UK Visas for Turkish Citizens

If you are a Turkish national looking to live, work, study or settle in the UK, or want to visit the UK for a holiday or spend time with loved ones, you will need to apply for a visa.

This guide looks at the different UK visa, settlement and citizenship options that could be available to Turkish nationals.

Do Turkish citizens need a UK visa?

Under the UK’s Immigration Rules, all Turkish citizens, with the exception of anyone holding a diplomatic passport issued by Turkey, will need entry clearance prior to travelling to the UK as either a visitor or for any other purpose. This is because Turkish nationals are classed as non-visa nationals, where you will need to apply to UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) for a suitable visa and be approved in advance, even as a short-stay visitor.

When it comes to the most suitable UK visa for Turkish citizens, this will primarily depend on the reason for wanting to come to the UK. For example, if you are looking to come to the UK to undertake paid employment, there are various work visa options to consider. Equally, if you are looking to come to the UK to be with family, you may be able to apply for a family-based visa.

UK visa options for Turkish citizens

Depending on your circumstances, there are various key visa options available to Turkish citizens to come to the UK:

UK visit visa

A visit visa is the permission needed from UKVI to be able to visit the UK for the purposes of tourism and leisure, together with a number of other permissible activities. These could include, for example, business-related reasons, such as attending meetings or conferences in the UK, provided you are not undertaking any paid employment. It could also include undergoing medical treatment or taking part in a school exchange programme.

You can visit the UK for up to 6 months on a standard visitor visa. You may also apply for a long-term visitor visa, which can be granted for either 2, 5 or 10 years. If granted, you will not need to apply for a new visa from UKVI every time you visit during this validity period, although you will only be able to stay for a maximum of 6 months on each occasion.

The cost of applying for a standard visitor visa is £100. The cost of a 2-year visitor visa will be £376, for a 5-year visa £670 and for a 10-year visa £837.

UK work visas

Following the post-Brext reform of the UK immigration system, there are now multiple different work visas for Turkish citizens to consider, all with different route-specific requirements.

In many cases, you will need the offer of a job meeting the minimum skill and salary requirements from a licensed UK sponsor, such as under the skilled worker visa or Global Business Mobility routes. There are also certain unsponsored work routes, such as the Global Talent route, while the Scale up visa requires initial sponsorship but can be extended without the need to be sponsored by an employer.

The length of each visa will depend on your selected immigration route. For example, you may be permitted to work in the UK for up to 5 years with the Skilled Worker visa and 2 years under the Scale up route. However, you may be eligible to extend your stay in the UK shortly prior to expiry of your existing visa.

The cost of applying for a UK work visa can also vary, depending on the visa type and your circumstances. For example, the Skilled Worker visa application fee is up to £1,423 while the Scale up visa application costs £715. You may also be required to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge of £624 per year ‘and’ meet a financial requirement, where you will need available funds of £1,270 in your bank account to show you can support yourself on arrival.

UK entrepreneur visa

If you have plans to set up your own business in the UK, you would need to look at the Innovator Founder visa. Before you can apply for the visa, you first need to secure an endorsement from an approved body. This involves developing a business plan and proving you meet the endorsement criteria.

Once endorsement has been secured, you can proceed to apply to the Home Office for the Innovator Founder visa.

UK study visa

If you are a Turkish citizen aged at least 16 and have the offer of a place from a licensed student sponsor, you can apply for a student visa to pursue a course of study in the UK. The length of time that you can stay in the UK on a student visa will depend on the duration of your course. For example, if you are aged 18 years or over, and you will be studying at degree level, you will typically be able to stay for a period of up to 5 years. If your course is below degree level, you will usually be able to stay for up to 2 years.

As with many of the work visas, you can apply to extend your visa to continue your studies in the UK. Further, once you have graduated, you may also switch to the graduate visa from within the UK to allow you to look for work for 2 years, unless you have a PHD or other doctoral qualification, in which case your graduate visa will last for 3 years.

The cost to apply for a student visa is £363 from outside the UK, or £490 to extend or switch to this visa type from inside the UK, while the cost to apply for a graduate visa is £715. In all cases, you will also be liable to pay the healthcare surcharge, although this will be discounted to £470 per year as a Turkish student.

UK family visa

There are various long term family visas available for Turkish citizens, including for spouses and partners, for children to join a parent in the UK, for parents of children living in the UK and for adult dependant relatives. For example, the spouse visa is designed for the spouse or partner of a British citizen or someone settled in the UK, as well as anyone married to or in a long term relationship with a person with humanitarian protection or refugee status.

