How to Check Your UK Visa: A Complete Guide

Have you applied for a UK ETA or a UK visa and want to know how to check its current status?

The UK ETA and a standard UK visa are checked in different ways. On top of that, "checking whether an ETA has been approved", "tracking the progress of an ETA application", "estimating UK visa processing times" and "confirming an approved visa or immigration status" each require a different service and procedure.

So the first step is to be clear about exactly what you want to check.

Start by identifying what you want to check

See how to apply for a UK Electronic Travel Authorisation and check your eligibility

How to check the status of a UK visa application

UK visas such as the Standard Visitor Visa, Student Visa and Skilled Worker visa are checked differently from an ETA. UKVI does not give ordinary applicants a single tracking screen that shows a caseworker's internal processing stages in real time, such as "document review 60%" or "awaiting final decision".

Instead, you follow progress through the official processing time service and through UKVI's emails or decision notices.

GOV.UK "Check your visa processing time"

This service does not show the current internal assessment stage of a visa you have already applied for. It tells you roughly when you can expect to receive a decision.

1. Go to the Check your visa processing time page on GOV.UK.
2. Select the purpose of the visa you applied for (visit, study, work, marriage, medical treatment, transit and so on).
3. Enter the date you completed your identity verification.
4. Check the estimated decision date.

The identity verification date is the date you confirmed your identity using the UK Immigration: ID Check app, or the date you confirmed your identity at a Visa Application Centre. If you do not know the exact date, you can enter an estimate.

See how to apply for a UK visa

If you are still within the official processing time

UKVI advises that if your application is still within the official processing time, there is no need to get in touch simply to ask "how far along is my application". As a rule, UKVI does not provide any further detail on the internal assessment status of an individual application.

If the processing time has passed and you have heard nothing

If the published processing time has been exceeded and you have not received any notice of a delay from UKVI, you can contact UKVI.

Processing may take longer for reasons such as the following.

• Additional documents need to be checked
• Submitted documents need to be verified as genuine
• An interview is required
• Personal circumstances such as a criminal record need to be checked
• A rise in application volumes
• Unexpected system failures

Ask us about the progress of a UK visa application

What you can check with VFS Global

If you apply for a UK visa in the Republic of Korea, the UK Visa Application Centre in Seoul is run by VFS Global as UKVI's official partner. VFS handles biometric enrolment, document and passport procedures and guidance at the application centre stage, but the decision to approve or refuse a visa is made by UKVI.

VFS's Track your application can give operational updates on where your passport or application currently sits at the application centre or in the process, but it should not be understood as a service that reveals the specifics of UKVI's internal assessment or the likelihood of approval.

How to check a UK Electronic Travel Authorisation

Checking whether an Electronic Travel Authorisation already issued is valid

The UK government runs a separate Check your electronic travel authorisation (ETA) service. It lets you confirm whether you currently hold a valid ETA and when that ETA expires.

1. Have ready the passport you used when you applied for the ETA.
2. Go to the Check your ETA service.
3. Follow the on-screen instructions and use your passport details to look up your ETA.
4. From the results, confirm whether you hold an ETA and check its expiry date.

See our guide to UK travel visas and the Electronic Travel Authorisation

Apply for a UK travel visa

Can I check an "under assessment" status right after applying for an Electronic Travel Authorisation?

This is the most important limitation to understand. The Check your ETA service is not a tool for tracking the current assessment stage of an ETA you have recently applied for but not yet received a decision on.

For that reason, it is important not to present "whether an ETA has been approved" and "the assessment stage of an ETA application" as the same kind of check.

How the Electronic Travel Authorisation approval email relates to the results of a check

The outcome of an ETA application is notified by email. An ETA is not a physical visa sticker; it is a travel authorisation linked electronically to the passport used in the application.

• Check that the name and passport details in the approval email match your own application.
• Confirm again before you travel that you hold an ETA and check its expiry date.
• If you have been issued a new passport, check whether you need a new ETA.
• Note that ETA approval does not in itself guarantee entry to the UK.

Checking your eVisa after a visa is approved

Once a visa or permission to stay in the UK has been granted, you move on from "checking the progress of an application" to "checking the immigration status you currently hold". An eVisa is a digital record showing your identity, the type of visa or permission you hold and the conditions attached to it.

