuine visitor test?

Paragraph V 4.2 of Appendix V: Visitor sets out the genuine visitor requirement. The decision-maker must be satisfied that you:

• will leave the UK at the end of your visit;
• will not live in the UK for extended periods through frequent or successive visits, or make it your main home;
• are coming for a purpose the visitor route permits;
• will not undertake prohibited activities, such as work;
• have enough money for all reasonable costs of the visit, including the return journey, without working or using public funds.

What counts as a tie to Pakistan

Ties are the reasons you will come home. A permanent job with approved leave, a business you run, studies you are part way through, a spouse and children staying behind, property you manage: each helps. So does a record of travelling abroad and returning on time. The aim is to show a life in Lahore, Islamabad, Karachi or wherever you live that you are clearly going back to.

A trip that makes sense for your life

When I read a visitor file as a lawyer, the question I ask first is simple: does this trip make sense for this person? A two-week holiday costing a modest share of your savings reads naturally. A five-month stay planned by someone with a new job and little income does not. Match the length of the visit to your leave, and the cost to your means.

Do you need a TB test for a UK visit visa from Pakistan?

Usually not. Pakistan is on the list of countries where a TB test is needed, but the GOV.UK TB test page applies it when you are coming to the UK for 6 months or more. A Standard Visitor visa is for up to 6 months, so an ordinary visit does not need one. If you plan a longer stay, for example for medical treatment, check the TB rules for that visa.

How do you apply, step by step?

Everything starts online on GOV.UK, and biometrics are then taken in Pakistan. The GOV.UK visa application centre finder sends Pakistani applicants to VFS Global. As of 15 September 2026, the VFS Global UK centre page for Pakistan lists visa application centres in Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore, and a premium application centre in Mirpur. At your appointment, GOV.UK says you must prove your identity with your passport and have your fingerprints and photo taken.

1. 1

   Confirm the visa and choose its length

   Pakistani passport holders need a visit visa, not an ETA. Choose a 6-month Standard Visitor visa, or a long-term 2, 5 or 10-year visa only if you already visit the UK regularly.

2. 2

   Gather and check your documents first

   Collect your passport, old passports, bank statements, income evidence, any invitation and sponsor documents, and translations of anything in Urdu. Check that dates, names and amounts agree before you start the form.

3. 3

   Complete the online application on GOV.UK

   Apply online through GOV.UK, no earlier than 3 months before you travel. Answer every question on income, travel history and previous refusals accurately, then pay the visa fee and keep a copy of the form.

4. 4

   Book your VFS Global appointment

   Book an appointment at a UK visa application centre in Pakistan through VFS Global. If priority or super priority is offered for your centre and visa type, it appears as an option during booking.

5. 5

   Attend the appointment and give biometrics

   Take your passport to the centre. Your fingerprints and photo are taken, and your supporting documents are submitted as your booking instructions describe.

6. 6

   Wait for the decision before paying for the trip

   GOV.UK says a decision usually takes about 3 weeks. Avoid non-refundable bookings until you have it, and check that the name, dates and passport details on your visa are correct.

What happens if your UK visit visa is refused?

The refusal notice explains which requirements the caseworker was not satisfied about. Read it line by line. It is the most useful document you have if you apply again.

Is there an appeal or administrative review?

In most cases, no. Administrative review covers only the routes listed in paragraph AR 1.1 of Appendix AR, and the visitor route is not one of them. The First-tier Tribunal hears appeals against decisions such as refused protection or human rights claims, not ordinary visit visa refusals. For most visitors, the realistic path is a better new application.

Reapplying after a refusal

A new application means a new fee. Speed does not help: an unchanged file tends to meet the same result and adds a second refusal to your history. List each reason in the letter and the evidence that now answers it. The guide to reading a refusal letter uses the same method, and it works for visitors too.

Always declare the refusal

Later applications ask about previous refusals. Under Part Suitability of the Immigration Rules, not disclosing relevant facts can count as deception. Paragraph SUI 9.1 requires refusal where deception is found, and SUI 12.1 sets a 10-year ban where deception was used in a previous application. A declared refusal can be explained. A hidden one is far harder to recover from.

What goes wrong most often?

Sudden deposits just before applying

A statement showing PKR 150,000 a month for a year, then PKR 2,000,000 arriving a week before the application, invites an obvious question: whose money is this? If a large sum genuinely arrived, such as from a property sale, prove its source with the sale deed and transfer record.

Funds with no explanation

Cash deposits of unclear origin, a balance your declared income could not produce, or a sponsor with no evidence of earnings all weaken a file. Money you cannot explain does not help, however large the figure.

Documents that tell different stories

The form says two weeks, the host’s letter says two months, and the leave letter says ten days. Each mismatch may be innocent, but together they make the file hard to believe. Check every date, name and amount before you submit.

Leaving out an earlier refusal

Applicants sometimes omit a Schengen, Canadian or old UK refusal, hoping it will not be noticed. The refusal is rarely the real problem; hiding it can be, because non-disclosure can lead to a deception refusal and a long ban.

Paying someone who promises a result

No one can guarantee a UK visa, and anyone offering “arranged” bank statements or invitation letters puts your future applications at risk. Before you pay any agent, read the guide to checking a visa consultant in Pakistan.

A realistic example

Take a hypothetical applicant, Ayesha, a school teacher from Multan. She is an illustration, not a real client. Her sister lives in Birmingham, and Ayesha wants to visit for three weeks over the winter school holidays, leaving on 20 December.

• Early September. She gathers a school letter with her salary and approved leave dates, six months of salary slips, her own bank statements showing that salary, and her FBR return.
• Mid September. Her sister sends an invitation letter, proof of her UK status and address, and confirms Ayesha will stay with her. A Family Registration Certificate shows they are sisters.
• Late September. Once her travel date is within 3 months, Ayesha completes the GOV.UK form, pays £135, and books the Lahore centre.
• Early October. She gives her fingerprints and photo, then waits for the decision before paying for flights.

Every document agrees: three weeks on the form, in the leave letter and in the invitation. The trip is affordable on her savings, and her job restarts in January.

The version that goes wrong

Now imagine her brother deposits PKR 1,500,000 into her account the week before she applies, to “make the balance look better”. Her leave is not yet approved, so that letter is missing. Her sister’s letter mentions two months, and Ayesha forgets to declare an old Schengen refusal. None of these is fatal alone. Together, they describe an applicant whose finances, purpose and history cannot be relied on.

Key takeaways

Frequently asked questions