Business Visitor
Overview: Visiting the UK for business? You can attend meetings, sign deals, or explore partnerships—without a full work visa. Stay within the permitted activities, and you’re on solid legal ground.
The business visitor visa category is for people who want to do business in the UK for a short time. This includes academic visitors, visiting professors, overseas news media representatives and film crews on location
Other business purposes include:
- attending meetings (including interviews that have been arranged before entering the UK) or conferences
- arranging deals, or negotiations or signing trade agreements or contracts;
- undertaking fact-finding missions;
- conducting site visits;
- delivering goods and passengers from abroad
- accompanying a tour group as a tour group courier
- speaking as a “one-off” conference where this is not run as a commercial concern;
- representing a foreign manufacturer by coming to service or repair its products within their initial period of guarantee;
- representing a foreign machine manufacturer by coming to erect and install machinery too heavy to be delivered in one place, as part of the contract of purchase and supply;
- interpreting or translating for visiting business persons acting as a monteur (a worker such as a fitter or service person) for up to 6 months to erect, dismantle, install service, repair or advise on the development of foreign -made machinery;
- attending board meetings in the UK as a board-level director, provided the applicant is not employed by a UK company
- representing a computer software company by coming to install, debug or enhance their products.
Requirements
Applicants must show that that they:
- are 18 or over;
- intend to visit the UK for no more than 6 months (or 12 months if an academic visitor) except for doctors taking the PLAB test (in which case they can apply to extend the stay and undertake a clinical attachment if they pass the PLAB test;
- intend to leave the UK at the end of their visit;
- have enough money to support and accommodate themselves without working or help from public funds, or that they and their dependents will be supported and accommodated by relatives or friends;
- are based abroad and do not intend to transfer you base to the Uk, even temporarily;
- receive their salary from abroad (although it is acceptable to receive reasonable travel and subsistence expenses while in the UK)
- are not in transit to a country outside the “Common Travel Area” (Ireland, the UK, the Isle of Mann and the Channel Islands
Take Away Points
💼 Meet & Connect – Attend meetings, network, and build valuable UK business relationships.
📊 Share Expertise – Give talks, join conferences, or present your company’s ideas.
🛠️ Explore Opportunities – Scope out markets, suppliers, or future partnerships.
✈️ Short & Sweet – Stay for a limited time without needing a work visa.
🏙️ Enjoy the UK Vibe – Experience the culture while handling business matters.