- The UK Home Office plans to implement visa and transit restrictions in 2025.
- Proposed changes will clarify visa requirements for entering or transiting through the UK.
- Restrictions will apply to both airside and landside transit passengers.
The UK Home Office has proposed visa and transit restrictions for 2025, which affect passengers from many nations.
These amendments clarify the visa requirements for entering or passing through the UK, including restrictions for airside and landside transit passengers.
According to the UK Home Office, nationals of countries listed in red on the official list need a visa to enter or transit the UK.
The list also states that nationals of countries designated in black require a visa for landside transit, and that all visa holders may transit the UK without a visa in specific circumstances.
The new visa regulations affect a wide spectrum of travellers, including those passing through the UK without crossing the border.
Countries that require visas
The Home Office has published a list of nations whose nationals must get a UK visa before traveling. Afghanistan, Albania, Bangladesh, China, Congo, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, South Africa, Turkey, and Venezuela (for non-biometric passport holders).
Travelers from these countries must get a visa before traveling to or through the United Kingdom.
Transit regulations for airside passengers
The new laws define the requirements for airside transit, which allows travelers to remain in the airport’s secure area without clearing the UK border control. Travelers may go airside without a visa if they meet the following requirements:
- They arrived and left on the same day.
- They have confirmed their onward flight.
- They have valid entrance paperwork for their next destination.
However, nationals of red-listed nations must still seek a visa to transit airside, unless they hold one of the following:
- A valid visa for entrance into Australia, Canada, New Zealand, or the United States (whether or not the holder is traveling to or from these countries);
- A visa for admission to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, or the United States as part of a reasonable travel FROM the country for which the visa is valid, provided that it has been less than 6 months since the bearer last entered that country with a valid visa.
- A legitimate permanent resident permit issued by: Australia, Canada, issued after June 28th, 2002, and New Zealand
- To enter the UK, you must have a valid permanent residence permit from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, or the USA issued after April 21st, 1998.
- Alternatively, you can have a valid US immigrant visa with a US arrival stamp (a wet-ink/ADIT stamp version will not be accepted by UK border control), an expired I-551 Permanent Residence card with a valid I-797 letter authorizing extension, or a standalone US Immigration Form 155A/155B (attached to a sealed brown envelope).
- A valid common format category D visa for entrance into an EEA state or Switzerland;
- To transit to a destination outside the Republic of Ireland or the Common Travel Area, a valid Irish biometric visa endorsed BC or BC BIVS is required.
- Alternatively, a valid Schengen Approved Destination Scheme (ADS) group tourism visa issued by the issuing country or a valid airline ticket from the Schengen area can be used, as long as the holder can show they entered the Schengen area no more than 30 days prior with a valid Schengen ADS visa.
The Home Office further warns that other nations’ e-visas or e-residence permits are not accepted unless the airline can verify them with the issuing government.
Landside transportation needs
Additional rules apply to people who need to pass through immigration, such as when changing airports or collecting baggage.
These passengers must guarantee that their onward flight departs before 23:59 the next day and that they have proper travel documentation for their final destination. Nationals from both red and black-listed nations need a visa for landside transit, unless they have one of the following:
- To enter Australia, Canada, New Zealand, or the USA, you must have a valid visa and a valid airline ticket via the UK as part of a reasonable journey TO that country.
- Alternatively, you can have a valid visa and a valid airline ticket as part of a reasonable journey FROM that country.
- A valid permanent residence permit issued by:
- Australia
- Canada (issued after June 28, 2002)
- New Zealand
- To enter the UK, you must have a valid US immigrant visa issued after April 21, 1998, endorsed with a US arrival stamp (a wet-ink/ADIT stamp version is not accepted by UK border control).
- An expired I-551 Permanent Residence card must be accompanied with a valid I-797 letter authorizing extension; or a solo US Immigration Form 155A/155B (attached to a sealed brown envelope); or
- To enter an EEA state or Switzerland, applicants must have a valid common format residence permit, a valid category D visa, or an Irish biometric visa authorized by BC or BC BIVS for travel to the Republic of Ireland.
- An Irish biometric visa endorsed BC or BC BIVS is valid for travel FROM the Republic of Ireland if the holder has not entered the country in the previous three months.
The Home Office warns that e-visas or e-residence permits issued by other countries are not admissible for landside transit.
“The decision to allow a passenger to transit without a visa (TWOV) under the scheme is decided by an immigration officer at the UK border,” the Home Office stated in the release.
Exceptions and unusual cases
Certain travelers are excluded. UK permanent residents do not require a visa if they return within two years after their last departure.
Holders of UK-issued refugee travel credentials, as well as stateless individuals recognized under the 1954 UN Convention, are not required to get a transit visa.
The requirement for a direct airside transit visa (DATV) for holders of non-national and refugee travel papers is determined by their initial nationality and eligibility for one of the exemptions listed above.
Furthermore, sailors traveling on duty with valid seafarer’s books issued under ILO conventions do not need a visa.
What to know:
The Home Office also states that visa holders may transit the UK without a visa in several conditions.
Diplomatic or service passport holders can transit airside without a visa.
Passports that are not acknowledged by the HM Government shall be provided with a Form for Affixing a Visa (FAV).
Diplomatic or official passport holders can travel without a visa.
Passports including a personal ID number on the biodata page are exempt from visa requirements.
Diplomatic and official passport holders are not required to get a visa for airside travel.
Holders of a B1/B2 USA visa may not transit the United Kingdom.
Diplomatic passport holders are not required to obtain a visa when traveling by air.
