Less than 2 months until London Olympics - Apply now for your UK visitor visa!

With less than 2 months until the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, we are encouraging anyone who wishes to come to the UK to see the Games to make sure they have applied for the relevant UK visa.

Nationals of most European Countries do not require a visa; if you are from a Country in the European Economic Area (EEA) (this includes the EU) and Switzerland you will not need a visa to travel to the UK. Citizens from other countries that do not require visas include the US, Canada, and Australia. However nationals of many countries are required to obtain a UK visitor visa prior to travel. If you do need a visa to travel to the UK, you should apply soon.

Most visas will allow you to stay in the UK for up to 6 months. You should apply as soon as possible as the UK Border Agency (UKBA) has announced they expect to receive over a million visa applications for the Olympic Games.

To be eligible for a UK visitor visa, you must be able to show that:

• you intend to visit the UK for no more than 6 months;
• you intend to leave the UK at the end of your visit;
• you have enough money to support and accommodate yourself without working or help from public funds, or you and any dependents will be supported and accommodated by relatives or friends;
• you can meet the cost of the return or onward journey; and

You must also be able to show that, during your visit, you do not intend to:

• take paid or unpaid employment, produce goods or provide services, including the selling of goods or services directly to members of the public;
• do a course of study;
• marry or register a civil partnership, or give notice of marriage or civil partnership; or
• receive private medical treatment.

Nationals of countries like Egypt, India, Indonesia, Thailand, and Russia are required to apply for a visitor visa if traveling to the UK. To see a full list of countries that require a visa, check out our UK Visitor visa page. Please note, the UK is not a member of the Schengen group of countries, so a Schengen visa will not be valid for travel to the UK.

The UKBA expects there to be heightened security during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Olympics will run from 27 July to 12 August, while the Paralympic Games will run from 30 August to 9 September 2012. There are still tickets available for both Games.

As a tourist on a UK visitor visa you will not be allowed to work or study while in the UK. If you wish to work or study in the UK you will need to apply for other types of visa such as the Tier 2 Skilled Migrant visa or the Tier 4 Student visa.

If you would like to apply for a UK visa workpermit.com can help. workpermit.com is a specialist visa consultancy with nearly twenty-five years of experience dealing with visa applications. We can help with a wide range of visa applications to your country of choice. Please feel free to contact us for further details.