One of the most visited countries in Europe, perhaps the most prominent and famous island in the world - the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Kingdom of Great Britain, which unites the countries of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, hosts more than 40 million tourists every year. In addition to the tourist flow, thousands of business trips are also made to the country. If you also want to travel to the United Kingdom and do your work and explore this island, you can apply for a United Kingdom business (business visit) visa. You can read more about the documents you will need when applying for a business visa, the letter of invitation and the general visa procedure in this article.
UK Types of visa
You can make your planned trip to Britain a reality by obtaining a British tourism visa. The reasons for applying for this visa can be tourism, visits to family or friends, workforce, medical examinations or examinations, short-term treatments, exchange programs and many other non-permanent nuances. In fact, there are many requirements for a British visa, and you can apply for a visa for all the reasons listed above. It is only possible to collect each of them under the heading of tourist visa. For example, if you want to take a long-term license (bachelor, master, doctorate, etc.) with a duration of more than 180 days in Britain and want to work permanently in a community located here, you can also apply for a British national visa, as long as you have official and valid documents from both the tax and business institutions.
You apply for the "standard business visa" type of United Kingdom visa to realize your short-term business trip. Note that a short-term business visa does not give you the right to work permanently in the United Kingdom, this visa is issued for you to carry out your own business trip.
United Kingdom Tourist Visa
Although this country, whose full name is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, is located on the European continent, it is currently neither part of the Schengen Agreement nor the European Union. Although the United Kingdom has never entered the Schengen Agreement, its exit from the European Union has just taken place on January 31, 2020. A transition period has been announced for the United Kingdom and the European Union to negotiate additional arrangements until January 1, 2021. There are single-entry and multiple-entry visas for the United Kingdom. At the same time, you can apply for a short-term visa, which will cover only your first visit, or multiple-entry and long-term visa types. It varies depending on the purpose of your trip and the interval of your trip.
It should be noted that the United Kingdom visa is issued to applicants for a multiple-entry and 6-month period. That is, after obtaining this visa, you can stay in the United Kingdom for 6 consecutive months. In addition, you can also apply for two-year, five-year, ten-year visas.
Package of Documents for United Kingdom Visa Application
When applying for a United Kingdom visa, you must submit the following documents:
Original and copy of the first page of your foreign passport
Copies of your previous visas and entry-exit stamps, if applicable
A copy of your identity card
Reference from the place of work* and, if applicable, an extract from the salary card (for persons studying, a reference from the educational institution) Statement from the bank account in your name (Detailed information about the amount is mentioned below)
At least last 3 months bank statement in your name
Copies of extracts* of properties in your name and a copy of your car's passport, if applicable
Proof of your marital status* (copy of your marriage certificate if you are married, birth certificates if you have children under 18 or divorce certificate if your marriage has broken down)
Airline reservations you make for your trip
Hotel reservations you made for your trip
Application form filled in English
A formal invitation letter for the business institution, event or meeting you are going to
Documents marked with "*" must be submitted to the embassy in English. If you have obtained the original document in Azerbaijani rather than in English, in this case, each of these documents must be translated into English and certified by a notary and submitted to the embassy.
If you do not have the original invitation letter, you can submit a scanned version to the embassy. The invitation letter must have the signature and seal of the institution that invited you. Also, on the invitation letter, the name of the invited person, that is, your name, and additionally, if possible, your date of birth, passport number, and travel dates must be mentioned. If your place of stay is organized by the institution that invited you, in this case, you may not include a hotel reservation in your documents if the address of your stay is mentioned in the invitation letter sent to you.
The amount in your bank account is based on your travel dates, i.e. the length of your stay in the UK, the price of your booked flight tickets and hotels, etc. varies depending. In general, it is recommended that you have at least 4,000-5,000 AZN in your bank account for a one-week trip (equivalent to Euro or US dollars). This amount should fully cover your travel plan. When calculating the amount, you can add the price of your ticket and hotel reservations to the average cost of 70-80 pounds per day for each day you indicate that you will stay in the territory of the country and expect a little higher than the figure you received.
If your expenses are covered by the institution that invited you, this must be mentioned in the invitation letter. In this case, you may not provide a statement from your bank account, but in any case it is advisable to show a small amount in your account in your name.
