Check if you need a UK visa: Information based on your answers

You will not need a visa to come to the UK

If you’re travelling on or after 8 January 2025, you’ll need to apply for an electronic travel authorisation (ETA).

You can stay in the UK as a tourist for up to 6 months without a visa, but you must meet the Standard Visitor eligibility requirements.

You may want to apply for a Standard Visitor visa if you have a criminal record or you’ve previously been refused entry into the UK.

You can visit the UK on holiday or to spend time with family and friends.

While in the UK as a tourist, you cannot:

do paid or unpaid work for a UK company or as a self-employed person
claim public funds (benefits)
live in the UK for long periods of time through frequent or successive visits
marry or register a civil partnership, or give notice of marriage or civil partnership. You’ll need a Marriage Visitor visa instead

You must provide a valid passport or travel document. Your passport should be valid for the whole of your stay in the UK.

You may also be asked to prove that:

you’re visiting for tourism
you’re able to support yourself and your dependents during your trip (or have funding from someone else to support you)
you’ve arranged accommodation for your stay
you’re able to pay for your return or onward journey (or have funding from someone else)
you’ll leave the UK at the end of your visit

The rules on what you’ll need to enter the UK may be different if you’re travelling from Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man.

You may need to show a letter from your parent or guardian giving:

their contact details and consent for you to travel to the UK
the name, date of birth, address and relationship to you of the person you’re staying with
their consent for you to stay with the person named in the letter

Your parent or guardian must tell the relevant local authority about your visit if you’re both of the following:

under 16 (or under 18 if you have a disability)
going to be looked after for more than 28 days by someone who is not a close relative (called ‘private foster care’)

You should bring a reply from the local authority if you have one.

What’s your nationality as shown on your passport or travel document?: USA; Change What’s your nationality as shown on your passport or travel document?
What are you coming to the UK to do?: Tourism or visiting family and friends; Change What are you coming to the UK to do?