The United Kingdom has updated its Immigration Rules Appendix Visitor, reaffirming the list of countries and categories of travellers who must obtain a visa before travelling to the UK for visits or any stay of less than six months.

Under the rules, nationals and citizens of more than 100 countries and territories are required to obtain entry clearance before travelling to the UK.

This requirement applies unless the travellers qualify for specific exemptions contained elsewhere in the immigration rules.

The updated guidance was obtained by our correspondent on Saturday.

The guidance states that “stateless persons and people travelling on documents other than a national passport or, where applicable, a national identity card must also obtain entry clearance before travelling, unless the document has been issued by the UK.”

The Home Office issued the update in a July 1 release.

The Home Office noted that some exceptions apply to nationals of the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan.

These exceptions are set out in subsequent provisions of the appendix.

The countries and territories listed in the updated Immigration Rules include Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic and Chad.

The list also includes the People’s Republic of China (subject to exceptions noted above), Colombia, Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti and Honduras.

Other countries on the list are India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, North Korea, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Nicaragua and Niger.

Nigeria is also on the list, alongside North Macedonia, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Russia, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, St Lucia, Sudan, Suriname and Syria.

The list further includes Taiwan (subject to exceptions noted above), Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The Immigration Rules also specify other categories that require entry clearance before travelling to the UK.

Stateless persons fall under this category.

Individuals travelling on any document other than a national passport, or where permitted under the rules, a national identity card, also fall under this category.

This applies regardless of whether the document is issued by or shows the nationality of a country not listed above.

The exception to this rule is where the document has been issued by the United Kingdom.