Indian passport holders need a Standard Visitor visa to visit the United Kingdom. It costs GBP 135 (about INR 17,558) for a stay of up to six months, takes about three weeks to decide, and cannot be replaced by an Electronic Travel Authorisation, because the ETA is not open to Indian nationals ( GOV.UK Standard Visitor, accessed 2026-08-27; INR at 1 GBP = INR 130.06, ECB reference rate published 2026-08-26).
This guide is maintained by Zurich Kotak General Insurance, an IRDAI-registered general insurer in India and part of the Zurich Insurance Group.
How Zurich Kotak fits in: A Standard Visitor application asks for no insurance, but the United Kingdom is an expensive place to need a hospital: Zurich Kotak’s Smart Travel plans cover emergency medical treatment, medical evacuation, baggage loss or delay, passport loss and trip cancellation for specified reasons, each up to the limits of the plan you buy. Cover is bought per trip against the destination, the dates and each traveller’s age, and the policy is issued online as soon as those are fixed.
Last verified: 2026-08-27.
Can Indians travel to the UK on an ETA?
No. An Indian passport holder cannot use the UK ETA, and applying for one would neither be accepted nor allow you to travel.
This is not a grey area. Two documents in the Immigration Rules settle it:
1. India is a visa national. Appendix Visitor: Visa national list carries India at entry 47, and states that anyone meeting its criteria needs entry clearance, meaning a visa, in advance of travel to the UK for any purpose ( GOV.UK Immigration Rules, accessed 2026-08-27).
2. India is not on the ETA list. Appendix ETA National List was built in four tranches from November 2023: Qatar, then the other Gulf states, then 42 countries including Australia, Canada, Japan, Singapore and the United States, then the European countries. India is in none of them ( GOV.UK Immigration Rules, accessed 2026-08-27).
The ETA is real, it costs GBP 20 (about INR 2,601), and it is quicker and cheaper than a visa. It is not a route an Indian traveller may choose. If a website offers you a UK ETA on an Indian passport, it is either mistaken or selling you something else.
The only place to apply
The Standard Visitor visa is applied for on GOV.UK and nowhere else, at https://www.gov.uk/standard-visitor .
GOV.UK carries its own warning on the application page: other websites may charge more, and applicants should avoid sites that imitate government services. Compare your browser bar against gov.uk , with no prefix and no suffix.
Part of the process happens offline: after applying and paying online you attend a UKVI visa application centre to prove your identity, booking the appointment inside the online application.
What a UK tourist visa costs for Indians
A Standard Visitor visa is GBP 135 for up to six months. The long-term versions cost more upfront but still permit only six months per visit.
Route | Fee from 8 Apr 2026 | INR (approx.) | Maximum stay |
Standard Visitor, up to 6 months | GBP 135 | 17,558 | 6 months |
Long-term Standard Visitor, 2 years | GBP 506 | 65,810 | 6 months per visit |
Long-term Standard Visitor, 5 years | GBP 903 | 117,444 | 6 months per visit |
Long-term Standard Visitor, 10 years | GBP 1,128 | 146,708 | 6 months per visit |
Standard Visitor for medical treatment | GBP 234 | 30,434 | 11 months |
Standard Visitor for academics | GBP 234 | 30,434 | 12 months |
Direct Airside Transit visa | GBP 41.50 | 5,397 | airside only |
Transit visit visa, landside | GBP 74.50 | 9,689 | up to 48 hours |
Fees rose on 8 April 2026, so any page quoting GBP 127 is out of date (Home Office immigration and nationality fees, 8 April 2026, accessed 2026-08-27). Conversions use 1 GBP = INR 130.06, the ECB reference rate published 2026-08-26, and are indicative: the fee is charged in pounds, so the rupee amount debited depends on your card’s rate and markup.
How long a UK visa takes, and what priority buys
The published decision time is three weeks. Priority costs GBP 500 more and usually decides in five working days; super priority costs GBP 1,000 more and usually decides by the end of the next working day.
Service | Extra fee | INR (approx.) | Usual decision time |
Standard | none |
| 3 weeks |
Priority | GBP 500 | 65,030 | 5 working days |
Super priority | GBP 1,000 | 130,060 | End of the next working day |
Four things are worth knowing before you pay ( GOV.UK visa decision waiting times and faster decisions, both accessed 2026-08-27):
· The clock starts at your biometric appointment, not at online submission. A distant slot delays everything behind it.
· Super priority means two working days if you proved your identity on a weekend or bank holiday.
· Every traveller pays the priority fee separately. A family of four pays four times GBP 500 on top of four visa fees, and decisions are issued together.
· Neither service is a guarantee, and a slower decision is not usually refunded.
Planning a trip to the UK? Get covered before you fly. A visa application is money at risk until it is decided, and travel insurance for the UK from Zurich Kotak protects the trip you are about to book.
How to apply, step by step
The application is online, but the identity check is in person.
1. Apply online at gov.uk , no earlier than three months before you travel. The form can be saved and resumed.
2. Pay the fee, plus the priority fee if you want it. Each applicant files separately, including each family member.
3. Book the visa application centre appointment inside the online application. GOV.UK warns the centre could be in another country, so allow time.
4. Attend the appointment. Prove your identity with your passport, give fingerprints and a photograph, and hand over supporting documents.
