Verified against official sources — 30 Oct 2026

UK Visitor Visa Permitted Activities: What You Can and Cannot Do

NEW Published 30 October 2026

Tourism, family visits, the business activity list, volunteering, short study, paid engagements — and the work line that GOV.UK and the Rules draw around all of it.

SECTION 01The general activities

• RULE — Tourism, for example a holiday or vacation.
• RULE — Seeing family or friends.
• RULE — Volunteering for up to 30 days with a registered charity.
• RULE — Passing through the UK to another country (in transit).
• RULE — A school exchange programme, and recreational courses of up to 30 days, for example a dance course.
• RULE — Erasmus+ placements, with their own eligibility conditions and evidence (placement details, a letter from your institution or an invitation from the UK host, or your Learning/Mobility Agreement).

SECTION 02Business activities — allowed if a UK organisation is not paying you

GOV.UK lists the business activities a Standard Visitor can do if not paid by a UK-based organisation or client:

• RULE — Attend interviews, meetings, conferences and seminars.
• RULE — Negotiate and sign deals and contracts.
• RULE — Attend trade fairs to promote your business — you cannot sell things.
• RULE — Get work-related training if you are employed overseas.
• RULE — Give a one-off or short series of talks, as long as they are not for profit or a commercial event (paid speaking is possible only as a permitted paid engagement).
• RULE — Carry out site visits and inspections.
• RULE — Oversee the delivery of goods and services provided by a UK company to your overseas company or organisation.
• RULE — Deliver training or share knowledge on internal projects with UK employees of the overseas company you work for.
• RULE — Carry out specific activities where your overseas employer has an eligible contract of purchase, supply or lease with a UK company — GOV.UK points to its "Manufacture and supply of goods to the UK" rules for the detail.

GOV.UK also lists additional role-based activities for people employed overseas in named jobs — archaeologists, artists and entertainers, bodyguards, camera operators, drivers, internal auditors, journalists, lawyers, market researchers, pilots and cabin crew on approved wet-lease arrangements, professors, religious workers, scientists, seafarers, sportspeople, tour couriers, translators, film crew and the support teams of artists and sportspeople — with the detail in the Visitor Rules. Anything beyond the lists means a work visa: GOV.UK is explicit that you will need one for any other paid or unpaid work.

SECTION 03Study, research and exams — up to 6 months

• RULE — Study at an accredited institution for up to 6 months (including English language courses and Erasmus+ placements). You must prove you have been accepted onto a course provided by an accredited UK institution, no more than 6 months long unless it is a distance learning course; the institution cannot be an academy or state-funded school, except on an Erasmus+ placement.
• RULE — Short research: you must be at least 16, enrolled on an overseas course equivalent to a UK degree, and accepted by a UK higher education institution for research relevant to that course, with confirmation from your overseas provider.
• RULE — Electives in medicine, veterinary medicine and science, nursing, midwifery or dentistry, with written confirmation from the UK provider that you will not be treating patients or being paid.
• RULE — Unpaid clinical attachments and dental observer posts for overseas medical, dental or nursing graduates, with written confirmation of the offer and that you have not done one in the UK before; you must not treat patients.
• RULE — Exams: sit an entrance exam, retake an exam or module, or do a PhD viva; take the OSCE (with a Nursing and Midwifery Council letter) or the PLAB test (with a General Medical Council letter). Failing PLAB, you can apply to stay a further 6 months to retake; passing, you can apply to stay for an unpaid clinical attachment — up to 18 months in total across the sequence.
• RULE — ATAS may apply: studying or researching certain subjects at postgraduate level or above may require an Academic Technology Approval Scheme certificate before you start.
• ADVICE — Longer study has its own routes. Beyond 6 months: a Short-term study visa covers English courses up to 11 months; the Student visa covers courses at licensed sponsors — see our Student visa guide.

