UNITED KINGDOM

VISA APPLICATION
GUIDE 01

Great Britain looks forward to welcoming you, our global

Taekwondo family to our country.
Like all other nations in the world, the United Kingdom (UK)
government has a specific immigration and visa policy with
rules and regulations for overseas people wanting to visit.
This means that many of you will require a visa to attend this
World Championship.
Our Local Organising Committee (LOC) have consulted closely
with UK Visas & immigration to try to make the visa application
process as simple as possible for visiting teams, athletes,
supporters and event guests. The information detailed on the
following pages is designed to help you through this process.
We ask team and national officials to fully read this guide and
understand the visa application processes that may be unique
to your country. This will include considering the time required
to make an application, book visa application appointments,
and receive decisions.
It is the responsibility of each visa applicant or team admin-
istration official to ensure visa applications are made in good
time and in the correct way.
Our LOC has no authority to guarantee or provide visas.
This is the sole responsibility and decision of the UK government.
We cannot be held responsible in any way for the refusal or
delay of any visa application decision due to insufficient time
for application processing or incorrect applications being made.
To get a Visa Supporting Letter, please login to GMS through
World Taekwondo. Here you can download your Visa Supporting
Letter that you will need as part of your application.

Contents:
1. Check if you need a visa to visit the UK
2. When should you apply / how long will it take?
3. How much will it cost?
4. The application process
a. How to apply
b. Providing the correct documents
c. How to book an appointment
d. Decision & Return of documents
5. Frequently Asked Questions
We hope you find the following advice very helpful and look
forward to seeing you in Manchester!
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A VISA

CHECK IF YOU NEED A VISA TO VISIT 02

1 THE UK?
To check if you need a visa go to:
www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa
You will be asked: What are you coming to the UK to do?
You should select – Work, academic visit or business
This is the category for attending the World Taekwondo
Championships.
If you need a visa to enter the United Kingdom:
You should apply for a Standard Visit (Visitor) Visa as
described in Section 4
This is the quickest, simplest and cheapest type of visa
required to attend a sporting event – World Taekwondo
Championships.

WHEN SHOULD YOU APPLY /

2 HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE?
The UK does not operate a landing visa scheme – nobody
should attempt to travel without applying for and receiving
a full visa to enter Great Britain.
The recommended time from beginning the online
application process, attending an appointment and
receiving your visa is up to 6 weeks.
This timing depends on whether there is a Visa Application
Centre (VAC) for the UK in your country, your closest one
may be outside of your country.
This may extend the overall time period needed from first
applying online to attending the appointment.
Each person applying for a visa must book an appointment
and attend a Visa application centre for biometric information
gathering – fingerprints and photo.
Not a consulate – they do not issue visas.
There are over 300 UK Visa application centres around the
world in 200 countries
To check if you have a UK Visa Application Centre near
your location, go to:
www.gov.uk/find-a-visa-application-centre
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3 HOW MUCH WILL IT COST? 03

To find out how much a visa from your country will
cost go to:
www.gov.uk/visa-fees
Select: Your country (from the drop-down box)
Select the visa category: VISIT
Select the visa type: STANDARD VISITOR
Select the visa sub-type: SHOW ALL
To attend our event, there will normally be the cost for
a SHORT-TERM visa (for up to 6 months) unless you
have other plans to visit the UK for a longer period.

4 THE APPLICATION PROCESS

What you need to do:
A Apply and pay for a visit visa online
B Provide the supporting evidence
documents needed
C Attend an appointment at a Visa Application
Centre (VAC)
D Receive decision and collect Visa

A How to apply for a VISIT STANDARD visa

The earliest you can apply for a visa is 3 months
before you travel.
Everyone must apply for a visa online at:
www.gov.uk/apply-uk-visa
Scroll to the APPLY Section and click on the link where
it states Apply by clicking on the Access UK service
Select: your language
Select: VISIT visa
Select: your location.
 APPLYING FOR
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Helpful advice 04
If the next page then states that you may need a visa,
but depends on who you are traveling with or visiting –
scroll down and select the section with the title:
You’re travelling alone, or traveling with or visiting
friends
When prompted – apply for STANDARD VISITOR visa
Please take the time to read and understand the
Overview, Eligibility and Documents You Must Provide
sections, before clicking on the APPLY section

B Providing the correct DOCUMENTS

Everyone applying for a visa must provide certain
documents to prove their identity, confirm their
travel plans and show evidence of how the cost
of the trip is financed.
During the online application process, you will be
given details of how to submit these documents.
It can be different depending on which country
you are applying from.
You should have them ready and if possible, have them
scanned and saved on a computer, so that you can
upload to a website if required. In most cases, you will
just be asked to bring them with you when you attend
the appointment at the Visa Application Centre.
The following will hopefully help you understand these
requirements:
Documents you must provide
• A valid passport
• A letter of invitation from the organisers of the event
(our LOC)*
To get this letter, please login to GMS via World
Taekwondo. Here you can request a Letter of Invitation
for the 2019 World Taekwondo Championships.
Please go to https://worldtkd.simplycompete.com/
to download your letter of invitation.
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Documents you should provide to help your application 05
• Financial documents showing that you have sufficient
funds available to pay for your return trip to the UK.
These could be:
A letter from your National Federation
If your National Federation or National Team is paying
for your participation, flights and accommodation in this
event, then you need to get a letter from them and submit
it as part of your visa application.
The letter must:
• Be on your World Taekwondo recognised National
Federation official letterhead
• Be signed by the President, Secretary General or
Treasurer
• Give details of the event (What the event is /When/Where)
• Show your name and your role at the event
(e.g.: athlete / coach / official)
• Give details of approximate travel dates (arriving and
leaving the UK)
• Show the approximate cost of your trip and what
exactly is being paid by the National Federation
(e.g.: flight / accommodation / food etc)
• Give details of where you intend to stay

