The Standard Visitor Visa
The Standard Visitor Visa covers most cases. You can apply for it if you're a third-country national visiting Scotland (or the UK in general) on holiday, to see family and friends, to participate in events (sports- or arts-related), for business purposes or to receive private medical care. This type of visa has replaced all previous, specialised visas such as 'Family Visitor', 'General Visitor', 'Business Visitor', 'Prospective Entrepreneur', 'Sports Visitor' etc. With the Standard Visitor Visa, you can stay in Scotland for up to 6 months and partake in any business-related activities, like conferences, training seminars, events, performances (if you're an artist), research (if you're an academic), fundraising trips for startups/businesses, clinical attachments or observer posts for doctors/dentists. You can also study for up to 30 days, however, you are not allowed to work, volunteer, or get public funds.
Good to know:
While in Scotland on a Standard Visitor Visa, you are also allowed to convert your already existing civil partnership into a marriage, if you wish to do so. But you can't marry from scratch or register a new civil partnership.
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The Standard Visitor Visa will allow you to stay in Scotland for up to 6 months and costs 93 GBP. You can extend it to 11 months for medical treatments with a fee of 186 GBP, or if you are an academic on sabbatical and coming to Scotland for research (again, a fee od 186 GBP applies). There is also the possibility to issue a long-term Standard Visitor Visa, if you're planning on visiting Scotland frequently. The fees are 350 GBP for 2 years, 636 GBP for 5 years and 798 GBP for 10 years, but bear in mind that you're only allowed to stay in 6-month periods; then you have to leave and come back again.
Good to know:
The process for issuing a Standard Visitor Visa usually takes about 3 weeks, but you can apply for it up to 3 months before the date of your travel. Processing times may vary depending on the country you're applying from, so you are advised to make use of the 3-month window if you can.