5. Collect your passport the same day. The centre returns it immediately, though it may keep other documents while the application is processed.
6. Wait for the decision, which arrives by letter or email.
Our guide to checking a visa status with a passport number explains what the tracking tools accept, which is rarely a passport number on its own.
What the application asks you for
There is no fixed document checklist. The form asks for evidence that you will leave and can pay for the trip, and it goes further than most applicants expect.
Always asked: your travel dates, where you will stay, the expected cost of the trip, your home address and how long you have lived there, your parents’ names and dates of birth, your annual income, and any criminal, civil or immigration offences.
Sometimes asked: up to ten years of travel history, your employer’s address and telephone number, your partner’s passport details, who is paying for the trip, and passport details of any family member in the UK.
Two rules fail applications quietly. Documents not in English or Welsh need a certified translation, and a visit longer than six months requires a tuberculosis test certificate.
What a Standard Visitor may and may not do
It is a visitor visa, not a light work permit, and the boundary is enforced.
Permitted: tourism and holidays; visiting family and friends; business activities such as meetings and interviews; permitted paid engagements as an expert in your field; volunteering up to 30 days with a registered charity; recreational courses up to 30 days; study, placements or exams on courses up to six months; academic and senior medical visits; medical treatment; and passing through the UK in transit.
Not permitted: paid or unpaid work for a UK company or as a self-employed person, outside a permitted paid engagement; claiming public funds; living in the UK through frequent or successive visits; and marrying or giving notice of marriage, which needs a Marriage Visitor visa.
The eligibility test behind all of this is also the main reason applications are refused: you must show that you will leave at the end of the visit, can support yourself and any dependants, can pay for the return journey, and will not make the UK your main home through repeat visits ( GOV.UK Standard Visitor, accessed 2026-08-27).
Transiting through a UK airport
An Indian passport holder needs a visa to transit the UK, even without leaving the airside area. Staying airside needs a Direct Airside Transit visa at GBP 41.50 (about INR 5,397). Passing through border control needs a Transit visit visa at GBP 74.50 (about INR 9,689), valid for up to 48 hours.
One saving matters: a Standard Visitor visa already covers transit, so a valid one buys you nothing extra. Anyone staying beyond 48 hours, or transiting often over more than six months, needs the Standard Visitor visa instead.
Is travel insurance required for a UK visa?
No. Travel insurance is not one of the conditions GOV.UK lists for a Standard Visitor, so no policy is needed to obtain the visa. We say so plainly because our own business is insurance, and overstating a legal requirement would be the easy thing to do.
The reason to hold cover is practical. The UK is an expensive place to fall ill in, and a six-month visit is long enough for something to go wrong. Zurich Kotak’s Smart Travel policy covers emergency medical treatment, baggage loss and delay, passport loss and trip disruption, all up to plan limits, with claims handled by Europ Assistance India, a 24x7 line on +91 22 6734 7863, and settlement within 15 days of complete documents.
Where this sits in your trip planning
Two pages carry the rest of the trip.
· If your trip also takes in mainland Europe, the UK sits outside the Schengen area and needs its own visa. Our guide to the Europe tourist visa for Indians covers that side.
· Once the visa is decided, travel insurance for the UK covers the trip itself.
Common mistakes on a UK visitor application
Five errors cost Indian applicants the most time and money.
· Looking for an ETA. Indians are visa nationals, so time spent hunting for a shortcut is time lost from a three-week decision window.
· Applying too late. Three weeks is a published average, not a promise, and the clock starts at the biometric appointment.
· Booking flights first. GOV.UK does not require tickets, and non-refundable bookings made before a decision are money at risk.
· Assuming one application covers a family. Every traveller applies and pays separately, priority fees included.
· Under-answering the finance questions. The visa turns on showing you will leave and can pay for the trip, and thin evidence there is the commonest cause of refusal.
Frequently asked questions
Do Indians need a visa for the UK, or is an ETA enough? Indians need a visa. India is a visa national under Appendix Visitor: Visa national list, at entry 47, and India does not appear on the Appendix ETA National List in any of its four tranches. An Indian passport holder visiting the UK for tourism needs a Standard Visitor visa, and an ETA is not available to them.
How much is a UK tourist visa for Indians? GBP 135, about INR 17,558 at 1 GBP = INR 130.06 on 2026-08-26, for a Standard Visitor visa allowing stays of up to six months. Long-term versions cost GBP 506 for two years, GBP 903 for five years and GBP 1,128 for ten years, and each still permits only six months per visit. Every applicant pays their own fee.
How long does a UK visitor visa take for Indians? About three weeks is the published decision time. The priority service costs GBP 500 more and usually decides in five working days, and super priority costs GBP 1,000 more and usually decides by the end of the next working day. The clock starts at the biometric appointment, not at online submission.
Do I need travel insurance for a UK visa? No. Travel insurance is not among the conditions GOV.UK lists for a Standard Visitor visa, so it is not required to obtain the visa. It is worth holding for the trip itself, because medical treatment in the UK is expensive, but it is not a visa requirement.
Do I need a UK transit visa if I am only changing planes? Yes. An Indian passport holder needs a Direct Airside Transit visa at GBP 41.50 to stay airside, or a Transit visit visa at GBP 74.50 to pass through border control for up to 48 hours. If you already hold a valid Standard Visitor visa, it covers transit and you need nothing extra.
