A Comprehensive Guide to UK Standard Visitor Visa Extensions:
Document Requirements, Cost and Application Timeline

The UK standard Visitor Visa is an Entry Clearance application, perfect visa for visitors travelling to the UK for tourism, business, medical treatment, studies, or visiting family and friends.

On a UK standard Visitor Visa you are permitted to travel to the UK for tourism and sightseeing purposes, to see your family and friends in the UK, to make stopovers at the airport, to sign contracts, attend fairs and business meetings and do other business activities, to volunteer for up to 30 days for a registered charity, to take part in a school exchange program, to do a recreational course of up to 30 days, to participate in congresses as a listener or speaker, to receive medical treatments and attend consultations with a British doctor, for academician to attend a conference, meeting, training, seminar and interview in the UK, to study English Language or a short course at an accredited institution, to sit an entrance exam, retake an exam or course module, or attend a PhD viva, to take the Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board (PLAB) test or sit the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) for qualified foreign doctors and nurses, and Bar Transfer Test (BTT) to become a barrister or Qualifying Law Transfer Scheme (QLTS) to become a Solicitor for qualified foreign lawyers, for doctor’s or dentist’s to take an unpaid clinical attachment or observer post.

UK Visit Visa category that can be extended.
Generally, UK standard Visitor Visa are categories as following:

• Visit on Business
• Visit to Study
• Visit as an Academic
• Visit for Medical reasons

UK Standard Visitor Visa are granted for a duration of 6 months. Not all categories are permitted to make an extension application. Further extension for 6 months are permitted to these limited circumstances:

• A patient receiving medical treatment
• A academic
• A graduate need to retake Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board (PLAB) test
• A graduate undertaking a clinical attachment

A visit visa on medical grounds is granted to those who have medical conditions and requires private consultations or treatment from a physician in the UK. The requirements under this visa category are that the person should have made necessary arrangements for treatment or the consultation, should have funds to pay for their treatment in the UK. This visa is granted for a duration of 6 months. However, if the person has ongoing treatment with the medical practitioner or NHS doctors, you may apply for further extension for 6 months by providing additional evidence to the UKVI.

You have an option to extend your stay in the UK as an academic if you could prove the UKVI the following:

• You will have show that you are highly qualified in your specialist field of expertise
• You will have to prove that you are currently working in your field of expertise at an overseas academic institution
• You will have to prove that you are not filling a permanent teaching post

If you are already in the UK and have permission to visit for less than 12 months, you can apply to stay for up to 12 months in total.

If a graduate wishes to retake the PLAB Test, then they may extend their stay for the duration of the total time they have spent in the UK.
You must take legal advice by speaking to one of our UK Immigration Lawyers to ensure you do not become an overstayer in the UK.

The visit visa extension application fee is about £1000. Generally, the UKVI shall take 8 weeks to make a decision on the extension application. However, you have an option to receive a decision in 2 days by paying an extra cost of £800.

You need to be mindful that these extensions are in-country applications, the applicants are required to be in the UK while submitting this application.

The extension application needs to be supported by the following documents:

• Copy of the applicant’s passport
• Bank statements showing you have funds available to support yourself in the UK
• Documents relating to the reason of extension
• TB test Certificate