Canadian residents who want to enter the UK and stay for a short while can obtain a UK Visitor visa for Canadians. This visa is typically known as a Short-stay visa that allows its holder to enter the UK and stay for up to 6 to 12 months.

Before applicants are issued a UK Visitor visa, they must meet several eligibility requirements and provide the required documents. However, some changes were introduced to the UK Visitor visa which will impact personal trips and Canadian businesses in the UK.

Do Canadians Need a Visa for UK?

The UK Visitor visa, also called the Standard Visitor visa or the UK Tourism visa is designed for foreign nationals who want to enter the UK for tourism, visitation of family or friends, business, short course study and other purposes for a period of up to 6 months. Canada and the UK have a visa-free agreement, therefore, Canadian citizens with valid Canadian passports can be allowed in the UK visa-free for up to 6 months.

However, Canadian citizens who want to enter the UK and stay for more than 6 months must obtain a UK Visitor visa from Canada. Additionally, Canadian residents who are not citizens of Canada must obtain a suitable UK visa that suits their travel purposes.

What Are the Main Changes to the UK Visitor Visa? 

The changes made to the UK Visitor visa became effective on January 31, 2024. Due to these changes, Canadian businesses and personal trips to the UK will be impacted in some ways. Therefore, to be on the safer side and not break the UK immigration rules, individuals entering the UK from Canada must comply with the visitor rules.

Impact on Canadian Businesses

The main changes to the UK Visitor visa that will affect the Canadian businesses include:

Remote Working Permissions

Canadian residents in the UK on a business trip or holiday can be allowed to remotely do tasks that are related to their jobs in Canada, provided that such tasks are not their main reason for entering the UK.

Some of the activities Canadian residents can do remotely while in the UK include, participating in remote meetings, answering phone calls, and responding to emails. Note that these new rules do not restrict the range or type of activities Canadian citizens can undertake remotely while in the UK. It only emphasizes that remote working must not be the major reason for entering the country.

Intra-Corporate Activities

When visiting an associated group business in the UK, Canadian workers are allowed to work directly with clients, provided the task is incidental to their employment in Canada. In the UK, they will be able to carry out activities such as offering advice, sharing their expertise and knowledge with clients and/or colleagues, and training personnel.

The only restriction to these activities is that they must be necessary for the UK business to deliver a project or service rather than being handled by the Canadian business. This change eliminates the restriction of engaging in any intra-corporate activity as a visitor in the UK while working directly with clients.

Impact on Personal Trips

Canadian residents who want to move to UK from Canada for tourism, to visit family or other personal trips which may include Permitted Paid Engagement and academic visitation must also comply with the changes made to the UK Visitor visa. They include:

Permitted Paid Engagements

Canadian experts on individual trips to the UK for a Permitted Paid Engagement (PPE) will no longer need to obtain a PPE visa to enter the UK. Note that the PPE visa rules and requirements have not been changed, instead of being a different type of UK Visitor visa, it has now become a subcategory of the UK Standard Visitor visa. 

Therefore, before Canadian citizens partake in the PPE, they must prepare to complete their activities within the first 30 days of entering the UK, even though they can be allowed to remain for up to 6 months. For this reason, individuals such as professional sportspeople, performers, musicians, and academics will enter the UK more freely.

Academic Visitation

Canadian residents must obtain a UK Visitor Visit visa to be permitted into the UK to engage in academic activities. The visa for academic activities is typically valid for up to 6 to 12 months. In this case, Canadian nationals who will stay in the UK for more than 6 months to engage in academic activities must obtain a Standard Visitor visa.

Previously, academics, researchers, and scientists were only allowed to carry out their private research if they were on a sabbatical leave from their educational institution. However, due to the changes made to this Visitor visa category, academic visitors can now carry out collaborative research for a particular project that is directly related to their employment in Canada or independently without being on sabbatical leave.

How Long Does it Take to Get UK Visa from Canada?

It typically takes about 3 weeks to process the UK Visitor visa from Canada. However, your visa application process may be delayed if you omit some documents and are required by the United Kingdom Visas and Immigration (UKVI) to provide those documents.

Final Thoughts

Canadian citizens and foreign nationals in Canada visiting the UK must keep in mind the various changes made to the Standard Visitor visa and how they can impact their businesses and personal trips. Besides that, they must choose the specific Visitor visa that best suits their purpose of visiting the UK. Canadian residents applying for a UK Visitor visa from Canada may be overwhelmed by the various documents needed for the application. 

Also, they may not know how to track the application process and provide any additional documents when needed. For this reason, it's ideal to seek expert guidance from an experienced immigration lawyer who already knows how to navigate the Visitor visa application process. An immigration lawyer can also help applicants gather all the required documents, meet the various requirements and make a solid application for the Visit visa.

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