How often can a Canadian visit the UK without a visa?

August 22, 2023 10:56 AM

So Canadians can visit and stay in the UK for up to six months without a visa. However, does that mean the can visit every year for six months without a visa or is there a limit to how often?

I kind of wanted to visit the UK in the spring and summer every year if I can for a few months or three, as I have a friend there, but not sure if it is allowed every year for Canadians? I plan to work remotely part time for the next few years.

posted by RearWindow to Travel & Transportation (8 answers total)

There is no actual per-year limit, it seems.

If you are granted entry then you can stay up to six months. If you leave and return a month later, then there are no rules that state you can't just stay for yet another six months. More detail on the post I linked above.

The caveat is that an immigration officer may deny you entry if they believe you are abusing the system. There is some guidance they follow but there is also a subjective judgement.
posted by vacapinta at 11:42 AM on August 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

There's no limit to how often you can visit the UK, or how much time you spend there, as long as each individual stay is less than 6 months.

The one caveat is if you are making frequent visits to the UK and spending lots of time there, it's possible that immigration may want to ask you more questions to confirm that you're genuinely visiting, and not sneakily trying to immigrate to the UK. As long as you still have strong ties to your life in Canada (job, housing, family/friends, etc.) and can back that up with documentation, you should be fine. More info here. I don't think that 6 months out of each year would be enough to trigger scrutiny, but I'm not certain. (Also note that the guidance I linked to is for processing of visa applications; as a visa-free visitor you likely wouldn't be scrutinized in quite the same way.)

Also — working remotely for an overseas company while visiting the UK is explicitly allowed — but when speaking to officials, make sure to state clearly that the primary purpose of your trip is LEISURE and not WORK.
posted by mekily at 11:42 AM on August 22, 2023

If you're asking for an extended stay (months) and can't show that you already have the funds to support that stay, it would not be shocking to run into a border control officer who does not believe that your main purpose in visiting is leisure. Especially on repeat visits.
posted by praemunire at 11:54 AM on August 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

During a 14 month period earlier in my career, I was flying from the US to Heathrow every few weeks, each time staying for 7-14 days at a time. They always asked me why I was there, but I never had any issue getting through immigration and customs.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 11:55 AM on August 22, 2023

I think the helpful thing might be to flip the definition and say that you do not have the *right* to visit the UK at all. It is at the discretion of Border Control and the maximum is six months at a time. Any variant on that is someone else's call.

As others have said, it's not unusual, but you need a really, really good story. Please be super wary of the "I'm working remotely" thing (for one, check that your employer allows it as it can have tax implications between certain countries) as if you are questioned you will need to make a convincing case that your *primary* reason for visiting is leisure. That does *not* mean that you'll work a normal 9-5 day 5 days a week and stay with a friend, it means you are a tourist or that you are visiting relatives and spending time with them. The "you can do remote working activity" caveat is meant to cover the odd email or work stuff, maybe a conference, not that you are working full time whilst just happening to be in the UK and exploring in the evenings/at weekends.

So: have a really good reason to return, don't give them ANY suggestions that you're trying to immigrate or seek work, and have a convincing account about the tourism or leisure that will take up the majority of your time while you're in the country. FWIW I have known North Americans be denied entry to the UK and given a 10 year travel ban because a border guard didn't buy their story about tourism vs. work/work seeking, so it does happen.
posted by AFII at 12:03 PM on August 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

Although this isn't exactly responding to your question, it bears consideration: on the other side of things, in Canada, you're maybe jeopardizing your eligibility for health care because for most provinces and territories you have to be physically in your province or territory for at least 183 days of the year (ie for six months/over half the year, though not consecutively). If you lose this eligibility, you have to be present in your province for at least 90 days before it kicks in.
posted by urbanlenny at 12:46 PM on August 22, 2023 [4 favorites]

Yes, came in to point out the provincial health care issue. My parents once missed a funeral because they were at 181 days (they’re snowbirds and there had been some family issues as well) and were advised not to go over. Your border entry records will show that at this end.
posted by warriorqueen at 6:04 PM on August 22, 2023

If you're doing an online masters at the University of Edinburgh I imagine this would make things more complicated with border control if they knew this. As well as being clear that you're not coming over for work, you'd need to be clear you're not coming over to study here. Or just don't give them any reason to think you might be. I assume studying here would require a visa? (Hoping someone more knowledgable can weigh in on this angle.)
posted by fabius at 5:57 AM on August 23, 2023 [2 favorites]