visit visa to uk from spain

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How to apply for a visa to come to the UK

Choose a visa.

You may need a visa to come to the UK to study, work, visit or join family.

There are different visas depending on:

• where you come from
• why you want to come to the UK
• how long you want to stay for
• your personal circumstances and skills

Before you apply, you must check if you need a visa and what type you need. Depending on your nationality, you might not need a visa to visit or transit through the UK.

Your application must be approved before you travel.

You do not need to apply for a visa if you’re an Irish citizen.

If you want to visit the UK

Apply for a Standard Visitor visa to visit the UK for up to 6 months. For example:

• for a holiday or to see family and friends
• for a business trip or meeting
• to do a short course of study

You must apply for a Marriage Visitor visa if you want to visit the UK to get married or register a civil partnership.

If you have a visitor visa you cannot take a job in the UK.

If you’re travelling through the UK

You might need a visa if you’re travelling through the UK on your way to another country, for example if you have a layover between flights.

Apply for a visa to travel through the UK .

If you want to study in the UK

Your course length, type and place of study affect which visa to apply for.

A Standard Visitor visa lets you do a short course of study that lasts no longer than 6 months.

A Short-term study visa lets you come to the UK to study an English language course that is over 6 months and up to 11 months.

A Student visa is usually for a longer course. You must be sponsored by a licensed college or university and have a confirmed place. On this visa, you may be able to do some work.

A Child Student visa is for 4 to 17 year olds who want to study at an independent school. If you’re 16 or over, this visa lets you do some work.

If you want to work in the UK

You can work in the UK on a short or long-term basis with a work visa. There are many types of work visa .

The visa you need depends upon:

• your skills and qualifications
• if you have a job offer and sponsorship
• if you want to bring your family with you
• what you’ll be doing - for example sporting, charitable or religious work

You can set up a business with an Innovator Founder visa .

If you want to join family in the UK

If you’re a spouse, partner or family member of someone who has British citizenship or settlement in the UK, you can apply for a family visa to join them. They may need to show that they can support you financially.

You may be able to apply for indefinite leave to remain ( ILR ) after a set amount of time living in the UK.

If your family member is in the UK on a visa

You may be able to apply for a visa to join a family member who’s in the UK on a visa. They must be either:

• your spouse or partner
• your parent if you’re 18 or under

Check what visa you’ll need to join them.

Family reunion visas for refugees

If you were separated from your partner or child when you were forced to leave your country, they can apply to join you in the UK.

Your family members can apply if you have been given asylum or 5 years’ humanitarian protection, and not have British citizenship.

If your family member is from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein

You can apply for a free EU Settlement Scheme family permit to come to the UK if you have a close family member who:

• was living in the UK by 31 December 2020
• has pre-settled or settled status
• you had a relationship with by 31 December 2020 (unless you’re applying for a child who was born or adopted after this date)

Close family members include your spouse or civil partner, child, grandchild, parent or grandparent.

A family permit lets you live, work and study in the UK for up to 6 months. You can apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to stay in the UK after your family permit expires. You usually need to apply within 3 months of arriving in the UK.

Other ways to get permission to live in the UK

If you’re from the eu, switzerland, norway, iceland or liechtenstein.

If you started living in the UK by 31 December 2020, you may be able to apply to the free EU Settlement Scheme instead of applying for a visa. The deadline to apply was 30 June 2021, but you can still apply if you can show reasonable grounds for the delay in applying.

Check if you can still apply to the EU Settlement Scheme .

You can only apply from outside the UK if you have a valid passport or national identity card with a biometric chip.

Commonwealth citizens

You can apply for an Ancestry visa to work in the UK if you have a British grandparent and meet other eligibility criteria.

You may have right of abode to live in the UK.

If you’re a Commonwealth citizen and cannot prove your right to be in the UK, read about the Windrush scheme .

Returning residents

You’ll need to apply for a returning resident visa to come back to the UK if one of the following is true:

you had indefinite leave to remain under the EU Settlement Scheme (‘settled status’) and left the UK for more than 5 continuous years (or 4 continuous years if you’re a Swiss citizen or their family member)

you had permanent permission to stay in the UK (‘indefinite leave to remain’) but it was not under the EU Settlement Scheme and you left the UK for more than 2 years

Other visas

There may be another visa that’s right for you based on your circumstances. Check if you need a visa and what other visas you’re eligible for.

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• Consular services

Schengen visas

General information  .

The Schengen area encompasses 29 European countries without border controls between them: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. ​

The Schengen visa allows the holder to travel to any of the Schengen States and to transit through their territory, but it does not automatically entitle them to enter the Schengen area. The border authorities can refuse entry if the visa holder does not provide proof of the purpose and specifics of the trip, or if any of the other entry requirements are not met (please refer to the section “Conditions for entry into Spain").

Required documents  

2. Photograph. A recent, passport-size, colour photograph, taken against a light background, facing forward, without dark or reflective glasses, or any garments concealing the oval of the face. Photographs of minors must not show any part of the adult holding them.  

