UK Visitor Visa extension application process, eligibility & documents required

There are two ways to extend a UK visitor visa. Those in the UK as visitors may be able to get their stay extended as long as the total time, they remain in the UK does not exceed 6 months. For example, if a person with a visitor visa for tourism or business activities in the UK has been granted permission in the UK for 3 months, they can apply to extend their stay for another 3 months. 

Another way for extension is limited to visitors in the UK for certain reasons. This means that not every visitor to the UK can apply to extend their stay beyond 6 months. For example, a visitor in the UK for business activities, tourism, meeting family or friends, etc., is not allowed to extend their permission beyond 6 months.   

To be eligible for extension of a UK visitor visa beyond 6 months, a person must first hold a valid visitor visa that is eligible for extension. A person can only apply to extend their permission in the UK for longer than 6 months if they came to the UK:

• To receive medical treatment, and they need to stay in the UK to continue their treatment

• As an academic, scientist, or researcher, or their accompanying partner or child who still meets the eligibility requirements 

• As a graduate to do a clinical attachment or dental observer post

• To sit for the PLAB ((Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board) test and they require to re-sit for the PLAB test or

• Due to exceptional circumstances – which can be considered compassionate and compelling

Finally, a person needs to demonstrate the continued purpose of their stay in the UK. This means showing that they need to remain in the UK for the same reason as their original purpose, whether it be for receiving private medical treatment, academic activities, or taking the PLAB test. 

A person needs to apply for a visitor visa extension before their current permission expires. 

Validity requirements for a visitor visa extension in the UK 

A visitor seeking permission to stay must apply online on the website gov.uk using the specified application form “Application to extend stay in the UK: FLR(IR)”. 

An application seeking permission to stay in the UK as a visitor must satisfy all the following criteria:

(a) The applicant must have paid any required fee; and

(b) The applicant must have enrolled in biometrics (their fingerprints and facial photograph) when required; and

(c) The applicant must have submitted a passport or other valid document to establish their identity and nationality.

An application for permission to stay as a visitor must be made from within the UK. 

Any application that does not satisfy all the validity criteria as a visitor for the purpose of a visitor visa extension may be rejected as invalid and not considered.

Suitability Requirements

An eligible visitor in the UK seeking permission to stay must not fall within the grounds for refusal under Part Suitability, which replaced Part 9: grounds for refusal and became effective on November 11, 2025.

They must not be:

(a) In breach of UK immigration laws, except that where the “Exceptions for overstayers” in Paragraph SUI 13.1. of Part Suitability applies; or

(b) On immigration bail.

Any application that does not satisfy all the validity criteria as a visitor seeking an extension may be rejected as invalid and not considered.

Eligibility requirements for a visitor visa extension 

1. Obtaining a visitor visa extension for medical reasons 

Where a person is applying for an extension to stay as a medical visitor for the purpose of receiving private medical treatment in the UK, they must also:

1. Satisfy the decision maker that they have paid for any medical treatment already received and they can and will pay the further costs of their treatment; and

2. Satisfy with evidence that their medical condition requires further treatment

2. Obtaining a visitor visa extension as an academic (or the accompanying partner or child of such an academic)

A person, as an academic, researcher, or scientist with permission to visit the UK for less than 12 months, can apply to extend their stay for up to 12 months in total.

The applicant must:

(a) continue to intend to:

1. Take part in formal exchange arrangements with UK counterparts (including doctors); or

2. Take part in research for their own purposes, if they are on sabbatical leave from their home institution; or

3. To do research, clinical practice, or teaching if they are a senior doctor or dentist, provided they are not filling a permanent teaching post; and

(b) Be highly qualified within their field of expertise 

(c) Have been working in that field of expertise at an institution of higher education or an academic institution overseas before arriving in the UK

There is no provision in the Visitor route for family members, other than as the dependant of a visitor undertaking academic activities for more than 6 months, to stay with individuals for the duration of their visit. However, they can enter the UK as a dependant visitor, provided they do not make frequent or successive visits to reside in the UK for extended periods.

3. Obtaining a visitor visa extension to resist the PLAB test

If a person is applying for an extension to stay as a visitor to resist the PLAB test, they must provide written confirmation of this from the GMC (General Medical Council). 

4. Obtaining a visitor visa extension as an overseas graduate to do a clinical attachment or a dental observer post

If a person is applying to obtain a visitor visa extension as an overseas graduate of a dental, medical, or nursing school to take an unpaid clinical attachment in the UK or an unpaid dental observer post here, they must have been successful in the PLAB test.

They must not treat patients.

Documents Required

A UK visitor visa extension applicant must provide a passport or a valid travel document. Their passport should be valid for the complete duration of their stay.

