UK Visa for Indians 2026: Types, Fees and How to Apply

Fees below come from the Home Office fees table dated 8 October 2026, and the process from GOV.UK and VFS Global UK India, as published on the official sources, checked on 2026-10-15. UKVI publishes fees in GBP only, with no official INR equivalent.

Do Indians need a UK visa, or can they use an ETA?

You need a visa. GOV.UK's visa checker tells Indian nationals coming as tourists that they will need a visa to come to the UK. The UK's electronic travel authorisation (ETA, £20) is only for nationalities that do not need a visa, so it is not an option for an Indian passport.

Transit is also covered. Indians changing flights without passing UK border control normally need a Direct Airside Transit visa (£41.50), unless they hold a listed document such as a valid visa for Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the USA, or a valid US green card. Passing through border control needs a Visitor in Transit visa (£74.50), unless you already hold a Standard or Marriage Visitor visa.

Which UK visa matches your purpose?

The Standard Visitor visa covers tourism, family visits and permitted business activities on one visa. A medical-treatment visitor visa costs £234 and allows up to 11 months. Long-stay routes add the immigration healthcare surcharge, usually £1,035 per year (£776 for students and under-18s), paid as part of the application.

How do you apply from India, step by step?

1. Check the visa you need on GOV.UK and when you may apply: visit visas at the earliest 3 months before travel, most work visas 3 months before the start date, and Student visas 6 months before the course starts.
2. Apply and pay online on GOV.UK. You receive a GWF reference number. Each traveller, including children, needs a separate application and fee.
3. Book a VFS Global appointment. Appointments are mandatory, and you can choose any centre in India before confirming.
4. Upload your supporting documents yourself free of charge, or have them scanned at the centre for a fee.
5. Give biometrics (fingerprints and photograph) at the centre. Your passport is returned at the same appointment. GOV.UK tells you at the start of the application if you can use the UK Immigration: ID Check app instead.
6. Wait for the decision. VFS gives no status updates while UKVI processes the file; GOV.UK's online service tells you when to expect a decision, and UKVI sends it by letter or email.
7. Set up your eVisa. Before you travel, create your UKVI account, link your passport and check your eVisa.

Need the document list for step 4? Our UK visa page for Indians sets out every category, with checklists.

Where do you give biometrics, and can you pay for speed?

VFS Global runs UK centres in Chandigarh, New Delhi, Gurugram, Jaipur, Jalandhar, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Mumbai North, Mumbai South, Pune, Goa, Bengaluru, Mysuru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Cochin, Thiruvananthapuram and Kolkata, with premium application centres in further cities. Standard centres are free to use; user-funded centres charge the Home Office 'User Pays' fee of £76.50. VFS states that apart from the visa fee and healthcare surcharge, that is the only mandatory charge.

UKVI sells two optional speed services, booked through VFS where offered (both available at the New Delhi centre in October 2026):

• Priority Visa, £500: usually a decision within 5 working days for most applications; family and settlement usually 30 working days.
• Super Priority Visa, £1,000: usually a decision by the end of the next working day after a weekday appointment, or 2 working days after a weekend or bank-holiday appointment.

How many Indian applications are granted?

Home Office statistics for the year ending June 2026 (provisional) give these grant rates for Indian nationals. They count all Indians applying from outside the UK, exclude withdrawn and lapsed cases, and describe past outcomes rather than your chances.

What changed for Indian applicants in 2025 and 2026?

• 22 July 2025: the Skilled Worker skill threshold returned to RQF level 6, with a standard minimum salary of £41,700 or the going rate if higher; overseas recruitment of care workers closed.
• 8 January 2026: English for new Skilled Worker, High Potential Individual and Scale-up applicants rose from CEFR B1 to B2.
• 26 March 2026: the UK 'visa brake' began refusing some applications from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan. Indian nationals are not on the list.
• 8 April 2026: fees rose. Standard Visitor went from £127 to £135, Student from £524 to £558, Skilled Worker (up to 3 years) from £769 to £819, and Temporary Work and India Young Professionals Scheme from £319 to £340.
• From 1 January 2027: the Graduate visa falls from 2 years to 18 months for new applications (PhD holders keep 3 years), according to GOV.UK.

Yatra For Fun's India office in Gurugram helps visitor applicants with the paperwork around the form: cover letters, travel itineraries, flight reservations and hotel bookings. Packages range from INR 1,000 for a flight reservation to INR 3,000 for a reservation, hotel, itinerary and cover letter. Reach us on WhatsApp at +91 95230 91018 or through the contact page.

Frequently asked questions

Can I apply at a UK visa centre outside my home state?

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

Will my UK visa be stamped in my passport?

No. Successful applicants get an eVisa, a digital record of immigration status that replaces the visa sticker. You view it in a free UKVI account, which you must create and link to your passport before travelling.

Who can enter the India Young Professionals Scheme ballot?

Indian citizens aged 18 to 30 with a bachelor's degree or higher and £2,530 in savings held for 28 days in a row. The 2026 ballots ran on 17-19 February and 21-23 July 2026 for 3,000 places, and GOV.UK lists no further 2026 ballots.

Does a VFS premium service improve my chances?

No. VFS states that its optional services do not affect the visa decision. Only UKVI's Priority and Super Priority services change how quickly a decision is usually made.