Why do people come to the UK? (1) To visit
Published 29 November 2018
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-year-ending-september-2018/why-do-people-come-to-the-uk-1-to-visit
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Data relate to the year ending September 2018 and all comparisons are with the year ending September 2017, unless indicated otherwise.
This section contains data on:
- Visitor-related Entry clearance visas
- Visitor-related arrivals for non-EEA nationals
Visitor arrivals data are currently based on landing cards completed as people cross the border. In light of the introduction of new digital systems at the border, the use of landing cards are currently being reviewed. See the Home Office’s Response to media reporting on landing cards for more information.
Visitor Entry clearance visa data relate to visas applied for and resolved outside the UK.
More information on non-visitor arrival and visa data by category is included in ʻWhy do people come to the UK? (2) To work’, ʻWhy do people come to the UK? (3) To study’ and ʻWhy do people come to the UK? (4) For family reasons’.
We also provide a more detailed commentary on an annual basis. This is included in ‘Immigration statistics, year ending June 2018’.
1. Immigration to visit the UK
In the year ending September 2018, there were 2.5 million applications for Visitor visas, an increase of 6% on the previous year.
Over the same period, there were 2.2 million Visitor visas granted (including dependants), an increase of 6% to the highest level on record. There were notable increases in Visitor visas granted to:
- Indian nationals, up 41,224 (or 10%) to 468,923
- Chinese nationals, up 18,349 (or 3%) to 561,156
- Pakistani nationals, up 14,623 (or 28%) to 66,530
- Nigerian nationals, up 11,597 (or 21%) to 66,739
Chinese and Indian nationals alone accounted for just under half (47%) of all Visit visas granted.
Visitor visas accounted for over three-quarters of all visas granted in the year ending September 2018.
In the calendar year 2017 (latest available data by purpose of journey), the number of non-EEA visitor arrivals increased by 3.1 million (or 30%), to 13.2 million. This was the highest number of arrivals on record, following a general upward trend since 2009. US nationals accounted for 29% of all non-EEA visitor arrivals. Many nationalities, including US nationals, do not normally require a visa to visit the UK. Consequently the number of Visitor visas granted is much lower than the total number of arrivals.
The number of Visitor visas granted has also shown a general upward trend over the last 10 years.
Figure 1: Visitor passenger arrivals and Visitor visas granted, year ending September 2009 to 20181
Source:
Entry clearance visas table vi 01 q (volume 1) and Admission table ad 02
Chart note:
- Changes in volumes of Visitor arrivals and Visitor visa applications and outcomes can be affected by a number of factors. More information can be found in ‘Policy and legislative changes affecting migration to the UK: timeline’ and the User guide to Home Office Immigration Statistics.
2. About these statistics
The statistics in this section provide an indication of the number of people who have an intention to enter the UK for visit reasons. Data on Entry clearance visas are not comparable with data on arrivals.
Entry clearance visas for the purpose of a visit typically allow an individual to stay in the UK for a period of up to 6 months. EEA nationals do not require a Visit visa to enter the UK. In addition, a list of designated nationalities referred to as “non-visa nationals” do not require a visa in order to visit the UK. More information can be found in ‘Immigration Rules Appendix V: visitor rules’.
Data on Entry clearance visas granted count the number of visit-related Entry clearance visas granted within the period. If an individual is granted a visa more than once in a given period, this will be counted as multiple grants in the statistics. If an individual enters the UK multiple times within the period for which a visa is valid, this will be counted as one grant in the statistics.
Year-on-year comparisons of the number of decisions can be affected by quarterly fluctuations in the data. Such fluctuations can be examined in more detail in the quarterly data that are available in the published tables.
Data in this section also refer to the number of passenger arrivals for visit reasons. Passenger arrival data are sourced from returns made by individual ports and landing cards completed by non-EEA nationals crossing the UK border.
Many nationalities, including US nationals, do not normally require a visa to visit the UK. Consequently the number of Visitor visas granted is much lower than the total number of arrivals.
Passenger arrivals are counted each time an individual enters the UK. Where an individual enters more than once in a period, they will be counted each time they enter. This contributes to the overall difference between the total number of Visitor arrivals and Visitor visas granted.
A number of known factors may have affected the number of applications and outcomes of visit-related visas over time. For example, the Home Office launched a two-year Chinese visa pilot in January 2016 for Chinese nationals. The increase in longer term Visitor visas may have an effect on the number of subsequent reapplications by Chinese nationals. Another example is Kuwaiti visitors, who were able to visit the UK without a visa from February 2016 as part of the Electronic Visa Waiver scheme, which accounts for the large decreases in Visitor grants for Kuwaiti nationals seen since.
3. Data tables
Data on visas and passenger arrivals can be found in the following tables:
Entry clearance visas tables volume 1
Entry clearance visas tables volume 2
Entry clearance visas tables volume 3
Admissions tables