Travelling to the UK: Priority Business Visas

Business is booming between the UK and Turkey. We are well on track to meet the commitment made in 2010 by Prime Ministers David Cameron and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to double trade between our two countries by 2015.

Part of boosting business is getting our visa policy right. That’s why earlier this year we introduced a new Priority Visa Scheme to speed up visas for business travelers to the UK. The scheme is open to anyone applying for a Business Visit visa, and to those with an employer sponsoring long-term employment in the UK. Since May, we have received over 2,100 applications under the scheme.

An application under the Priority Visa Scheme means your papers are given top priority and are normally processed within 48 hours. There is an additional fee of 200TL.

The UK now has five Visa Application Centres, in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Bursa and Gaziantep. These are designed to help us provide the best possible visa service right across the country. We are constantly on the look-out for ways to improve our service further.

One more tip: we encourage Turkish business people who regularly visit the UK to consider applying for longer-term visit visas. We offer 2 year, 5 year and 10 year visit visas. Over the course of their term, they’re cheaper and easier than constantly renewing a 6-month visa.  Long-term visas can, if necessary, be transferred to new passports.