Travel. For most of us, it’s the one thing we live for. While all the bookings and itinerary planning are the kind of things we start mapping out from months before, with sheer excitement and planning- the visa to even get to the country in the first place is something we often forget or leave out until the last moment.

A couple of hours away by flight, UK stands as one of the most popular destination Indians travel to abroad. Whether it's to visit many student or expat family and friends, or just to marvel at the beautiful city of London and the countryside's of Scotland and Wales. While you prep and plan for your holidays, this article gives you a detailed outline on how to secure your UK tourist visa from India.

Do Indians need a visa for UK?

Unless you’re an American, Canadian or Australian passport-holder, you have to compulsory apply for a tourist visa to travel to the UK. But don’t worry, a standard UK visitor visa from India takes about two weeks to process and contrary to random rumors, it’s not difficult to get. As long as you make sure you’ve got all your UK visa requirements from India in place and, submit all that’s been asked for.

Is there a visa on arrival for Indians traveling to the UK?

No, unfortunately there is no option to opt for a visa on arrival for Indian passport holders traveling to UK. So, applying for the standard UK tourist visa is the only way to go about it.

What is the fee for a UK tourist visa from India?

The processing fee for a UK tourist visa from India will cost you around Rs 7,981. However, in case you’re using a visa agent to expediate or make your process easier, the agent will also include an additional commission fee.

Documents required for UK Visa

• Ensure your passport is valid for more than 6-months. Also make sure you at least have two blank pages available for the visa.
• Bank statement of at least past three-months to prove you have enough funds for your travel.
• Two 45mm x 35mm (passport-sized) photographs.

• Filling the Application Form - Visit gov.uk and fill in your UK visit/tourist visa application. Make sure you fill in all your details correctly. Any information incorrectly mentioned can get your visa rejected. In case you need help with your visa process or require the process to be expedited, you can also apply through a visa agent in exchange for a small fee.
• Pay for the UK Visa Processing fee - After filling in your form, pay for the UK visa fees via a valid debit or credit card. The standard UK tourist visa from India should cost you around Rs 7,981/-
• Book your interview appointment - After the completion of your payment, you will be asked to book your interview date. Ensure that your appointment is on a date you are available. In case you want to reschedule your appointment, you will be required to fill in the UK visa application all over again!
• Carry your documents - While you go for your appointment, ensure you have printed copies of your application form, your UK visa fee receipt, and of course your passport
• Additional Documents - Additionally, it’s also handy to have documents such as your tentative flight bookings, hotels, your UK travel insurance world cup tickets, copies of your passport, etc just in case they ask for it. Supporting documents always make your application for a UK visitor visa from India stronger.
• UK Tourist Visa Processing Time - A standard UK tourist visa from India should generally take up to 2 weeks to process. But, just to be on the safe side, it’s always better to apply at least 3 weeks before.
• Travel Insurance for UK - People often ask, “do I really need travel insurance for UK?” and as mentioned earlier, it’s always better to be on the safe side and have one! Even if you’re not taking it to support visa documents, a travel insurance will protect you from all unfortunate situations whilst you’re traveling. The same can be bought online at any point before your travel.

• Traveling all the way to the UK is not a cheap affair. Moreover, if you’re traveling there for the world cup, we all know how pricey those stadium tickets are! The last thing you want is to be spending any more money on unplanned situations.
• Moreover, travel insurance today is not expensive and it's always a wiser choice to be safeguarded against any unplanned financial losses that may come your way whilst traveling. For instance; a digit travel insurance for UK for a one-week trip could cost you less than Rs 500, which is even lesser than what an average meal will cost you during your trip, let alone the cost of anything else!
• From small hiccups like flight delays, a travel insurance will compensate you with your time and money that you would otherwise spend waiting at the airport.
• If you’re going during the world cup, it’s bound to be packed with tourists and lots of tourists calls for petty crimes! But fret not, if you have a travel insurance in place, you will be covered in case of thefts, loss of passport or even legal bonds.
• In unfortunate cases where you fall ill during your holiday or run into a medical emergency- your travel insurance will cover you against all required expenses.
• Travel insurances today also cover adventure sports abroad, so no matter what-you will be protected through anything and everything during your trip 😊 Additionally, having a travel insurance also strengthens your UK tourist visa application from India.

Know more about:

• How to Compare Travel Insurance Online?
• Visa Free Countries for Indian Citizens
• Is Travel Insurance Mandatory for Visa?

Finally, we hope you get through the UK visa process and with another stamp on that passport and an adventure to look forward to, we wish you a happy holiday and of course, let’s hope the best team wins the world cup! 😉