UK abolishes visitor visas for Colombian nationals
As of November 9, 2022, nationals of Colombia will not need a visitor visa to travel to the UK for a period of up to six months.
The United Kingdom announces that from November 9, 2022, nationals of Colombia will not need a visitor visa to travel to the United Kingdom for a period of up to six months. In a procedure before the British Parliament on Tuesday, October 18, the decision to eliminate visitor visas was approved, after an extensive and rigorous process of evaluation by different institutions of the British government.
With this announcement, the United Kingdom becomes more accessible to Colombians who want to discover and enjoy its rich culture, long history and beautiful landscape. And beyond tourism, with this change, the country will open its doors to new business opportunities in various sectors.
George Hodgson, British Ambassador to Colombia commented: We are happy to be able to share the UK with even more Colombians. Clearly, the removal of visitor visas – a process we have been working on for a long time – marks a big step in our UKCOL relationship. We hope to see an increase in the number of Colombian visitors to the UK very soon.
Regarding the decision, the Foreign Ministry stated that: The United Kingdom is one of the main partners of Colombia, as evidenced by its unrestricted support for the implementation of the 2016 Peace Agreement and its significant contributions to the protection of the environment, in particular the Amazon.
Like Colombia, two other countries in the region, Peru and Guyana, will benefit from the same change to the visitor visa regime. Nationals of Colombia who have applied for a visitor visa and have not yet provided biometric data (ie their fingerprints) can now withdraw their application and apply for a visa fee refund through www.gov.uk/cancel-visa
It is important to highlight that the requirements to work, study and settle in the United Kingdom are maintained. This is however great news for the student and english language travel market.
