What Holders of U.K. Visit Visas Can and Can’t Do
A visitor must not intend to work in the U.K. unless expressly allowed to do so
A visit visa allows a person to visit the United Kingdom for short periods, usually for up to six months at a time. The Immigration Rules set out what visitors can and can’t do during their stay in the U.K.
What can you do as a visitor?
Standard visitors can do all the permitted activities in the Rules, except visitors under the approved destination status agreement who may only visit friends and family or come to the U.K. for a holiday.
The list of permitted activities are grouped into the following categories:
- Tourism and Leisure
- Volunteering
- General Business Activities
- Intro-corporate Activities
- Manufacture and apply of goods to the U.K.
- Clients of U.K. export companies
- Overseas roles requiring specific activities in the U.K.
- Work-related training
- Science and academia
- Legal
- Religion
- Creative
- Sports
- Medical treatment and organ donation
- Study as a visitor
- Transit
- Permitted paid engagements
What can’t you do as a visitor?
A visitor must not intend to work in the U.K. unless expressly allowed by the listed activities in the rules. Work is defined as including:
- taking employment in the U.K. and
- doing work for an organisation or business in the U.K. and
- establishing or running a business as a self-employed person and
- doing a work placement or internship and
- direct selling to the public and
- providing goods and services
Working remotely from the U.K. during a visit is now permitted under ‘general business activities’ as of 31 January 2024. Remote working is permitted as long as it is not the primary purpose of the visit.
Where a visitor undertakes permitted activities, these must not amount to the visitor undertaking employment, doing work which amounts to filling a role or providing short-term cover for a role in a U.K.-based organisation. Where the visitor is in paid employment outside the U.K., they must remain so.
The visitor must not receive payment from a U.K. source for any activities undertaken in the U.K. except in the following circumstances:
- reasonable expenses to cover the cost of their travel and subsistence, including fees for directors attending board-level meetings; or
- international drivers or Seafarers undertaking permitted activities or
- prize money or
- billing a U.K. client for their time in the U.K., where the visitor’s overseas employer is contracted to provide services to a U.K. company, and the majority of the contract work is carried out overseas (payment must be lower than the amount of the visitor’s salary); or
- multi-national companies who, for administrative reasons, handle payment of their employees’ salaries from the U.K.; or
- paid performances at a permit free festival as listed in the Rules, where the visitor is an artist, entertainer or musician; or
- the permitted paid engagements listed in the Rules
Extension of stay as a visitor
It is possible for a visitor to extend their stay only in very limited circumstances under the rules. The following extensions of stay are permissible:
- a Standard Visitor or a Marriage/Civil Partnership Visitor, who was granted permission for less than 6 months may be granted permission to stay for a period which results in the total period they can remain in the U.K. (including both the original grant and the extension) not exceeding 6 months; and
- a Standard Visitor who is in the U.K. for private medical treatment may be granted permission to stay as a Visitor for a further 6 months, provided the purpose is for private medical treatment; and
- a Standard Visitor may be granted permission to stay as a Visitor for up to 6 months in order to resit the Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board Test; and
- a Standard Visitor who is successful in the Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board Test may be granted permission to stay as a Visitor for a period which results in the total period they can remain in the U.K. (including both the original grant and the extension) not exceeding 18 months.
There is no provision in the rules for extensions of stay beyond these limits.
If you have a question or would like our team's assistance with any immigration matters please get in touch through our contact form or by phone. We will be happy to provide the latest information and expert advice relevant to your specific requirements.