UK visa application: what visa type to select for a conference?
I am a student in the USA on an F1 visa. I need to attend a conference in England and wanted to know the procedure to apply for the visa.
Since I am in the US, when I start using the visa portal on gov.uk, it redirects me to the 'visa4uk' website. I made an account there, and when it is time to select the visa type, I cannot find 'Standard visitor' visa. It is just a list of 'Visit, Study, Work...', upon selecting Visit, a list of 'Tourism, Child, Family, Business...'. So I selected Business. Is this correct?
Best Answer
The correct visa type is a short visit / standard visitor visa:
You can apply for a Standard Visitor visa if you want to visit the UK:
- for leisure, eg on holiday or to see your family and friends
- for business, or to take part in sports or creative events
- for another reason, eg to receive private medical treatment
...
You can apply for a Standard Visitor visa if you want to visit the UK for business-related activities, eg:
- you’re coming to the UK for a conference, meeting or training
- you want to take part in a specific sports-related event
- you’re an artist, entertainer or musician and coming to the UK to perform
- you’re an academic and are doing research or accompanying students on a study abroad programme
- you’re a doctor or dentist and are coming to the UK to take a clinical attachment or observer post
- you want to take the Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board (PLAB) test or sit the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE)
- you want to get funding to start, take over, join or run a business in the UK
As you cannot use the new system from the US, you need to select "Visit" from the visa type list; then followed by "Tourism".
In the old system "Business" visa is a different type of visa entirely; and has been replaced by this new visa type. However, your purpose is not tourism, therefore you should select "Business" as it closely matches the purpose of your trip.
In the end, you'll get the same type of visa:
The Standard Visitor visa has replaced the:
- Family Visitor visa
- General Visitor visa
- Child Visitor visa
- Business Visitor visa, including visas for academics, doctors and dentists
- Sports Visitor visa
- Entertainer Visitor visa
- Prospective Entrepreneur visa
- Private Medical Treatment Visitor visa
- Approved Destination Status (ADS) visa
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Which visa category is for conference?
The type of visa you will need to attend a conference in the United States is B-1, which is a business visitor visa. The B class of visa is a type of non-immigrant visa provided by the US government to foreign people seeking temporary access into the country.What is conference visa?
Answer: A Conference visa is granted to a foreigner: (i) whose sole objective of visiting India is to attend a. conference / seminar or workshop being held in India ; (ii) who holds a valid passport, and a re-entry permit if that.How do I choose my UK visa priority?
To get a decision within 5 working daysIf you're eligible you can choose the 'priority service' when you apply. It costs \xa3500 in addition to the application fee. You'll get a decision within 5 working days.Do you need a work visa to attend a conference?
Applying for a conference visa after Covid-19 So some countries try to open the borders for traveling and allow academic and other research activities. If you are planning during this time to travel to any country to attend any conference or meeting then you need to apply for a conference visa or business visa.Standard Visitor Visa UK Documents
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