Moving to the UK from Latin America: Complete Guide

Latin America, the Caribbean, and UK Immigration

There is no Latin American or Caribbean immigration route. The visa routes are national ones, open on the same terms to everyone. What differs country by country is a set of published lists, and the three that matter most are the visa national list, the tuberculosis test list, and the list of majority English-speaking countries. Each of them cuts across the region rather than along it, so the first useful thing to do is find your own country on each list.

The Caribbean Commonwealth countries — Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, the Bahamas, Guyana, Belize and others — carry two extra things: their nationals are Commonwealth citizens, which matters for the UK Ancestry route and for registering to vote once resident in the UK, and most of them are on the majority English-speaking list. The Windrush scheme, which exists for Commonwealth citizens who settled in the UK before 1973 and their children, sits outside the ordinary visa system entirely.

Do you need a visa to visit?

The visa national list decides whether a short trip needs a visitor visa applied for in advance. From this region it holds Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, St Lucia, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. Three of those were added recently: Colombia on 26 November 2024, and Nicaragua and St Lucia on 5 March 2026.

Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Guyana, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Belize are not on the list, and neither are Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis or St Vincent and the Grenadines. Nationals of those countries do not apply for a visitor visa for a short trip; they get an Electronic Travel Authorisation instead, which costs £20 and covers visits of up to 6 months. You do not need one to change planes without passing through UK border control.

A visitor visa costs £135 for 6 months, £506 for 2 years, £903 for 5 years and £1,128 for 10 years. None of these routes allows you to work in the UK.

Common Requirements

Tuberculosis testing

Far fewer countries in the region are on the tuberculosis test list than people expect. From Latin America and the Caribbean it names Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Suriname — and nothing else. Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Venezuela, Cuba, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and the Bahamas are not on it.

You need the test only if all three of these are true:

• you are coming to the UK for 6 months or more
• you have lived in a listed country for 6 months or more, and
• you were living there, or in another listed country, within the last 6 months

The test is a chest x-ray, done at a Home Office approved clinic, and the certificate lasts 6 months from the date of the x-ray. Children under 11 are not normally x-rayed. Separately, a test is needed for a stay of under 6 months if you are applying as a returning resident or as a fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner. GOV.UK does not publish what the test costs — clinics set their own prices.

English Language

The Home Office keeps a fixed list of majority English-speaking countries. If you are a national of one of them, you do not need to sit an approved English test at all. From this region the list holds:

• Antigua and Barbuda
• The Bahamas
• Barbados
• Belize
• British overseas territories
• Dominica
• Grenada
• Guyana
• Jamaica
• St Kitts and Nevis
• St Lucia
• St Vincent and the Grenadines
• Trinidad and Tobago

It is a closed list rather than a judgement about how much English a country speaks, so a country being outside it is not something that can be argued around. Nationals of every other country in the region, including Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Argentina and Chile, take an approved English language test unless they have a degree taught in English. The level depends on the route: B2 for a new Skilled Worker application since 8 January 2026 (B1 still applies on an extension of the same visa), and A1 at the first family visa application, A2 at extension and B1 at settlement.

Document Translation and Legalisation

Documents in Spanish or Portuguese must be accompanied by certified English translations. Many Latin American countries are members of the Hague Apostille Convention, which simplifies document legalisation. An apostille from the issuing country's competent authority is sufficient — you do not need further legalisation from the British Embassy.

An overseas criminal record certificate is not required for every route. It is required for Skilled Worker applications in specified health, education and social care jobs, and for the adult partner of such an applicant. Where it applies, you need one from every country outside the UK in which you have lived for 12 months or more, in one stretch or in total, in the last 10 years while aged 18 or over.

The Caribbean Commonwealth

Being a Commonwealth citizen changes two things, and it is worth being precise about both.

• UK Ancestry. The route is open to Commonwealth citizens, British overseas citizens, British overseas territories citizens, British nationals (overseas) and citizens of Zimbabwe, who are 17 or over and have a grandparent born in the UK, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, or in what is now Ireland before 31 March 1922. You must be able to work and intend to do so. The visa costs £726 and lasts 5 years; a decision from outside the UK usually takes 3 weeks. See our UK Ancestry guide.
• Registering to vote. This applies once you are living in the UK, not on arrival, and the rules are not the same across the UK. In England and Northern Ireland a Commonwealth citizen can register if they have permission to enter or stay, or do not need it. In Scotland and Wales anyone with permission to stay can register for devolved and local elections, whatever their nationality.
• No English test. Nationals of the thirteen countries and territories listed above do not sit an approved English test.

