UKVI does not publish a mandatory flight-booking requirement for the Standard Visitor visa. What it does require is that you satisfy the caseworker you will leave at the end of your visit, and a dated return itinerary is one of the cleanest ways to show that.
Documents supplied for Schengen, US, UK, Canada, UAE and beyond. since 2017.
Real six-character booking references that resolve on the airline’s own ‘manage booking’ page. Check yours before you file.
Bookings are made through accredited channels in live airline reservation systems, not generated as PDFs.
If a booking reference does not verify, or we fail to deliver, you get a full refund. Read the policy.
The order matters more than people expect. Do these out of sequence and you end up with a lapsed booking or an appointment you cannot fill.
The official form is free to fill in. Plenty of agent sites charge you to type the same answers into the same form.
You will be sent to a VFS or TLScontact centre for fingerprints and a photo.
Proper PDFs. A phone photo of a bank statement lying on a kitchen table reads as careless, and caseworkers see thousands of them.
This is the whole test. Job, business, studies, family, property, and a dated return booking.
Just before you submit, so it is live when the caseworker opens the file.
Passport and the printed confirmation.
On standard service. Do not book the fare until the decision lands. UKVI advises this itself.
| What you pay | How much |
|---|---|
| Standard Visitor, up to 6 monthsRose from £127 in April 2026 | £135 |
| Long-term, 2 years | £475 |
| Long-term, 5 years | £848 |
| Long-term, 10 years | £1,059 |
| Priority serviceOptional, cuts the decision to about 5 working days | From £500 |
Checked 2026-09-25. Government fees move, sometimes with a month’s notice and sometimes with none. Treat this as a planning figure and confirm the number you will actually be charged at GOV.UK Standard Visitor before you pay.
None of these are exotic. Every one of them is fixable in the ten minutes before you hit submit.
UK processing times swing widely. Guidance explicitly advises against booking travel before you have the decision.
Check that the return leg falls inside the six-month visitor allowance.
If someone else is paying, say so, with their letter and their bank statements. Do not leave the caseworker to infer it.
UKVI wants uploads as clean PDFs. A phone photo of a screen reads as careless.
Buy the reservation on its own, or have us take on as much of the application as you want.
A real, airline-held itinerary with a live PNR you can verify yourself.
₹399$4.5per traveller, one way
FLIGHTWe read your file and tell you exactly what to fix. You assemble the documents.
₹799$9per application
ADVICEEverything above, plus the flight reservation and hotel booking, with every date reconciled.
₹1,499$16.9per application
FULLFILEEverything above, and we complete the forms and lodge the application for you.
₹1,999$22.5per application
FILINGIt is not a listed mandatory document, but you must satisfy the caseworker that you will leave. A dated return reservation, with accommodation and funds, is the standard way applicants demonstrate that.
No. UKVI itself advises against booking travel before a decision. Use a reservation for the application and buy the fare once the visa is granted.
A Standard Visitor visa normally permits up to six months per visit. Your return leg should fall well inside that window.
You need to show where you will stay. A hotel booking works; so does a letter from the friend or relative hosting you, with their address details.
Background reading: what a dummy ticket actually is · is it legal? · how to verify a PNR
Verifiable flight reservation from ₹399, or the flight + hotel pack for ₹599.