The other documents they will need to submit include, but are not limited to:

• Copies of their older passports showing evidence of travel to other countries

• Confirmation of their legal residence, if they are not a citizen of the country they are applying in, or their right to reside there is not included in their passport

• Proof of funds required, such as a bank statement or payslip, t visit to the UK, 

• In case someone else (the applicant’s sponsor, such as a friend or a family member) is covering the cost maintenance, travel, or accommodation, they should provide evidence showing:

• Demonstrate that they can pay for all reasonable costs related to their• What support is being provided, and whether the support extends to any dependent family members

• How this support is being provided

• The sponsor has sufficient funds to support themselves and their dependents adequately

• The relationship between them and the sponsor

• The sponsor is legally in the UK (if applicable), for example, if they hold a British passport 

• Other socio-economic evidence to show that they have strong ties to their home country, and hence they will return at the end of their visit. For example, 

• A letter from their employer on company-headed paper, detailing their job role, salary, and length of employment, and stating that they have been granted annual leave to visit the UK 

• Evidence of owning property in their home country 

• Evidence of having a family member who depends on them in their home country.

Additional Documents Required

1. Visitor visa extension for medical reasons 

Where a person is applying for permission to stay for the purpose of receiving private medical treatment, they must satisfy the decision maker that the costs of any medical treatment they have already received have been met; and provide either:

1. A medical letter from a registered UK practitioner, or NHS consultant at an NHS hospital detailing their medical condition requiring further treatment; or

2. If they intend to continue to receive NHS treatment under a reciprocal healthcare arrangement, another authorisation form issued by the government of their home country authorising it will pay for the applicant’s further treatment.

2. Visitor visa extension for academic purpose

Where a person is applying for permission to stay as an academic, they must satisfy the decision maker that they satisfy the eligibility criteria, for example, by providing a letter from:

• Their employer, which outlines the dates of their sabbatical or exchange

• Their employer, which outlines the research to be undertaken

• The UK host organisation confirming the arrangements for their research, exchange, or clinical practice

To research certain subjects at the level of postgraduate or above, a person may need to get an ATAS (Academic Technology Approval Scheme) certificate before they start their research.

3. Visitor visa extension to resit the PLAB test

Where a person is applying for permission to stay to resit the PLAB test, they must provide written confirmation from the GMC (General Medical Council) that they are resitting the test.

4. Visitor visa extension to do a clinical attachment or dental observer post

Where a person is applying for permission to stay to take a clinical attachment in the UK or a dental observer post here, they must provide written confirmation:

• of the offer of their clinical attachment

• That they have not undertaken a clinical attachment in the UK before

They will also need a letter from the UK higher education provider (hospital or clinic) confirming they will not be treating patients and are not being paid. 

5. Exceptional or compelling and compassionate circumstances 

There can be circumstances where the applicant may need to extend their stay due to their circumstances, for example caring for a family member who is on last leg of their life or even if the applicant themselves falls ill. 

You will need to provide evidence according to your circumstances such as medical report and Doctor’s letter. 

Applying to obtain a visitor visa extension 

Those applying for permission to stay must apply online using the form “Application to extend stay in the UK: FLR(IR)”.

The fee for an application for each extension is £1,100.

As part of their online UK visitor visa extension application, they will need to book an appointment at a UKVCAS (UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services) service point in the UK. On the date of appointment, they will have their biometrics (their fingerprints and facial photograph) taken at the UKVCAS. 

They will also be required to submit the supporting documents proving their eligibility. They can:

• Upload their documents online 

• Have them scanned at their UKVCAS appointment

If a person has permission as a standard visitor to the UK for less than 6 months

They may be able to get their stay extended as long as the total time they remain in the UK does not exceed 6 months. For example, if a person with a medical visitor visa has been in the UK for 3 months, they can apply to extend their stay for another 3 months. They must satisfy the eligibility criteria and pay the £1,100 fee.  

Getting a decision for a visitor visa extension 

Once a person has applied online, proved their identity, and submitted the supporting documents, they will usually get a decision on their application for a visitor visa extension within 3 weeks.

Granting permission to stay as a standard visitor

If the Home Office is satisfied that the person fulfils all the requirements for extension of the existing UK visitor visa, they will grant the applicant permission to stay for a further 6 months in the UK.

Permission to stay for a visitor in the UK will be granted for the following periods:

1. Those in the UK as a visitor may be able to get their stay extended as long as the total time they remain in the UK (including both the original grant and the extension) does not exceed 6 months. For example, if a person with a visitor visa to see their family members in the UK has been granted permission for 3 months, they can apply to extend their permission to stay for another 3 months; and

2. Those in the UK as a medical visitor for private medical treatment may be granted permission to stay for a further 6 months; and

3. Those in the UK as an academic visitor, or the accompanying partner or child of such a Visitor, may be able to get their stay extended as long as the total time they remain in the UK (including both the original grant and the extension) does not exceed 12 months; and

4. Those in the UK as a Standard Visitor may be able to get their stay extended for up to 6 months in order to retake the PLAB test; and

5. Those in the UK as a Standard Visitor who is successful in the PLAB test may be able to get their stay extended as long as the total time they remain in the UK (including both the original grant and the extension) does not exceed 18 months. 

Refusal of a UK visitor visa extension 

If the decision maker is satisfied that an applicant meets all suitability and the relevant eligibility requirements for a visitor visa extension, they will grant the applicant further permission to stay for the period allowed for the relevant purpose; otherwise, their application will be refused.