Entry Clearance Guidance

These pages contain copies of instructions used by entry clearance staff on the handling of entry clearance and visa applications. The documents have been published here in accordance with the principles of openness in the White Paper of Freedom of Information, the Freedom of Information Act 2000, and previous Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Please note that these are live documents and are constantly being reviewed and amended. The documents are for information only and no guarantee can be given as to their accuracy. In particular, it should be noted that the documents are guidance instructions and cannot be relied upon to determine the outcome of an individual application, which will be considered on its own facts.

Using the Entry Clearance Guidance web pages

The easiest way to navigate through the guidance is to use the top navigation path at the top of each page.

Most pages start with a full list of paragraph names and links to annexes. Within the page you will also find internal links to other pages within this website or links to external websites, which open in a new browser window. Links to further information are listed on the right hand side of most pages including links to relevant documents.

Annex pages have a "Back to chapter ..." link at the end of the page which will take you back to their main chapter. Alternatively you can use the back button on your web browser.

Please forgive our temporary appearance while we are changing this section of our website. We are working to improve the way we present the the information for the Entry Clearance Guidance pages. Gradually the chapters will be phased out and replaced with new content sections (highlighted in red below). The content of these new sections will be more accessible and easier to understand.

Entry Clearance Guidance Index

Entry Clearance Basics (ECB)
Chapter 1 - The basics of immigration and entry clearance work
Chapter 2 - Who needs an entry clearance?
Chapter 4 - Travel documents acceptable for entry clearance
Chapter 7 - Fees
Chapter 8 - How to apply for an entry clearance: the process
Chapter 28 - Compensation for claims arising from visa section decisions