Do Ukrainian citizens need this UK permission?

Returning Resident visa: Ukrainian citizen → United Kingdom

🇺🇦 nationality: Ukraine🇺🇦 lives in: Ukraine🇬🇧 going to: United Kingdomupdated 2026-06-11

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You need a Returning Resident visa

For people who previously held UK indefinite leave that lapsed after more than 2 years outside the UK.

The bottom line

This visa is required from every nationality — it's about why you're coming, not which passport you hold. Only British and Irish citizens are exempt.
How long you can stay: Restores indefinite leave.

When to start

Start 3–6 months before your travel date.

The low end assumes your paperwork is ready, you get an appointment within ~3 days and the decision arrives in the standard time. The high end leaves margin for gathering documents and waiting for a slot. You can apply at most 270 days ahead. In peak season (April–August (summer travel) and before major holidays), appointment waits alone can reach ~21 days — start at the high end.

Getting an appointment in Ukraine

General guidance · checked 2026-06-11 · slot waits typically 3–14 days, up to ~21 in busy periods

VFS releases appointment slots up to ~90 days ahead; if you see “No slots available”, new slots are often added — retry over the next few days.
You can book any centre in your country of residence — a centre in another city often has earlier slots.

Reported by:

Pick your travel date — every deadline below updates instantly:

When do you want to travel?

That date is too soon to do this comfortably — you'd need to have started by 30 Apr 2026, which has passed. Consider a later trip or a priority service.

Build your evidence filestart by 30 Apr 2026

These routes turn on documentary evidence — your status history, identity documents and the route-specific eligibility evidence. Expect this to take weeks, not days.

takes ~30 days