SECTION 04Permitted paid engagements — the paid exception

A permitted paid engagement lets an invited expert be paid for a pre-arranged engagement. The conditions on GOV.UK: a written invitation from a UK-based organisation or client; you can show you are an expert in your profession; you are 18 or over; the engagement is relevant to your expertise, qualifications and main job in your home country; and although you can stay up to 6 months, you must do the engagement in the first month. The professions GOV.UK lists:

• Professional artists, entertainers and musicians — performing, presenting or launching work, lectures, judging and debate panels, professional conferences; invited by a creative organisation, agent or broadcaster, with evidence of being established at home (published work, publicity, coverage, awards).
• Professional sportspeople — activities relating directly to their sporting profession, invited by a sports organisation, agent or broadcaster.
• Qualified lawyers — paid by a client to represent them at a hearing, arbitration or dispute resolution, or to prepare; with confirmation of right of audience or "temporary call".
• Lecturers — paid lectures relevant to their expertise, invited by a higher education institution, research organisation or arts organisation; never a full-time or part-time teaching post.
• Conference speakers — paid to speak, invited by the organiser, on a subject relevant to their profession at home.
• Academic examiners and assessors — examining or assessing students, chairing selection panels, invited by a higher education institution or research/arts organisation.
• Air pilot examiners — examining UK-based pilots for their own country's aviation authority, invited by a CAA-regulated approved training organisation, in full-time employment with that authority.

SECTION 05Academics, doctors and dentists

Scientists, researchers and academics can take part in formal exchange arrangements and carry out research as part of their job or independently; senior doctors and dentists can also teach (not a permanent post) and undertake clinical practice (not a permanent position). For stays over 6 months, all academic visits require a Standard Visitor visa regardless of nationality: either a 12-month visa applied for in advance at £234, or entering for 6 months and applying to extend in the UK at £1,172 (12 months in total). You must prove you are highly qualified (usually a PhD or higher), currently working in the field at an overseas academic institution, and not filling a permanent teaching post — plus research or exchange purposes (senior doctors and dentists: research, clinical practice, exchange or teaching). Your partner and children can apply to stay with you for up to 12 months on the same pattern.

SECTION 06The cannot list — and the Rules underneath it

• RULE — No paid or unpaid work for a UK company, and no self-employment, unless the activity is expressly allowed. The Rules (V 4.4) spell this out: no employment, no work for a UK organisation or business, no running a business, no placements or internships, no direct selling, no providing goods and services.
• RULE — No public funds (benefits).
• RULE — No living in the UK for long periods through frequent or successive visits.
• RULE — No marrying or registering a civil partnership, or giving notice — apply for a Marriage Visitor visa instead.
• RULE — Permitted activities must not fill a role in a UK organisation or provide short-term cover for one (V 4.5); if you are employed overseas, you must remain employed and paid there, subject to the narrow payment exceptions in V 4.6 (expenses, prize money, certain contract billing, permit-free festival performances, and permitted paid engagements).

Official references and verification status

Every activity, limit and condition in this guide was checked against the GOV.UK Standard Visitor pages (including their business, study, academic, Erasmus+ and paid-engagement sections) and Appendix V of the Immigration Rules on 30 October 2026. The occupational activity lists in the Rules are longer and more specific than any summary; this guide covers the activities GOV.UK presents to the general public and points to the Rules for role-specific detail.

• GOV.UK — Visit the UK as a Standard Visitor
• GOV.UK — Immigration Rules Appendix V: Visitor

If a detail here ever disagrees with GOV.UK, GOV.UK is right — and please tell us via the Contact page so we can correct the guide.

General information only. This guide is based on official sources publicly available and checked on the date shown on this page. Visa rules change, and consular and USCIS officers decide every case on its own facts — nothing here is a confirmation or a guarantee for your individual case, and this is not legal advice. Always confirm the current requirement on the official page linked in this guide before you act, and consider a qualified immigration attorney for your specific situation.