3. Valid, unexpired passport. Original and a photocopy of the page or pages of the passport that contain biometric data. The passport must be valid for at least 3 months beyond the planned departure date from the Schengen territory. It must also contain at least two blank pages. Passports issued more than 10 years ago will not be accepted.

4. Travel medical insurance. The insurance must cover the costs of repatriation for medical reasons or death, as well as for urgent healthcare and/or emergency hospital treatment for the entire stay and throughout the Schengen area. Coverage must be of at least €30,000 or its equivalent in local currency. If the application is for a multiple entry visa, the medical insurance must be valid for the first planned entry. The applicant must undertake to purchase insurance for future trips. 

6. Documents corroborating the purpose of travel and the specifics of the stay, that the visa applicant has sufficient financial means, as well as the intention of the visa applicant to leave the Schengen area before the visa expires.  

7. Proof of residence in the consular district.  To verify your consular district, please visit the relevant web section of the Consulate.

When necessary to assess the application, the Consular Office may request additional documents or data and may also ask the applicant to come in for a personal interview. 

Only those applications meeting the requirements specified in sections 1, 2, 3 and 5 will be accepted. 

Procedure​  

• Who can apply for a visa: Applications must be submitted in person. If the applicant is a minor, the application must be submitted by their legal representatives. 
• Visa application period: Visa applications must be submitted between 6 months and 15 days before the scheduled date of travel. Seafarers may apply for the visa up to 9 months before the date of travel. 
• Biometric data capturing: The applicant's facial image and fingerprints will be captured during the visa application procedure. Applicants under 12 and applicants whose fingerprints have been taken in the last 59 months are exempt from fingerprint taking. However, in the latter case, if the applicant's prints are of poor quality, the Consular Office will request that they come back in to have their fingerprints retaken. 
• Rectifying the application: The Consular Office may ask the applicant to submit any missing documents, or to provide additional documents or data that are necessary for a decision regarding the application. The applicant may also be called in for a personal interview. 
• Decision period: The legal period for reaching a decision is of 15 calendar days as of the day after the application submission date, but this period may be extended to 45 calendar days if an interview or additional documents are requested. Visa applications submitted by nationals of certain States require consultation with the central authorities that could affect the duration of the visa procedure. 
• Permission granted by the visa: A visa does ​​​not automatically entitle someone to enter the Schengen area. The traveller must meet all legal entry requirements (see section "Conditions for entry into Spain"). 
• Visa refusal: Visa refusals will always be notified in writing, setting forth the grounds on which the decision adopted was based. 
• Appeals:  

In accordance with current regulations, the appeal for reconsideration must be written in Spanish and must contain at least the following information:

- Identification data (name and surnames and personal identification) of the appellant.

- Resolution appealed.

- Reason for the challenge.

- Place, date and signature of the appellant, and means of contact.

- Body, center or administrative unit to which it is directed.

- Other particularities required, where appropriate, by the specific provisions.

Each appeal must refer to a single administrative file.

The appeal for reconsideration may be filed personally by the interested party or by his legal representative (in this case, documentation proving said representation must be provided).

The maximum term for resolving the appeal is one month.

The place of registration of the appeal can be at the Consulate General of Spain in London (20 Draycott Place SW3 2RZ) from Monday to Thursday between 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.

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Data protection​ 

Persons wishing to exercise their rights of access, rectification and erasure of their personal data in the Visa Information System (VIS) may do so by addressing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the European Union and Cooperation: 

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the European Union and Cooperation Inspección General de Servicios Postal address: Plaza de la Provincia, 1, Madrid, España Email: [email protected]​  

The following forms may be used to do so: 

Persons whose visa application has been refused because they are banned from entering the Schengen area may exercise their rights of access, rectification and erasure of their personal data in the Schengen Information System (SIS) by addressing the Ministry of the Interior.   

Basic legislation 

 Community Code on Visas 

Solicitar un Visado para España en London

Welcome to the website of the Spain Visa Application Centres

Please select the consular district in which you have your place of residence to visit the website of the Visa Application Centre where you can submit the visa application.

• Bedfordshire
• Buckinghamshire
• Cambridgeshire
• Cayman Islands
• East Riding of Yorkshire
• East Sussex
• Falkland Islands
• Gloucestershire
• Greater London
• Greater Manchester
• Herefordshire
• Hertfordshire
• Isle of Man
• Isle of Wight
• Isles of Scilly
• Leicestershire
• Lincolnshire
• Middlesbrough
• North Yorkshire
• Northamptonshire
• Northern Ireland
• Northumberland
• Nottinghamshire
• Oxfordshire
• South Yorkshire
• Staffordshire
• Stockton on Tees
• Tyne & Wear
• Warwickshire
• West Midlands
• West Sussex
• West Yorkshire
• Worcestershire

Applicants are responsible for taking appointments as per their Jurisdiction

your visa application will not be accepted if your place of residence is out of the consular jurisdiction of the Consulate where you intend to apply

Travel Safe

Visa and passport. What should you bear in mind?