You may also be granted a visa as a Turkish citizen if, for example, you and your partner would experience insurmountable difficulties if you had to live together as a couple outside of the UK or, alternatively, you have a child in the UK with British citizenship or who has lived in the UK for at least 7 years and it would be unreasonable to make them leave.

The length of a family visa can vary, depending on the basis on which you apply. For example, if applying for a spouse or parent visa from outside the UK, you will be allowed to reside in the UK for a period of 2 years 9 months. If you apply to switch to this visa route from inside the UK, you will be granted a visa for 2 years and 6 months.

The cost to apply for a family visa will also vary where, for example, a spouse or parent visa will cost £1,538 to apply from outside the UK or £1,048 to apply from within the UK. For any type of family visa, you must also pay the annual healthcare surcharge, although this will be reduced to £470 per year for those applicants under the age of 18 years old.

UK visa requirements for Turkish citizens

The UK visa requirements for Turkish citizens will depend on the immigration route under which entry clearance or leave to remain is sought. The requirements will differ depending on the reason for you wanting to come to or stay longer in the UK. In many cases, with the exception of the visitor visa, for which the maximum period of stay is typically 6 months, you will be able to extend any existing visa from within the UK, provided you continue to meet the relevant requirements. In some instances, you may also be able to switch to a different visa route from within the UK, based on any relevant change in circumstances.

For each type of visa you will need to satisfy what are known as validity, suitability and eligibility requirements. The validity requirements broadly relate to complying with the correct rules when it comes to using the appropriate online form and paying the relevant fee, while the suitability requirements refer to your suitability to come to the UK based on things like any criminal history or previous compliance with UK immigration laws.

The eligibility requirements all relate to the specific type of visa sought. For example, if you are applying for a skilled worker visa, you must, among other things, have the offer of a genuine job role that meets the minimum skill and salary requirements from a UK licensed sponsor. In contrast, to be eligible for a spouse or parent visa, you must meet a relationship requirement. In either scenario, you would also need to prove your knowledge of English and be able to financially support yourself and any dependants while in the UK.

Importantly, even if you think you meet all of the relevant requirements for a UK visa for Turkish citizens, it is strongly advised to first seek expert advice before submitting your application. By seeking expert advice prior to applying, your legal advisor can help you to explore all available immigration options and assist with your visa application.\

Applying for UK permanent residence as a Turkish national

If you would like to settle permanently in the UK, also referred to as indefinite leave to remain (ILR), many of the options for a UK visa for Turkish citizens will provide a path to settlement. This means that having met a continuous residence requirement under any applicable route, and provided you meet all of the other ILR requirements, you can apply for lawful permanent residence. If successful, you will have the right to live, to work and study in the UK, free from immigration restrictions or limitations on your length of stay.

In many cases, you will be able to apply to extend your stay in the UK without applying for indefinite leave, with no limit on how many times you can extend, although applying for settlement will often be preferable if you have decided to make the UK your permanent home. However, when it comes to the continuous residence requirement for ILR, there are different route-specific periods. For example, under the skilled worker route, you will need to have lived lawfully in the UK for 5 years, and similarly as either the Turkish spouse or partner of a British or settled citizen, while under the innovator founder route you can apply for settlement once you have resided in the UK for just 3 years.

In all cases, you must also satisfy a knowledge of life in the UK requirement.

Applying for British citizenship as a Turkish national

If you are either married to or in a civil partnership with a British citizen, you may decide to apply for British citizenship, although you must have lived in the UK for the past 3 years and have already been granted ILR. If this is the case, you will be eligible to apply for citizenship immediately. In contrast, if you have held lawful permanent residence status, for example, as a skilled worker or under one of the many other applicable ILR routes, then you will need to have held this status for at least a year before you will be eligible to apply.

Applying to naturalise as a British citizen is a huge step. There are also several additional requirements that must be met, including, for example, a good character requirement, as well as the provision of two suitable referees to confirm your identity and, if asked, to answer any questions about your suitability to become a British citizen.

Need assistance?

DavidsonMorris are recognised leaders in UK immigration. For expert advice on your visa options as a Turkish national to visit, work in or move to the UK, contact our specialists.

UK visas for Turkish nationals FAQs

Last updated: 26 May 2023