Sponsors (INF 3)
Guidance - Sponsors (INF 3)
Last updated
16 July 2008
This guidance explains how you can sponsor a visitor to come to the United Kingdom (UK) and what you can do to support their application. However, you must remember that the applicant must meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules and it is the applicant’s intentions that are the most important issue. It is only a guide but it aims to answer some common questions.
This guidance is mainly for someone who is sponsoring a visitor to the UK, but the advice on what evidence you can produce will be useful if you are sponsoring someone coming to the UK for another reason, such as to study. For more information you should also read the appropriate guidance on this website, or contact the nearest visa application centre where your visitor will make their visa application.
- Does my visitor need a visa to come to the UK?
- How can my visitor come to the UK?
- What are public funds?
- What can I do to help?
- What evidence can I supply?
- Can my visitor do business while in the UK?
- Can my visitor come to the UK for private medical treatment?
- How long can my visitor stay?
- Can I give a guarantee?
- More advice and information
Does my visitor need a visa to come to the UK?
People of certain nationalities need to get a visa before they travel to the UK. List of countries whose nationals need a visa to travel to the UK is available on the visa and transit visa nationals page on this website.
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How can my visitor come to the UK?
Your visitor must show that:
- they want to visit the UK for no more than six months
- they intend to leave the UK at the end of their visit, and
- they have enough money to support themselves in the UK without working or needing any help from public funds.
What are public funds?
Under the Immigration Rules, if you want to travel to the UK you must be able to support yourself and live without claiming certain benefits. A full list of public funds is available on the UK Border Agency website.
You are not allowed to enter the UK or stay as a visitor in the UK to receive medical treatment on the National Health Service (NHS). Information on how you can enter the UK to have private medical treatment is in our Visitors (INF 2) guidance.
You can find more information about public funds in the Immigration Directorate Instructions (IDIs) and Immigration Rules on the UK Border Agency website.
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What can I do to help?
The Entry Clearance Officer will try to make a decision using your visitor’s application form and the supporting documents they have provided. If this is not possible, they will need to interview the applicant. You do not have to attend the interview overseas.
If the person you are sponsoring is applying for a settlement visa as your parent, grandparent or other dependant relative, you will need to complete and sign the Sponsorship Undertaking Form (SU07) below. By signing this form, you confirm that you will be responsible for their maintenance and accommodation in the UK. They should include this completed form when they make their settlement application.
If the person you are sponsoring is refused a visa, they will be told the reasons for the decision in a written notice, and will be offered the opportunity to comment.
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What evidence can I supply?
You should send any supporting documents to the person you are sponsoring so that they can include them with their visa application. Please do not send any documents direct to the visa application centre.
There are no hard-and-fast rules about what documents you should produce when sponsoring a visitor to the UK. You may want to produce evidence of your own immigration status in the UK, and there are some other things you can do, particularly if the visit is for a special reason.
- If the visit is for a holiday and you are a relative or a friend, a letter of sponsorship explaining your relationship to the applicant and why the visit is taking place at this particular time may be helpful.
- If the visit is for a special family occasion (for example, celebrating a wedding, a birth or an important anniversary), an invitation giving details of the event, when and where it is to take place, and a letter of sponsorship would be helpful. If the person you are sponsoring is not a close relative or is one of several people invited to the occasion, it would be helpful to know why the applicant was chosen to attend.
If you are offering to provide support and accommodation, or to pay for travel to the UK, you must provide evidence of your ability to do so.
The following would be helpful.
- A letter of sponsorship giving details of your occupation and salary and how you will provide support and accommodation for the applicant. There is no need to have this letter certified (in other words, signed) before a solicitor or commissioner for oaths to confirm it is genuine.
- Evidence of your ability to pay for the trip, such as copies of your last six months' bank or building society statements and salary slips. If you receive public funds, the Entry Clearance Officer will need to consider carefully how long you will be able to support other people on your limited means. You will not be able to get extra public funds to support the applicant.
We will refuse the application if we find that any documents are false.
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Can my visitor do business while in the UK?
Your visitor can do business in the UK in connection with their work or business overseas, as long as it does not involve:
- taking paid or unpaid work
- producing goods or providing services in the UK, or
- selling goods and services to members of the public.
Please read the Visitors (INF 2) guidance for more information about doing business while visiting the UK.
If you are sponsoring a person for business purposes, you should send us a letter from your company explaining what your visitor will be doing and whether your company is paying for the trip. People who regularly visit the UK for business can apply for a multiple-entry visa as a visitor. These can be valid for one, two, five or 10 years, and the person can enter and leave the UK as often as they want within that time, but they can only stay in the UK for six months on each visit.
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Can my visitor come to the UK for private medical treatment?
Yes. Your visitor can come to the UK for private medical treatment. However, they must be able to show that they:
- have made satisfactory arrangements for the private consultation or treatment that they need
- have enough money to pay for any treatment and to support themselves and live in the UK without working or needing any help from public funds, and
- intend to leave the UK at the end of their treatment.
Visitors are not allowed to receive free medical treatment from the National Health Service. Your visitor should make sure that they have enough medical insurance for the whole of their stay in the UK.
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How long can my visitor stay?
Your visitor can stay in the UK for up to six months each visit. A visit visa gives the person permission to enter the UK and allows them to visit the UK as often as they like while their visa is still valid.
If your visitor travels to the UK regularly, they can apply for a visa that is valid for up to 10 years, but they can only stay for up to six months on each visit.
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Can I give a guarantee?
You cannot guarantee that the person you are sponsoring will leave at the end of their visit. If we decide that your visitor cannot enter the UK, it does not mean that we doubt what you have told us.
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Where can I get immigration advice?
If you need help with your application or advice about the UK’s immigrationrules and requirements, you should seek advice from a qualified immigration adviser. In the UK these are immigration advisers regulated by the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC– www.oisc.gov.uk) or legally qualified professionals regulated by designated professional bodies. The Law Societies of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and the Institute of Legal Executives can provide a list of Law Firms who can advise on immigration matters. Their websites are:
Law Society of England and Wales
Law Society of Northern Ireland
Institute of Legal Executives
For more advice and information about extending your stay once you are in the UK:
The UK Border Agency
Croydon Public Caller Unit
Lunar House
40 Wellesley Road
Croydon CR9 2BY
Phone: (+44) (0)870 606 7766 (general enquiries)
Phone: (+44) (0)870 241 0645 (application forms)
Email: indpublicenquiries@ind.homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk
Website: www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk
For advice on bringing personal belongings and goods into the UK contact:
HM Revenue & Customs
Dorset House
Stamford Street
London SE1 9PY
Phone: (+44) (0)845 010 9000
Website: www.hmrc.gov.uk
Drugs warning
Anyone found smuggling drugs into the UK will face serious penalties. Drug traffickers may try to bribe travellers. If you are travelling to the UK, avoid any involvement with drugs.
False documents
It is better to explain why you do not have a document than to submit a false document with an application. Applicants will be automatically refused and may be banned from coming to the UK for 10 years if they use a false document, lie or withhold relevant information. They may also be banned if they have breached immigration laws in the UK.
Travellers to the UK who produce a false travel document or passport to the UK immigration authorities for themselves and/or their children are committing an offence. People found guilty of this offence face up to two years in prison or a fine (or both).
Alternative formats
In the UK we also have versions of our guidance notes in Braille, on audio tape and in large print. If you would like any guidance notes in one of these formats, please contact us:
UK Border Agency, Visa Services Directorate
London SW1A 2AH
See Also