UK Tourist Visa Appointment from India: Booking Guide

The order matters, and so does knowing which add-ons are optional. This guide walks through the booking, the centre choice, the real costs and the appointment itself. All prices and rules are as published on the official sources, checked on 15 October 2026.

How do you book a UK visitor visa appointment from India?

1. Choose the right visa. Tourism, visiting family and friends, and permitted business activities all use the Standard Visitor visa, £135 for stays of up to 6 months.
2. Apply on GOV.UK. Fill in the online form and pay. You receive a GWF reference number. Each traveller, including children, needs a separate application and fee.
3. Check the identity step. GOV.UK tells you at the start of the application if you can use the UK Immigration: ID Check app instead of visiting a centre. Most applicants in India give biometrics at a centre.
4. Book with VFS Global. Use your GWF reference to choose a centre, date and time on the VFS UK India website.
5. Upload documents. Self-upload is free. Scanning at the centre or upload assistance costs extra.
6. Attend the appointment. Give fingerprints and a photo. Your passport is returned to you the same day.

VFS Global is an official partner of UKVI, but it does not decide applications. UKVI makes the decision and sends it by letter or email.

Which visa application centre can you choose?

Any of them. VFS states that applicants can select any Visa Application Centre in India before confirming the appointment; there is no state-based jurisdiction. Appointments are mandatory.

The regular centres are Chandigarh, New Delhi, Goa, Ahmedabad, Gurugram, Bengaluru, Mysuru, Cochin, Thiruvananthapuram, Mumbai North, Mumbai South, Pune, Jalandhar, Jaipur, Chennai, Hyderabad, Lucknow and Kolkata.

VFS also runs Premium Application Centres in Vishakhapatnam, Guwahati, Mangalore, Calicut, Kottayam, Indore, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Coimbatore, Noida and Lucknow-Alambagh (Nagpur is listed as closed). The Home Office charges a regulated "User Pays" fee of £76.50 at user-funded centres, while standard centres are free to use. Check the centre page before you confirm.

What does a UK visa appointment cost in India?

The only mandatory payments are the visa fee and, at some centres, the User Pays fee. Everything else is optional. VFS prices for New Delhi, including GST:

Prices were captured for the New Delhi centre; other centres may differ.

Do paid appointment options make approval more likely?

No. VFS states that optional services do not affect the visa decision. A lounge or Prime Time slot buys comfort or a convenient time, nothing more.

Speed is a separate product sold by UKVI, not VFS. The Priority Visa service costs £500 and is usually decided within 5 working days for most applications. Super Priority costs £1,000 and is usually decided by the end of the next working day after a weekday appointment (2 working days after a weekend or bank-holiday appointment). Both were offered at the New Delhi centre in October 2026, and availability depends on visa type and centre. They change how fast you hear, not what the answer is.

What happens on the day of the appointment?

• You give fingerprints and a photograph. No separate photo is needed from you.
• Children under 5 have only a photo taken, with no fingerprints.
• Under-16s must attend with an adult.
• Your passport is returned at the appointment, because successful applicants get an eVisa rather than a sticker.

After the appointment, VFS does not give status updates while UKVI processes the application. GOV.UK's online service tells you when to expect a decision.

When should you book to match your travel dates?

You can apply for a visit visa no earlier than 3 months before travel. UKVI's standard decision time is 3 weeks, so book the first convenient slot once your GOV.UK form is submitted.

For context, Home Office data for the year ending June 2026 (provisional) show an 82% grant rate for visitor visas decided for Indian nationals: 514,398 granted and 111,749 refused out of 626,147 decisions, excluding withdrawn and lapsed cases. That describes past decisions, not your own outcome. The Standard Visitor fee rose from £127 to £135 on 8 April 2026.

Which booking mistakes cost Indian applicants time?

• One form for the whole family. Every traveller needs a separate application and fee.
• Paying for extras by mistake. Upload assistance, lounges and Prime Time are optional.
• Picking a user-funded centre unknowingly. The £76.50 User Pays fee applies there.
• Relying on bookings as proof. GOV.UK's guide to supporting documents lists hotel and flight bookings (unless transiting) as less useful evidence. Focus on bank statements, an employer letter stating your role, salary and length of employment, and proof of earnings.

For fees on longer visitor visas and other UK routes, read our UK visa guide for Indians.

Yatra For Fun's India office in Gurugram prepares flight reservations, hotel bookings, travel itineraries and cover letters for visa files, with packages from INR 1,000 (flight reservation) to INR 3,000 (reservation, hotel, itinerary and cover letter). WhatsApp +91 95230 91018 or reach us via our contact page.

Frequently asked questions

Is the UK visa appointment free in India?

Yes, at standard free-to-use centres. VFS charges nothing for a standard appointment and nothing for self-uploading documents. A Home Office User Pays fee of £76.50 applies only at some user-funded centres.

Will VFS tell me the status of my UK visa application?

No. VFS Global does not give status updates while UKVI processes an application. GOV.UK's online service tells you when to expect a decision, and UKVI sends the decision by letter or email.

Can I apply at a VFS centre in another state?

Yes. There is no state-based jurisdiction for UK visas in India, so you can select any Visa Application Centre before confirming the appointment.

Do I get a visa sticker after the UK appointment?

No. Your passport is returned at the biometric appointment, and successful applicants receive an eVisa, viewed in a free UKVI account. Before travel you link your passport to the account and check the eVisa.