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Visa journeys explained in clear English, with official-source checkpoints before any decision.
An Electronic Travel Authorisation is relevant to some visitors, not everyone arriving in London. Nationality, existing permission and the purpose of travel matter.
Job offer, sponsorship, endorsement, English and settlement compared clearly.
Eligible overseas degrees, the annual cap and the route’s time limits.
Course offer, licensed sponsor, funds, English and the post-study transition.
Understand eligibility, timing, work permissions and the route’s limits.
THE LONNOW GUIDE
The useful first question is not which visa sounds most attractive. It is what you intend to do, what permission you already hold and which official route fits those circumstances. Travel permission, employment checks and housing administration are different decisions.
An editorial decision guide, not a ranking. Choose the option that fits your circumstances, then check the relevant official information before committing.
| Your plan | First checkpoint | Do not confuse it with |
|---|---|---|
| A visit | Nationality/purpose check and any ETA or visa requirement | A guarantee of entry or permission for a different activity |
| An offered sponsored job | The exact Skilled Worker role and employer requirements | A National Insurance number or a possible future sponsorship promise |
| Using permission already granted | The eVisa record, conditions and account details | A new grant of permission created by a share code |
| A complicated or changing case | Appropriately regulated, case-specific advice | A guaranteed outcome or an unverified social-media answer |
Source notes: GOV.UK: check if you need a UK visa · GOV.UK: electronic travel authorisation overview · GOV.UK: Skilled Worker overview · GOV.UK: accessing and using an eVisa · GOV.UK: find an immigration adviser
Use the GOV.UK visa checker with the nationality and purpose relevant to your own trip. Visiting family, taking a course and starting an employed role should not be treated as interchangeable plans. Note whether you already hold UK permission, where you are applying from and whether the application concerns only you or accompanying family members. Those details help you navigate the official guidance without assuming that a friend’s outcome applies.
Some travellers need an electronic travel authorisation rather than a visa. The ETA overview explains that this depends on circumstances and that an ETA does not guarantee admission at the border. Use the official government route rather than a lookalike intermediary. This category does not decide your eligibility or convert permission for one purpose into permission for another.
Continue with Plan the practical move.
Source notes: GOV.UK: check if you need a UK visa · GOV.UK: electronic travel authorisation overview
For Skilled Worker applications, the official starting points are an approved employer, a certificate of sponsorship, an eligible occupation and the applicable pay and English requirements. A certificate of sponsorship contains information about a particular offered role; it is not the same as a casual promise that an employer might sponsor someone later. Ask the employer’s recruitment team what is actually confirmed before treating the role as a workable immigration plan.
The salary rules depend on the job and relevant circumstances, so this overview deliberately does not offer one universal threshold. The official guidance also distinguishes applications made outside the UK, extensions and switching from another route. A later job or employer change can require an update application. Use our route guides to organise the questions, then return to the exact government requirements for the application you intend to make.
Continue with Read the Skilled Worker guide · Explore the Global Talent guide · Explore the Innovator Founder guide.
Source notes: GOV.UK: Skilled Worker overview
An eVisa records immigration status and its conditions digitally. Access is through a UK Visas and Immigration account. The government service also explains how to obtain a share code and how passport or travel-document details relate to travel. Keep your own contact and identity details accurate; do not assume that possessing an old physical document settles every current proof requirement.
Create a short administration list from your decision and account: the permission dates, any conditions, the account you use and the official method for reporting an error. Keep private documents out of public forums and ordinary enquiry messages. This is also the point to distinguish proof requested for a job from proof requested for renting a home in England, rather than distributing one code indiscriminately.
Continue with Understand the rental process.
Source notes: GOV.UK: accessing and using an eVisa
If a previous refusal, an expiring permission, a dependant’s circumstances or a proposed change of activity makes the route unclear, get advice directed at that issue before committing money. GOV.UK provides routes to advisers regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority or an approved professional body. Check the registration and what the adviser is authorised to do, as well as the fee and scope of the work.
Prepare a factual chronology and your specific question for that conversation. An adviser can explain and assist with a case but does not make the immigration decision. Avoid anyone who promises a guaranteed result or urges you to hide an inconvenient fact. This hub is a navigation aid, not a substitute for case-specific regulated advice.
Source notes: GOV.UK: find an immigration adviser
No. GOV.UK explicitly says that an ETA does not guarantee entry. Establish what permission is appropriate to your nationality and actual purpose before making the trip.
Source notes: GOV.UK: electronic travel authorisation overview · GOV.UK: check if you need a UK visa
No. An adviser can help with immigration matters within their authorised scope, but does not make the government’s decision. Verify the adviser’s regulatory status and agree what help you are buying.
Source notes: GOV.UK: find an immigration adviser
Choose what you need. Every recommendation comes from a current LONNOW guide in this section.
The clearest short route · reading time shown on every result
Routes, timings and practical stops · reading time shown on every result
Rankings, costs and trade-offs · reading time shown on every result
The most detailed explainers · reading time shown on every result
A decision shortlist—not legal advice. Every route opens to its current GOV.UK checkpoint.
Graduate permission changes from two years to 18 months for non-doctoral applications made on or after 1 January 2027. Verify your own date and eligibility.
You have an eligible job offer from an approved sponsor.
You can evidence leadership or potential leadership in eligible digital technology.
You will build a new, innovative, viable and scalable endorsed business.
You successfully completed an eligible UK course on a Student visa.
You graduated from an eligible overseas university within the last 5 years.
You have a course offer and CAS from a licensed student sponsor.
Immigration decisions depend on the route, date and individual circumstances. LONNOW explains the sequence and vocabulary, but the linked GOV.UK material remains the controlling checkpoint. Confirm eligibility, evidence, fees and timing before paying or making an irreversible plan.
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