1. Sign in to your UKVI account.
2. View your eVisa through the View and Prove service.
3. Check your visa or permission to stay along with your rights and conditions.
4. If needed, generate a share code to prove your status to an employer, a landlord and so on.

See UK visa types and immigration statuses

What you need to sign in to your eVisa

• The passport or identity document details used in your UKVI account
• Your date of birth
• Access to the mobile phone number or email address registered to the account
• The security code sent to you when you sign in

If you have been issued a new passport or changed your contact details, it is important to keep your UKVI account details up to date.

Comparing Electronic Travel Authorisation checks with UK visa checks

The most common points of confusion when checking a UK visa

• Whether an ETA has been approved and what stage an ETA application has reached are not the same check.
• Check your ETA is a service for confirming that an ETA has already been issued and when it expires.
• You cannot use Check your ETA to track a recent application that has not yet been decided.
• Visa Processing Time is not a service that tells you whether you have been approved.
• VFS does not decide whether a visa is approved.
• The British Embassy in Seoul is not the channel that directly handles UK visa assessment work in the Republic of Korea.
• An approved digital immigration status is checked through the eVisa in your UKVI account.
• It is a good idea to keep, rather than delete, identifying details such as the emails you received, your GWF/UAN and your VFS reference.

Guidance on checking your status after applying for a UK visa

Guidance on checking an Electronic Travel Authorisation

If your UK ETA has already been approved, you can use the official ETA checking service to confirm whether you currently hold a valid ETA and when it expires. If you have just applied and no decision has been made yet, this service cannot show you the assessment stage. If you have not received a decision email more than 3 working days after applying, please use UKVI's ETA help service to follow it up.

Check a UK travel visa

Guidance on checking a UK visa

After applying for a UK visa, you can use the Visa Processing Time service to find out the estimated decision date. This service does not show UKVI's detailed internal assessment stages in real time. Once a decision has been made on your visa, UKVI will notify you of the outcome, for example through the email address you registered with your application. If the official processing time has passed and you have not been contacted, please use the UKVI enquiry service.

Checklist of information to prepare before checking

Personal data and security points to watch

• Treat your passport number, date of birth, GWF/UAN and application Reference Number as personal data.
• It is safer not to pass passwords or email and mobile verification codes to an adviser or any third party.
• Confirm that you are on the official GOV.UK site or an official visa application centre page before entering personal data.
• Take care not to mistake search adverts or look-alike domains for the UK government's official checking site.
• If you provide checking support on behalf of a customer, manage the purpose of collecting and using their personal data, the retention period and access rights clearly.

Frequently asked questions about checking a UK visa

I have applied for an Electronic Travel Authorisation. Can I check the progress straight away?

No. Check your ETA is not a service that shows the internal assessment stage of a recent application. If you have not yet received a decision, check your email, and if there is still no decision after 3 working days, look at the UKVI help service.

How do I confirm that my Electronic Travel Authorisation has been approved?

Check the decision email first. Once you have your ETA, you can use Check your ETA to confirm that you currently hold one and to check its expiry date.

Can I see what percentage of my UK visa assessment is complete?

There is no combined tracking service that lets an ordinary applicant see UKVI's internal assessment stages as a percentage in real time.

Can Visa Processing Time tell me whether I have been approved?

No. This service tells you the estimated decision date.

Can VFS tell me whether my visa has been approved?

VFS supports the running of the application centre and the biometric, document and passport procedures, but the decision to approve or refuse a visa is made by UKVI.

Where do I check once my visa has been approved?

After approval you can view your eVisa in your UKVI account, and if needed you can generate a share code in View and Prove.

Key points on checking a UK visa

Do you need help checking a UK visa?

How you check depends on whether it is an ETA or a standard visa, and on whether the application is still in progress or has already been approved. The important thing is to identify what you want to confirm first, then use the official service and procedure that matches it.

• The difference between a UK travel visa and an Electronic Travel Authorisation
• How to apply for a UK visa
• UK visa types and eligibility
• What to do if a UK visa or Electronic Travel Authorisation is refused
• UK visa and Electronic Travel Authorisation FAQ

Ask us about checking a UK visa or Electronic Travel Authorisation