Verified against official sources — 30 Oct 2026

After Your UK Visitor Visa Is Approved: eVisa, Your 6 Months, and the Few Ways a Stay Can Be Extended

NEW Published 30 October 2026

Set up your eVisa before you travel, keep every stay inside its limit, and know the only three situations where GOV.UK allows a visitor to extend from inside the UK — at £1,172.

SECTION 01Your eVisa and UKVI account

• RULE — The decision email explains your next steps; successful applicants get an eVisa, a digital record of identity and immigration status.
• RULE — Create the UKVI account and link it. To access your eVisa you need to create a UKVI account, confirm your identity, and link the account to the eVisa. Our Student-route arrival and eVisa checklist covers share codes and account upkeep, which work the same way for visitors.
• RULE — Allow up to 24 hours for the eVisa to be accessible after linking.
• RULE — Keep your account details current and travel with the passport that is added to your account — the same discipline GOV.UK sets for all eVisa holders.

SECTION 02Entries, stays, and the line you must not cross

• RULE — Multiple entry is the norm. Within its validity, a visitor may enter and leave the UK multiple times, unless the entry clearance is endorsed as single or dual entry (Appendix V, V 1.2).
• RULE — Each stay is capped. Each stay must not exceed the permitted length endorsed on the visa — usually 6 months — even on a 2, 5 or 10-year visa.
• RULE — The genuine visitor conditions continue. Every entry is a visit: permitted activities only, no work outside them, no public funds — the test in V 4.2 describes the whole life of the visa, not just the application.
• RULE — The frequent-visit line. GOV.UK: "Your visa may be cancelled if your travel history shows you are repeatedly living in the UK for extended periods." The rule it enforces is V 4.2(b): not living in the UK for extended periods through frequent or successive visits, or making the UK your main home.
• RULE — Children travel as endorsed. A child with entry clearance must arrive accompanied by the adult identified on it, or hold an unaccompanied endorsement — otherwise the child may be refused entry unless the V 5.1/V 5.2 requirements are met (V 1.5).

SECTION 03Extensions: the closed list

GOV.UK's extension rules for Standard Visitors are deliberately narrow. You can only apply to stay longer than 6 months in these cases:

• RULE — Permission of less than 6 months, topped up. If you have permission for less than 6 months, you may be able to extend so your total stay is no more than 6 months (for example, 3 months in, extend 3 more) — whether you needed a visa or not.
• RULE — Medical treatment. A patient can apply for a further 6 months if they have paid for treatment already received, can and will pay the further costs, and still meet the medical eligibility requirements — with details from a UK-registered practitioner or NHS consultant, or a fresh government authorisation for reciprocal NHS care. There is no limit on the number of extensions.
• RULE — Academics. An academic in the UK with permission for less than 12 months can apply to stay up to 12 months in total (partner and children too, each applying and paying) — proving high qualification, prior work in the field overseas, no permanent teaching post, and continuing research/exchange (or senior doctor/dentist) purposes; check ATAS first if your research needs it.
• RULE — PLAB and clinical attachments. A graduate can extend up to 6 months to retake the PLAB test (with GMC written confirmation), and after passing can stay to do an unpaid clinical attachment or dental observer post — up to 18 months in total — with written confirmation of the offer and that no attachment has been done in the UK before.
• RULE — The fee is £1,172 for every extension, regardless of nationality — plus £1,000 if you use the super priority service. Biometrics are taken at a UKVCAS service point at no extra fee.
• RULE — Apply in the UK, before your permission expires. You can stay in the UK until the decision as long as you applied in time. Standard-service decisions usually take 8 weeks from documents and identity; super priority is by the end of the next working day (weekday appointment) or 2 working days (weekend).
• RULE — Do not travel while it is pending. You must not travel outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man until you get a decision — your application will be withdrawn if you do.

Anything outside this list — a longer holiday, a family event running on, wanting to start a course or a job — is not an extension case. Staying beyond your permission is overstaying, with consequences for every future application; if your plans change fundamentally, the lawful route is to leave and apply for the correct visa from outside the UK.

Official references and verification status

Every statement about eVisas, entries, stays and extensions in this guide was checked against GOV.UK's Standard Visitor pages (application outcome and extension sections) and Appendix V on 30 October 2026. Extension fees and decision times are GOV.UK's as checked; the super priority price is the additional fee GOV.UK states on the extension pages.

• GOV.UK — Visit the UK as a Standard Visitor
• GOV.UK — Immigration Rules Appendix V: Visitor
• GOV.UK — Get access to your eVisa

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.