Moving to the UK from the Middle East: Complete Guide

The Middle East and UK Immigration

There is no Middle Eastern route into the UK. The routes are national ones, open on the same terms to everyone, and what changes country by country is where you fall on a handful of published lists. Two of them matter most here, and both are narrower than the region's reputation suggests.

Do you need a visa to visit?

The visa national list splits the region roughly down the middle. On it, and so needing a visitor visa applied for before travel: Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Palestine.

Not on it: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Israel. Nationals of those countries do not apply for a visitor visa for a short trip. They get an Electronic Travel Authorisation, which costs £20 and covers visits of up to 6 months. You need one only if you pass through UK border control — changing planes airside does not require it.

A visitor visa costs £135 for 6 months, £506 for 2 years, £903 for 5 years and £1,128 for 10 years. Neither a visitor visa nor an Electronic Travel Authorisation lets you work in the UK.

Nationality bars

Since 26 March 2026 a Student visa application is refused if you are a national of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar or Sudan, and a Skilled Worker application is refused if you are an Afghan national. No other country covered by this guide is affected. These are nationality bars rather than judgements about an individual application, so no amount of preparation changes them.

Common Requirements

Tuberculosis testing

Iraq is the only Middle Eastern country on the GOV.UK tuberculosis test list. Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Israel are all absent from it. Algeria and Morocco are on it, if you count them as part of this region.

Where it applies, you need the test 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. It is a chest x-ray at a Home Office approved clinic, and the certificate lasts 6 months from the date of the x-ray. GOV.UK publishes no price for it.

Document Translation and Legalisation

Documents in Arabic, Farsi (Persian), or Turkish must be accompanied by certified English translations. The Home Office does not accept uncertified or machine translations. For documents from Gulf states, many official records are issued in both Arabic and English, which can simplify the process.

Document legalisation varies by country. Most Middle Eastern countries require attestation through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Some also require additional notarisation or chamber of commerce certification.

English Language

No Middle Eastern country is classified as a majority English-speaking country for UK visa purposes. This means all applicants must meet the English language requirement through an approved English test or a degree taught and examined in English, confirmed by UK ENIC. The level depends on the route:

• Skilled Worker: B2 for a new application since 8 January 2026. B1 is still accepted when you extend the same visa.
• Family visa as a partner: A1 at the first application, A2 at the extension after two and a half years, B1 at settlement.
• Student: B2 for a degree-level course.

From 26 March 2027 the settlement level rises from B1 to B2 on several routes, Skilled Worker among them.

Visa Routes by Country

Iran

Iran is on the visa national list, so every category of travel needs permission obtained before you arrive. The ordinary routes apply: Skilled Worker with a sponsoring employer, Student, and a family visa as a partner, parent or child. Iran is not a Commonwealth country, so UK Ancestry is not open to Iranian nationals.

Where someone is already in the UK and fears persecution on grounds of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership of a particular social group, the route is a claim for asylum rather than a visa. It cannot be made from outside the UK.

Dual nationality complication: Iran does not recognise dual nationality. If you hold both Iranian and British passports, Iran considers you an Iranian citizen only. This has implications for travel to Iran and for consular protection. For UK immigration purposes, if you hold a valid British passport, you are treated as a British citizen and do not need a visa.

Iraq

Iraq is the one country in the region on the tuberculosis test list, so an Iraqi resident coming to the UK for 6 months or more needs a chest x-ray certificate from an approved clinic. Iraq is also on the visa national list.

The work, study and family routes are otherwise the same as anywhere else. Where documents cannot be obtained from conflict-affected areas, the Immigration Rules allow an applicant to explain why a specified document is unavailable and to provide alternative evidence; whether that is accepted is a decision for the caseworker.

Turkey

The Ankara Agreement — the European Community Association Agreement, usually shortened to ECAA — once gave Turkish nationals a route to establish a business in the UK. That route is now closed. GOV.UK's page for the Turkish Businessperson visa says new applications have closed, and that only child dependants under 21 can still apply to join someone who holds it. If you already have that permission you can extend it, for up to 3 years at a time and as many times as you continue to meet the conditions, and apply to settle after 5 years.

For everyone else, Turkish nationals use the ordinary routes: the Skilled Worker visa, the Student visa, or a family visa as a partner. Turkey is on the visa national list, so a short visit needs a visitor visa applied for before travel.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE

Neither Saudi Arabia nor the United Arab Emirates is on the visa national list, and nor are Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman or Israel. A short visit from any of them needs a £20 Electronic Travel Authorisation rather than a visitor visa. Neither document permits work.

For anything longer the ordinary routes apply: Skilled Worker with a sponsoring employer, Global Talent, Innovator Founder, Student, or a family visa. The immigration health surcharge is paid up front for the whole length of the visa — £1,035 a year, or £776 a year for students, their dependants, Youth Mobility and under-18s. It buys NHS care on the same basis as a resident, which is not the same as free: in England a prescription costs £9.90 and dental treatment falls into bands of £27.90, £76.60 or £332.10. Prescriptions are free in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Egypt

Egypt is on the visa national list, so a short visit needs a visitor visa applied for before travel. Egypt is not on the tuberculosis test list. The work, study and family routes are the standard ones.

Egyptian documents must be legalised through the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and translated into English. Arabic-language documents are common and always require certified translation.

Asylum and Refugee Routes

If you are in the UK and fear persecution in your home country, you can claim asylum. Claiming is free. The published steps are:

1. Registering your claim with the Home Office as soon as possible after arrival
2. Attending a screening interview
3. Attending a substantive asylum interview
4. Receiving a decision

GOV.UK publishes no service standard for how long an asylum decision takes, so any figure you are quoted is not a published one.

If protection is granted, permission on a claim made on or after 2 March 2026 lasts 30 months, rather than the 5 years granted before that date. You can apply for settlement, or indefinite leave to remain, after 5 years in the UK with protection status. That settlement application carries no fee and no immigration health surcharge, and GOV.UK's eligibility page for it sets no Life in the UK test and no English requirement for the person with protection status — although an adult dependant included in the application may need both. The decision usually comes within 6 months, and the faster decision services are not available on this route. For full details, see our UK asylum guide.

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 you and the same for each dependant, you can apply from 28 days before the 5 years is up, and the decision usually arrives within 6 months of giving your fingerprints and photograph. 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, where the residence requirement is 3 years rather than 5. 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. You need the Life in the UK test — £50, 24 questions in 45 minutes, pass mark 75%, and no test if you are under 18 or 65 or over — and English at B1.

Costs Overview

• Electronic Travel Authorisation: £20. Visitor visa: £135 for 6 months, £506 for 2 years, £903 for 5 years, £1,128 for 10 years.
• 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.
• Global Talent: £561 endorsement plus a £205 visa fee, £766 in total, and £766 for each dependant.
• 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, and free with refugee or humanitarian protection status. Citizenship: £1,709 plus a £130 ceremony fee.
• Claiming asylum: free.
• Tuberculosis test, English test, translation and legalisation: GOV.UK publishes no price for any of these.

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

Next Steps

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

• Skilled Worker visa guide
• Student visa guide
• Spouse visa guide
• UK asylum guide
• Global Talent visa guide

For official information, visit the GOV.UK visa checker and GOV.UK asylum guidance.

Questions and answers