UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) is a division of the Home Office responsible for the United Kingdom's

visa Visa most commonly refers to: *Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Visa Plus, an interbank network *Travel visa, a document that allows ...

system. It was formed in 2013 from the section of the

UK Border Agency The UK Border Agency (UKBA) was the border control agency of the Government of the United Kingdom and part of the Home Office that was superseded by UK Visas and Immigration, Border Force and Immigration Enforcement in April 2013. It was forme ...

that had administered the visa system.

History

The then Home Secretary,

Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cab ...

, announced the abolition of the

on 26 March 2013, with the intention that its work would be returned to the Home Office. The agency's

executive agency An executive agency is a part of a government department that is treated as managerially and budgetarily separate, to carry out some part of the executive functions of the United Kingdom government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government or Nort ...

status was removed, and internally it was split, with one division responsible for the visa system and the other for immigration enforcement. May says UKBA had a "closed, secretive, and defensive culture" that contributed to immense backlogs. The intention of the split was to disperse cases more evenly, in a way that would provide them with "high-quality decisions". The responsible minister is the

Minister of State for Immigration The minister of state for immigration is a minister of state in the Home Office of the Government of the United Kingdom. From June 2017 to July 2019 and since October 2022, the minister has attended Cabinet of the United Kingdom, cabinet meetings. ...

. Sarah Rapson, the Registrar General for England and Wales, was appointed as interim director general of UK Visas and Immigration. Her position was made permanent on 5 March 2014. Marc Owen, former senior director of national and international operations, is the current director for visas and citizenship.

Role

UKVI operates the UK visa system, managing applications from foreign nationals seeking to visit or work in the UK, and also considers applications from businesses and educational institutions seeking to become sponsors for foreign nationals. It also considers applications from foreign nationals seeking protection or

British citizenship British nationality law prescribes the conditions under which a person is recognised as being a national of the United Kingdom. The six different classes of British nationality each have varying degrees of civil and political rights, due to the ...

and manages appeals of those who have been denied visas. The UKVI's role has widened in the aftermath of Brexit. In January 2021, the UK implemented a new points-based immigration system, and EU, EEA, and Swiss citizens who resided in the UK must have applied to the EU Settlement Scheme to continue living in the UK after the Brexit transition period.

Locations

, UKVI is spread over nine buildings across the country. The headquarters of UK Visas and Immigration is in South London in

Lunar House Lunar House is a 20-storey office block in Croydon, in South London. It is situated at 40 Wellesley Road, on its east side, and houses the headquarters of UK Visas and Immigration, a division of the Home Office in the United Kingdom. The buildi ...

. Other immigration offices, such as the Public Inquiry Office, are also there. *

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

, London *

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

Solihull Solihull (, or ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the wider Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in West Midlands County, England. The town had a population of 126,577 at the 2021 Census. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe i ...

References

External links

* {{Use dmy dates, date=March 2014 Borders of the United Kingdom Government agencies established in 2013 Immigration services Immigration to the United Kingdom Organisations based in Liverpool Right of asylum in the United Kingdom 2013 establishments in the United Kingdom Visa policy of the United Kingdom

History

Role

Locations

See also

References

External links