Personal Financial Information

You will also be asked to provide personal financial
information in addition to the above that proves you
have income and savings in your home country to
support yourself.
Our advice is to supply as much information as possible
as it will help visa centres process your application more
quickly.
If your participation is not funded by your Federation,
you must be able to prove to the authorities that you
have sufficient money to pay for your return trip to
the UK.
This can be by providing documents such as:
• Bank Statements
• Details of employment and proof of earnings such as:
- a letter from employer confirming employment details
(start date of employment, salary, role, company contact
details)
 APPLYING FOR
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• Details of studies where you have stated in your 06
application that you are in full-time studies.
This could include:
- a letter from your education provider, on headed
paper, confirming your enrolment and leave of absence
or
• If you are self- employed:
- business registration documents confirming the
business owner’s name and the date the business
started trading.
- If you still have any old passports, which show previous
travel, these can also be helpful in showing that you
have a history of international travel to events and
returning home.

If you are Under 18 years old

In addition to the above, if someone is under 18 years
of age, we recommend that you submit the following:
- a Birth Certificate or legal document (such as
adoption papers)
- a signed letter from your parent(s) confirming the
details of anyone accompanying you.
(If this is the team coach or official, they should
apply at the same time and must travel together)
- details of the accommodation arranged in the UK
- a copy of your parent(s) or legal guardian’s
biographical page of their passport (The page that
has their photo, signature and passport number)

C How to book an appointment

As part of the online application process, each applicant
will be given a GWF number (e.g.: GWF12345678). You
cannot book an appointment without this number.
Once you have this number, go to the visa application
centre website that you stated during the online
application process. You can find this again at:
www.gov.uk/find-a-visa-application-centre

 APPLYING FOR
A VISA
This will connect you to a VSF or TLSconnect website
for the centre you wish to attend.
07
(It must be the centre / location you identified in your
online application)
- Create an account and password for the site
- Enter the GWF application number
- Enter other personal application details requested
- Select appointment dates
- Carefully follow the instructions regarding what
documents to send
- Carefully follow the instructions regarding what to
bring to the appointment.

The applicant must go in person to the appointment –

you cannot send a representative for this part of the
process!

D Decision & Return of documents

You can track applications on the website that you
registered on, using the same log in details and GWF
application number. This site will give you the latest
status of the application and show any decisions.
Once the appointment has taken place, the average time
to receive a decision is 15 working days.
What happens when a visa is issued?
Once you have received notification that a visa has been
granted and ready for collection, you can either collect
from the visa centre in person or arrange for a represent-
ative, with the proper authorisation to collect on your
behalf.
This is normally a specialist agency or courier service and
you should arrange this in advance either with the visa
centre or agency involved if you are acting on behalf of
your team.
Helpful advice
Do not send another person to collect the passport and
visa without arranging this in advance with the visa
agency as they are unlikely to release the documents to
someone that is not known to them.
APPLYING FOR
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s) 08

• What if I need my visa quicker?
You can, in most countries, apply for a PRIORITY or
SUPER PRIORITY service.
If you have not arranged for enough time to make
a standard service visa application, then you should
use the Priority or Super Priority service. There is an
additional charge for these services.
It is also not a guarantee that a visa will be issued –
these options will only speed up a decision process.

• What if my appointment date is too long / too late?

In some countries, the length of time to wait for an appoint-
ment can be long due to high demand. In these circumstances
we recommend using the Priority and Super Priority services.
If this does not solve the issue, then please contact our
LOC at events@gbtaekwondo.co.uk with full details of the
applicant’s name, the visa centre where it was applied, the
GWF number and date of appointment.
Whilst our LOC cannot directly influence any immigration
decisions, we may, in extreme circumstances, be able to
flag the issue and request an earlier appointment date.
This is no guarantee that this would work, and applicants
should not rely on or expect this assistance when making
unreasonably late applications.

• Can I apply for a visa in one country and collect

from another?
No, this is not possible.

• Is it possible for someone else to collect my passport

and documents for me?
Yes – but only by a nominated representative. You can also
check if your visa application centre offers a courier service,
this may be a more convenient way to receive your passport
and visa. There is usually an additional fee for this service.

• What can I do if my visa application is refused

In most cases, you must re-apply with a new application –
ensuring that whatever the reason for refusal in the first
application is addressed fully with evidence.
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09
The event LOC has no jurisdiction or influence with these
kinds of government level decisions so is unable to assist.
However, in extreme circumstances, and at the discretion
of the LOC, we can attempt to flag the issues with UK Visa
& Immigration.
To do this please contact our LOC at events@gbtaekwondo.
co.uk with full details of the applicant’s name, the visa
centre where it was applied, the GWF number. date of
appointment and full explanation of the reasons that a visa
application has been refused.
If you were given a decision letter or DPA release form at
this stage, then you should supply a copy to us.
This is no guarantee that this would work and applicants
should not rely on or expect this assistance when making
unreasonably late applications.