If you are an entrepreneur, you can submit the documents that will replace the certificate from the workplace (a copy of the TIN, a certificate from the Ministry of Taxes about your turnover, an extract from the register of your company) to the embassy. If you are not working, studying or in any case sponsoring another person to cover the costs of your trip, in this case a copy of that person's identity card, proof of employment (if self-employed, the documents listed above), proof of bank account and statement (this bank account can be both in your name and in the name of the sponsor), if you have a family bond, a document confirming this (for example, if it is a parent, your own birth certificate, if it is a brother or sister, both of your birth certificates, etc.) and a paper about sponsorship to the embassy must be submitted. If the applicant is under 18 years of age, in this case, if he is traveling alone, a copy of the permission document to leave the country from both parents or, if he is traveling with one of the parents, must also be submitted during the visa application.
It should be noted that even if you submit documents such as TIN, turnover certificate from the Ministry of Taxes, extract from the register of your company or sponsorship paper, permission paper, you must have each of these documents translated and certified into English by a notary.
Visa procedure
The procedure for applying for a visa to the United Kingdom is as follows:
Choose the type of visa
Citizens of Azerbaijan require a visa to come to the United Kingdom, study, work, and join a family. The United Kingdom has a number of visa types depending on where you come from, why you are coming, how long you are staying in the country, and personal circumstances and abilities. First of all, one of these visa types is selected.
Prepare the application
For many types of UK visas, it is possible to fill out the application form, confirm it, and pay the visa fee online. Regardless of age, a separate application form is filled, approved and paid for each applicant. There is no such option as a visa exemption in any case. The visa fee varies depending on the type of visa. Applications can usually be made 3 months before the start date of the planned travel, study program or work.
3. Participation in the visa meeting
At the time of application, after the application form is filled, approved and the visa fee is paid, it is requested to submit an opinion. The time of the visa view, as a matter of fact, remains only in the face of the passport. The remaining ones are accepted only in the scanned version.
The duration of the visa decision varies depending on the type of visa. For a tourist visa, this period usually takes 15 working days. If the visa decision is positive, the passport will have a visa sticker attached to one of the passport pages. If the visa is refused, then a refusal letter explaining the reason for the refusal will be issued along with the passport.
The United Kingdom has an embassy in Azerbaijan, but no consulate. Therefore, the visa application is made at the "UK TLS Contact" visa application center. The decision on the visa is made by the British Consulate in Istanbul. The visa procedures of the consulates are regulated by the United Kingdom Visas and Immigration (eng: UK Visas and Immigration, UKVI for short).
The United Kingdom travel visa fee is set at USD 135. This amount is paid online after the application form is approved.
Chances of getting a UK visa
Just like when applying for a visa at the embassy of any country, your chances of getting a visa in the United Kingdom depend on the state of your profile. Your workplace and position are normal and good, your monthly income is higher than the standard salary range (in experience, there have been many cases of obtaining visas for people with a monthly income in the range of 600-700 AZN), you have enough money in your bank account to cover your entire trip, the nuances that bind you to the country Availability (property in your name, family and children) and a good travel history are factors that increase your chances of getting a UK visa. Applying for a UK visa is considered risky for people with no previous travel history, i.e. no Schengen or other visa holders. If the other aspects of your profile (listed above) are very high and in good standing, you may have a chance to get a UK visa even without a travel history. In any case, a good travel history is a direct factor in your obtaining a UK visa. When applying for a business visa, the official letter of invitation you will present can increase your chances of getting a visa. If the purpose and reason for the trip stated in your invitation letter is related to your field of work or if you have made similar business trips before, these nuances will have a positive impact on your profile.
Visa support to the United Kingdom
We as Vizam.az company can help you during your United Kingdom visa application. If you use our visa support service, our service includes making an appointment on your behalf at the embassy, filling out your application form, preparing your documents in a professional manner, booking your flight tickets that will cover your trip, booking or purchasing hotels according to your wishes, setting up your visa travel tour plan, will include consultation, follow-up of your visa procedure. We can also assist you with notarizing and notarizing your documents into English. Additional fee for each document will be 16 AZN. In general, the service fee for UK business visa support in our company is 160 AZN per person.
You can click https://vizam.az/en/united-kingdom-visare to place your order and contact 050/55-3000135 to get additional information.
While the United Kingdom may seem strange to some, it may be a reality for you! Happy traveling!
