The UK Home Office has announced visa and transit rules for 2025, affecting travelers from different countries.
These changes explain the visa requirements for entering or passing through the UK, including rules for airside and landside transit passengers.
According to the UK Home Office, nationals from countries marked in red on the official list require a visa to enter or transit the UK.
The list also specifies that nationals from countries marked in black need a visa for landside transit and that all visa nationals may transit the UK without a visa in certain circumstances.
The updated visa rules affect a wide range of travelers, including those transiting through the UK without passing through the border.
The Home Office has issued a list of countries whose nationals must secure a UK visa before traveling. Some of the countries listed include Afghanistan, Albania, Bangladesh, China, Congo, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, South Africa, Turkey, and Venezuela (for non-biometric passport holders).
Travelers from these countries must ensure they obtain a visa prior to traveling to or through the UK.
The new regulations outline the rules for airside transit, where passengers remain in the airport’s secure area without crossing the UK border control. Travelers can transit airside without a visa if they meet the following conditions:
However, nationals from red-listed countries must still obtain a visa to transit airside, unless they hold one of the following:
The Home Office also warns that other countries’ e-visas or e-residence permits are not acceptable unless the airline can verify it with the issuing country.
For passengers who need to pass through immigration, such as to change airports or collect baggage, additional requirements apply.
These passengers must ensure their onward flight departs before 23:59 the following day and that they possess valid documents for their final destination. Nationals from both red and black-listed countries require a visa for landside transit unless they hold one of the following:
A valid US Immigrant visa endorsed with a US arrival stamp (a wet-ink/ADIT stamp version will NOT be accepted by UK border control); or
An expired I-551 Permanent Residence card provided it is accompanied by a valid I-797 letter authorising extension; or a standalone US Immigration Form 155A/155B (attached to a sealed brown envelope); or
Home office warns that other countries’ e-visas or e-residence permits are NOT acceptable 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 informed in the release.
“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 informed in the release.
There are specific exemptions for some travelers. UK permanent residents do not need a visa, as long as they return within two years of their last departure.
Holders of UK-issued refugee travel documents and stateless individuals recognized under the 1954 UN Convention are also exempt from needing a visa for transit.
Whether holders of non-national and refugee travel documents require a direct airside transit visa (DATV) depends on their original nationality, and whether they qualify for one of the exemptions mentioned above.
Additionally, seafarers traveling on duty with valid seafarer’s books issued under ILO conventions are not required to obtain a visa.
Home Office also informs that visa nationals may transit the UK without a visa in these circumstances.