United Kingdom visa and entry requirements

GOV.UK says your identity document (for example your passport or identity card) will be checked when you arrive at a UK port or airport, and that it should be valid for the whole of your stay.

No official source we read lists a vaccination certificate required for entry.

No official source we could read states a travel insurance requirement for the UK. GOV.UK’s migrant health guide says all overseas visitors will be charged 150% of the cost of NHS treatment unless they are exempt, that people who have a visitor visa and those with a visa for under 6 months need to pay for any healthcare at the point of use unless they are exempt, and that accident and emergency services are free of charge irrespective of an overseas visitor’s country of normal residence.

No official source we could read states an onward or return ticket requirement. GOV.UK says visitors must be able to show that they will leave the UK at the end of their visit and that they can pay for their return or onward journey, or have someone else fund it.

GOV.UK says visitors must be able to show that they can support themselves and their dependants during the trip, or have funding from someone else. No official source we could read states an amount.

Knowingly remaining in the UK beyond the time limited by one's leave is a criminal offence. On summary conviction the penalty is imprisonment up to the general limit in a magistrates' court or a fine, or both (England and Wales); up to 12 months or a fine up to the statutory maximum, or both (Scotland); up to six months or a fine up to the statutory maximum, or both (Northern Ireland). On indictment it is up to four years or a fine, or both. Under the Immigration Rules, a person aged 18 or over who overstayed is treated as having breached immigration laws, and an application for entry clearance or permission to enter must be refused if made within the relevant period: 12 months if they left voluntarily at their own expense; 2 years if they left voluntarily at public expense within 6 months of notice of liability for removal (or of the end of any appeal or review, whichever is later); 5 years if they left voluntarily at public expense later than that; 10 years if they were removed at public expense. An overstay of 30 days or less that began on or after 6 April 2017 is disregarded if the person left voluntarily and not at the Secretary of State's expense.

• Edinburgh Visitor Levy — 5% of the cost of the paid overnight accommodation, charged before VAT, only on the first 5 nights' stay. Paid at the accommodation.

  Anyone staying in paid overnight accommodation in Edinburgh pays a levy of 5% of the accommodation cost, charged before VAT and not on extras such as parking, meals, drinks or transport, on the first 5 nights only, for stays from 24 July 2026. Stays booked and paid for, in part or in full, before 1 October 2025 are not subject to the levy. The levy may be added to the accommodation cost. People who might not have a permanent or safe home are not liable, and people receiving certain listed benefits can be reimbursed.

  Exemptions: The levy is charged only on paid overnight stays away from the visitor's home, so people who might not have a permanent or safe home are not liable. People receiving certain benefits listed by the council can be reimbursed.

Cash of £10,000 or more must be declared when carried between Great Britain and a country outside the UK. For Northern Ireland, cash of €10,000 or more must be declared when carried between Northern Ireland and a non-EU country.

• GOV.UK lists the personal allowance for travellers arriving in Great Britain from outside the UK: one of 200 cigarettes, 100 cigarillos, 50 cigars, 250g tobacco or 200 sticks of tobacco for electronic heated tobacco devices; 42 litres of beer and cider and 18 litres of wine, plus 4 litres of spirits and other alcoholic products over 22% ABV or 9 litres of alcoholic products up to 22% ABV (this last allowance can be split); and other goods worth up to £390 (or up to £270 if you arrive by private plane or boat).
• GOV.UK says you cannot bring meat or meat products, or milk-based products (except powdered infant milk, infant food or special food needed for medical reasons), into Great Britain from countries outside the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, the Faroe Islands and Greenland.