Which Latin American countries still require a visa to visit the UK?

Months ago, Colombia, Peru and Guyana celebrated by announcing that their citizens would no longer need a visa to travel to the UK for up to six months.

This was announced by the British Foreign Ministry through its ambassadors in the countries concerned.

(Read also: Beware: Avianca adjusts age so children can travel alone; there is a new restriction)

This measure was taken with the aim of strengthening bilateral cultural, trade and academic relations, and entered into force on November 9, 2023.

The three countries concerned join Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Uruguaywhose citizens are exempt from having to apply for permission to visit the UK as tourists.

However, there are some requirements that travelers from these countries must submit for their trip.

Including: Passport valid for at least 6 months, round-trip flight ticketProof of financial solvency and housing information (whether in a hotel or with family or friends).

Travelers They will not be able to study, work or settle permanently in the UK. So they will have to start a certain visa process.

British authorities are also warning citizens of these countries that if they have a criminal record or have previously been refused entry to the UK, it is best to apply for a regular visitor visa.

Who in Latin America needs a visa?

This standard visitor visa is still a requirement for nearly a dozen countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

the Citizens of Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Suriname and VenezuelaThey will have to undergo this process.

The application must be submitted online at least three months before the trip. The visa costs £100 – about US$113 (at the current exchange rate) – and is valid for six months.

If the plan is to visit the country frequently, you can apply for a multiple visa for 2, 5 or even 10 years, but the costs come to US$422, US$753 and US$941 respectively.

For those who are passing through the UK only for a stopover, heading to another country, they will need to apply for a transit visa which costs the equivalent of US$72.

It should be noted that there are exceptions for citizens of the nine mentioned countries.

The permit is free if your partners or family are British, from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein. But they must be living in the UK before 1 January 2021.

The case of El Salvador

Salvadorans are the only Central American citizens who need a tourist visa to travel to the UK.

El Salvador enjoys the same privilege as its neighbors, but the imposition of a visa regime on its citizens became effective as of May 11, 2022.

The British government explained on its official website GOV.UK that the decision was taken “due to the continuous and significant increase over the past five years in the number of Salvadorans who do not intend to make a short visit.”

According to British authorities, many Salvadorans who arrived without a visa for a supposedly short visit submitted asylum applications once they arrived in the UK.

According to GOV.UK, the country receives “fewer than 40 asylum applications a year from Salvadorans; in 2021 the number was 703.” This makes El Salvador a source of more asylum applications in 2021 than any other country whose citizens can visit the UK. without visa”.

For anyone wishing to travel to the United Kingdom, for whatever reason, it is recommended to visit the official website GOV,UK, which contains all the necessary information about each country of origin.

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