If you would like to invite friends or family members for a short visit to the UK, eg. for your Graduation, your visitor should apply for a Standard Visitor visa.
To qualify for this visa type, your visitor must show:
• that they wish to visit the UK for no more than six months;
• that they intend to leave the UK at the end of the visit; and
• they have enough money to support themselves while they are in the UK without working or having recourse to public funds.
Some nationalities are not required to apply for a visitor visa before travel and are granted visitor status on arrival at the border. If the nationality is not listed in the visa national list, then they are a 'non-visa national' and they can obtain their visitor visa upon entering the UK either throguh the EGates or from the border force staff. To make your visitors entry to the UK as smooth as possible, we recommend that non-visa nationals still carry documentation ready to show at the border as evidence of the purpose of the visit eg. invitation letter, bank statements, evidence of return flight etc
If your visitors are "visa-nationals" they must obtain a visitor visa before travelling and should follow the instructions below.
Check the UKVI website to find out whether your visitor must apply for their visa before travelling to the UK or whether they can apply on arrival.
Your visitor must read the information on the UKVI website about how to apply and then apply online selecting the Visa type of Standard Visitor. It costs £100 for a 6 month visit visa.
If your visitor plans to come to the UK on a more regular basis they can apply for a 2 year, 5 year or 10 year visitor visa. However, the maximum period of time your visitor can spend in the UK is six months out of any twelve month period.
Your visitor can apply for this type of visa from a visa application centre in any country.
• Your personal letter of invitation explaining your relationship with your visitor and the purpose of the visit. You can edit our template letter with your own circumstances and sign and date the letter.
Important! You must not use University of Manchester headed paper or logos on your letter - it is not necessary and could be viewed as fraud by the UKVI.
• A confirmation of attendance letter confirming your registration/attendance obtained by submitting the online enquiry form from the Student Services Centre.
• A copy of your passport pages containing your personal details, your visa (if applicable) and the most recent UK entry stamp.
• If you are paying for accommodation and other living expenses while your visitor(s) stay here, you should send the latest six months' bank statements from your UK account to show that you have sufficient funds available along with a signed letter confirming that you are paying for their trip to the UK. If you are related to your visitor they should also submit a copy of your birth certificate and an official translation (if required) as evidence of your relationship to them. They can use the student financial requirements as a guide of £1023 per month for living expenses. Your visitors should also provide their own financial evidence if possible to show that they can support themselves for the duration of the trip. Their bank statements should show the origins of the funds and it should reflect the income and expenditure stated in their application eg. their monthly salary from their employment should be show in the bank account. They also need to show that they intend to leave the UK at the end of the visit i.e. By providing a return flight ticket or evidence that they have a job, study or caring responsibilities to return to.
• If you are inviting visitors for a shorter period of time it will help them with their application if you show that you are arranging suitable accommodation for them. You can find a hotel for them on the internet, for example at, Visit Manchester, Late Rooms and Hostel World (includes listings of private rooms).
• If you are living in private accommodation and your landlord/lady or letting agency has given permission for your visitors to stay with you, ask for written confirmation from the landlord/lady or letting agent.
Your visitor(s) must include your letter of invitation along with the other documents when they apply for the standard visit visa. Guidance notes and the visa application forms can be accessed from the UK Visas and Immigration website.
Please remember that if you are inviting more than one person, each of your visitors will require letters and documents from you because they will each apply for immigration permission separately. Visitors should apply early to ensure that they have adequate time to obtain their visas as applications can take at least 3 weeks to be processed. You can check processing times on the UKVI website.
On arriving in the UK, your visitors may be asked for the reason they are visiting. We recommend that you tell your visitors to carry the paperwork about their visit in their hand luggage so that it is easy to access and can be shown to the border force officials.
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