Visiting the UK

Everything you need to know for visiting the UK

According to the UK Border Agency, if you are coming to the United Kingdom as a general visitor you are allowed to stay for up to six months. If you intend staying for longer than six months you need to look at the UK residency or Working in the UK sections of this website.

When you arrive at the United Kingdom border, the officer will check your passport or other travel document even if you hold a United Kingdom passport or one issued by another country in the European Union (EU) or European Economic Area (EEA). If you do not hold a United Kingdom passport, or one issued by another country in the EU, EEA, or Switzerland, you will need to complete a landing card and may need to meet other requirements. If you are a national of the EU or EEA, you can use the separate EEA/EU channel, where we will usually check your passport or national identity card more quickly.

You must be the legal holder of a genuine document. Your documents must be valid and issued by a government or authority. The most common examples of travel documents are:

• national passports; or
• 1951 Convention travel documents for refugees.

National identity cards for EEA citizens are also accepted.

The European Union (EU) countries:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Irish Republic, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom.

The European Economic Area (EEA) countries:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Irish Republic, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom. Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway are not members of the European Union (EU) but citizens of these countries have the same rights to enter, live in and work in the United Kingdom as EU citizens.

Please note that if you are planning to travel into or out of the United Kingdom, there are rules about what goods you can bring with you without paying duty or value added tax (VAT) here. Some items are also banned or restricted by law. These restrictions apply even if you are citizen of the United Kingdom who is returning from a trip abroad.

Banned goods

The following goods are banned completely regardless of which country you’re travelling from or having goods sent from.

• illicit drugs
• flick and gravity knives
• self defence sprays such as pepper and CS gas sprays
• stun guns
• indecent and obscene material
• counterfeit, pirated and patent-infringing goods

The following are also banned but in certain cases may be brought into the UK if you have the relevant licence, permit or defence:

• firearms, explosives and ammunition
• realistic imitation firearms
• offensive weapons including swords with a curved blade exceeding 50cms in length
• live animals
• endangered animals or plants - see section below ‘souvenirs from endangered species’
• certain fur skins and articles made from fur skin
• certain radio transmitters
• rough diamonds

The following are also banned but in certain cases may be brought into the UK if they are not for commercial use:

• fur skin of harp and hooded seals pups and products made from such fur
• cat and dog fur and products made from such fur
• finished goods of certain fur skins covered for personal and private use

Note that this is not a full list, but it includes the most important examples.

For further information about the rules at the UK border, please consult the website of the UK Border Agency http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/.

See also:

Visas to the UK

UK residency

Working in the UK