You’ll need a visa to pass through the UK in transit
You should apply for a Visitor in Transit visa (https://www.gov.uk/transit-visa) if you arrive on a
flight and will pass through immigration control before you leave the UK.
Transiting without a visa
You might be eligible for ‘transit without visa’ if:
you arrive and depart by air
have a confirmed onward flight that leaves on the day you arrive or before midnight
on the day after you arrive
have the right documents for your destination (eg a visa for that country)
One of the following must also apply:
you’re travelling to (or on part of a reasonable journey to) Australia, Canada, New
Zealand or the USA and have a valid visa for that country
you’re travelling from (or on part of a reasonable journey from) Australia, Canada,
New Zealand or the USA and have a valid visa for that country
you’re travelling from (or on part of a reasonable journey from) Australia, Canada,
New Zealand or the USA and it’s less than 6 months since you last entered that
country with a valid entry visa
you have a residence permit issued by Australia or New Zealand
you have a common format residence permit issued by an European Economic Area
(EEA) country or Switzerland
you have a residence permit issued by Canada issued after 28 June 2002
you have a uniform format category D visa for entry to a country in the EEA or
Switzerland
you have an Irish biometric visa (marked ‘BC’ or ‘BC BIVS’ in the ‘Remarks’ section)
and an onward flight ticket to the Republic of Ireland
Check if you need a UK visa
You don’t need to apply for a Visitor in Transit visa if you already have a Marriage
Visitor or Standard Visitor visa.
you’re travelling from the Republic of Ireland and it’s less than 3 months since you
were last given permission, on the basis of holding a valid Irish biometric visa, to land
or be in Ireland
you have a valid USA permanent residence card issued by the USA on or after 21
April 1998
you have a valid USA I-551 Temporary Immigrant visa issued by the USA (a wet-ink
stamp version will not be accepted)
you have an expired USA I-551 Permanent Residence card issued by the USA on or
after 21 April 1998, with a valid I-797 letter authorising extension
you have a valid standalone US Immigration Form 155A/155B issued by the USA
(attached to a sealed brown envelope)
You won’t be able to transit without a visa if a Border Force officer decides you don’t qualify
under the immigration rules. You can apply for a transit visa (https://www.gov.uk/transit-visa)
before you travel if you’re unsure whether you qualify for transiting without a visa.
