Visa and Direct Airside Transit Visa (DATV) nationals

Visa nationals are those who require a visa for every entry to the UK, though some may be able to “Transit Without Visa”. Those who require visas for transit as well are listed below under Direct Airside transit. Read our Transit (INF 20) guidance for more information.

Afghanistan	Gambia	Oman
Albania	Georgia	Pakistan
Algeria	Ghana	Peru
Angola	Guinea	Palestinian Authority
Armenia	Guinea Bissau	Philippines
Azerbaijan	Guyana	Qatar
Bahrain	Haiti	Russia
Bangladesh	India	Rwanda
Belarus	Indonesia	Sao Tome & Principe
Benin	Iran	Saudi Arabia
Bhutan	Iraq	Senegal
Bolivia**	Ivory Coast	Serbia
Bosnia-Herzegovina	Jamaica	Sierra Leone
Burkina Faso	Jordan	Somalia
Burma (Myanmar)	Kazakhstan	South Africa*
Burundi	Kenya	Sri Lanka
Cambodia	Korea (Dem. People's Rep)	Sudan
Cameroon	Kosovo	Surinam
Cape Verde	Kuwait	Syria
Central African Republic	Kyrgyzstan	Tajikistan
Chad	Laos	Tanzania
China, People's Rep.of	Lebanon	Thailand
Colombia	Liberia	Togo
Comoros	Libya	Tunisia
Congo, Democratic Republic of	Macedonia	Turkey
Congo, Republic of	Madagascar	Turkmenistan
Cuba	Malawi	Uganda
Cyprus, northern part of	Mali	Ukraine
Djibouti	Mauritania	United Arab Emirates
Dominican Republic	Moldova	Uzbekistan
Ecuador	Mongolia	Vatican City (service & emergency passports only)
Egypt	Montenegro	Venezuela**
Equatorial Guinea	Morocco	Vietnam
Eritrea	Mozambique	Yemen
Ethiopia	Nepal	Zambia
Fiji	Niger	Zimbabwe
Gabon	Nigeria

* From 3 March 2009, nationals or citizens of South Africa who do not have a UK entry stamp or valid entry clearance in their current valid passport will need to obtain a visa to either enter or transit through the UK. Previous travel in an old passport will not meet the exemption criteria and a visa must be obtained in the new passport.

** From 18 May 2009, nationals of Bolivia and Venezuela will require a visa to enter or transit through the UK.  Venezuelan nationals holding valid biometric passports containing an electronic chip issued since 2007 will be exempt from the visa requirement.

From 13 November 2005 all non-visa nationals - except British nationals without right of abode in the UK - require entry clearance for all stays of more than six months.

Direct Airside Transit Visa (DATV) nationals

In addition to needing a visa to enter the United Kingdom, nationals of the following countries also require a visa to transit through the UK, known as Direct Airside Transit (DATV). See our Transit (INF 20) guidance for more information.

Afghanistan	Kenya
Albania	Kosovo
Algeria	Lebanon
Angola	Liberia
Bangladesh	Macedonia
Belarus	Malawi
Bolivia**	Moldova
Burma	Mongolia
Burundi	Montenegro
Cameroon	Nepal
China, Peoples Republic of	Nigeria
Colombia	Palestinian Authority
Congo	Pakistan
Congo, Democratic Republic of	Rwanda
Cyprus, northern part of	Senegal
Ecuador	Serbia (including documents issued by the United Nations Mission in Kosovo)
Eritrea	Sierra Leone
Ethiopia	South Africa*
Gambia	Sudan
Ghana	Somalia
Guinea	Sri Lanka
Guinea-Bisau	Tanzania
India	Turkey
Iran	Uganda
Iraq	Venezuela**
Ivory Coast	Vietnam
Jamaica***	Zimbabwe

*From 3 March 2009, nationals or citizens of South Africa who do not have a UK entry stamp or valid entry clearance in their current valid passport will need to obtain a visa to either enter or transit through the UK. Previous travel in an old passport will not meet the exemption criteria and a visa must be obtained in the new passport.

**From 18 May 2009, nationals of Bolivia and Venezuela will require a visa to enter or transit through the UK.  Venezuelan nationals holding valid biometric passports containing an electronic chip issued since 2007 will be exempt from the visa requirement.

*** From 3 March 2009.

Passengers exempt from the DATV requirement

Holders of certain documents are, regardless of nationality, exempt from the requirement to hold a Direct Airside Transit Visa when transiting the UK.

A transit passenger is not required to hold a transit visa if he holds or a person with whom he arrives in the United Kingdom holds on his behalf:

1. A valid visa for entry to Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the United States of America and a valid airline ticket for travel via the United Kingdom as part of a journey from another country or territory to the country in respect of which the visa is held;
2. A valid visa for entry to Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the United States of America and a valid airline ticket for travel via the United Kingdom as part of a journey from the country in respect of which the visa is held to another country or territory;
3. A valid airline ticket for travel via the United Kingdom as part of a journey from Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the United States of America to another country or territory, provided that the transit passenger does not seek to transit the United Kingdom on a date more than six months from the date on which he last entered Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the United States of America with a valid visa for entry to that country;
4. A valid USA I-551 Permanent Resident Card issued on or after 21st April 1998;
5. A valid Canadian Permanent Resident Card issued on or after 28th June 2002;
6. A valid common format Category D visa for entry to an EEA State;
7. A valid common format residence permit issued by an EEA State pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No. 1030/2002;
8. A diplomatic or service passport issued by the People’s Republic of China; or
9. A diplomatic or official passport issued by India; or,
10. A diplomatic or official passport issued by Vietnam.

Notes:

1. A valid U.S. immigrant visa packet (form 155A/155B) is a valid visa for DATV exemption purposes.
2. An expired I-551 Permanent Resident Card issued on or after 21 April 1998 when accompanied by an I-797 letter issued by the Bureau of Citizenship authorising its extension, exempts the holder from the DATV requirement.
3. Holding either an I-512 Parole letter or an I-797C (Notice of Action) instead of a valid U.S. visa; or a Transportation Letter instead of a valid U.S. Permanent Residence Card issued on or after 21 April 1998; or a U.S Visa Foil endorsed, "NOT A VISA. FOIL PREPARED AT DHS REQUEST" does NOT qualify for exemption from the DAT visa requirement.
4. Holding a valid travel document with a U.S. ADIT stamp worded – “Processed for I-551. TEMPORARY EVIDENCE OF LAWFUL ADMISSION FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE VALID UNTIL…. EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZED” does NOT qualify for exemption from the DAT visa requirement.
5. Whether holders of non-national (including refugee travel documents) require a DATV depends on their nationality and whether they qualify for one of the exemptions listed above. So, for instance, the holder of a non-national travel document (e.g. a refugee travel document) who is a national or a citizen of one of the countries listed on the DATV list (e.g. Afghanistan) will require a direct airside transit visa if they are travelling to the UK to transit on to a third country.

Transiting to the Republic of Ireland

Passengers must pass through immigration control in order to take a flight to Ireland. Visa nationals (and passengers qualifying for DATV exemption above) may Transit without Visa providing they fulfil the TWOV conditions and are properly documented for entry into Ireland.

DATV nationals transiting to Ireland must obtain a visit visa - not a Visitor in Transit visa which is only for transit to a destination outside the Common Travel Area (Rules HC395 paragraph 47 refers).

All visa nationals wishing to transit the UK but spend longer doing so than the 24 hours permitted under the TWOV concession must obtain a visitor in transit visa for stays up to 48 hours or a visit visa.