For a fuller account, see our guide to Commonwealth citizens' rights in the UK.

Working in the UK

The main employment route is the Skilled Worker visa, and it needs a certificate of sponsorship from an employer that holds a Home Office sponsor licence. You cannot apply without one, and the certificate must be used within 3 months of being assigned.

The published conditions the job itself must meet:

• Salary. At least £41,700 a year or the going rate for the occupation code, whichever is higher. A lower threshold of £33,400 applies to a defined set of cases, including new entrants and jobs on the Immigration Salary List — but the full going rate still applies to those as well. Being on the Immigration Salary List does not reduce the going rate.
• Skill level. Since 22 July 2025 a new applicant needs a job at graduate level (RQF 6). Jobs below that can only be sponsored if the occupation code is on the Immigration Salary List or the Temporary Shortage List, and Temporary Shortage List roles cannot bring dependants.
• English. B2 for a new application since 8 January 2026.
• Money. £1,270 held for 28 days, unless your sponsor certifies your maintenance or you have already been in the UK for 12 months.

If you change employer or job, you apply to update your visa and wait for the decision before starting the new job. Do not start on the strength of a submitted application.

The Student Route

A Student visa costs £558, inside or outside the UK, and the same again for each dependant. It needs an offer from a licensed institution and money to support yourself: £1,529 a month in London or £1,171 a month outside it, for up to 9 months, held for 28 days. The health surcharge is £776 a year for a student and their dependants rather than the standard £1,035. You can apply up to 6 months before the course starts from outside the UK, or 3 months before from inside. The Chevening scholarships, funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, are open to applicants from across the region.

After completing your studies, the Graduate route lets you stay and work without a sponsor. It currently runs for 2 years, or 3 years for a PhD. For applications made on or after 1 January 2027 it shortens to 18 months; the PhD length is unchanged. Many people move from it to a Skilled Worker visa.

The Path to Settlement

Most work and family routes lead to settlement, or indefinite leave to remain, after 5 years. It costs £3,226 for the main applicant and the same for each dependant, and the decision usually arrives within 6 months of giving your fingerprints and photograph. You can apply from 28 days before the 5 years is up. A change from 5 years to 10 years has been proposed but is not law, so the qualifying period may change.

After settlement you can apply for British citizenship once you have held it for 12 months, or straight away if you are married to or in a civil partnership with a British citizen. It costs £1,709 plus a £130 ceremony fee, and usually takes up to 6 months. The faster decision services are not available for citizenship applications.

The UK allows dual citizenship, so British nationality law does not require you to give up your Brazilian, Colombian, Jamaican or other nationality. Whether your own country allows you to keep it is a question for that country's authorities.

Costs Overview

• Visitor visa: £135 for 6 months, £506 for 2 years, £903 for 5 years, £1,128 for 10 years. An Electronic Travel Authorisation, where that is what you need instead, is £20.
• Skilled Worker from outside the UK: £819 for up to 3 years, £1,618 for longer. £628 and £1,235 for a job on the Immigration Salary List.
• Student: £558, and £558 for each dependant.
• Family visa as a partner, parent or child: £2,064 from outside the UK, £1,407 from inside, per person.
• UK Ancestry: £726.
• Immigration health surcharge: £1,035 a year, or £776 a year for students, their dependants, Youth Mobility and under-18s.
• Settlement: £3,226 per person. Citizenship: £1,709 plus a £130 ceremony fee.
• Tuberculosis test, English test, apostille and translation: GOV.UK publishes no price for any of these. Clinics, test providers, foreign ministries and translators set their own fees.

For a full breakdown, see our UK visa fees guide.

Next Steps

Identify your visa route and start gathering documents early. Key guides:

• Skilled Worker visa guide
• Student visa guide
• Spouse visa guide
• Graduate route guide
• Ancestry visa guide
• Commonwealth citizens' rights in the UK

For official information, visit the GOV.UK visa checker and the GOV.UK TB testing countries list.

Questions and answers