UK visa requirements for Algerian citizen in France on French tourist visa wanting to visit UK?

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An Algerian national needs to apply for a visa in order to enter the UK, even if they have a French visa and even if they are taking the Eurostar.

You will not be able to show the UKVI people your visa at the rail station, or even at the border. On the bright side, the application doesn't take three months to process; it's more like a week. You can apply online at the UKVI visa portal. If you have a clean history and otherwise qualify, you will be able to access the various opportunities to upgrade your application to priority status. That will cost over and above the GBP 83 for the basic application fee.

The downside is that since you are in France, you probably do not have all the requisite evidence to hand. It's something to consider before applying.

For your last question: no, the 'spur of the moment' option isn't available to those travelling on an Algerian passport.

Upvote:2

As @Gayot has pointed out, you can apply from the British Embassy in Paris, guideline here. From two experiences with the visa processing centre, it can take anything from five to twenty plus days. I am also a third country national resident in France and whether you are resident in France or not does not remove the British visa requirement.

Upvote:8

There is a super-priority visa service to get a decision within 24 hours (for a – steep – fee), which is as close as it gets to ‘spur of the moment’.

On the other hand, simply showing up at the border is not possible, Algerian citizens need a visa and they need to apply for it in advance, even if it only means the day before. Even Algerians who reside in France (as opposed to simply visit on a Schengen visa) aren't exempt from this.

Formally, the requirements are exactly the same in any case, paying for priority service, living in France or holding a French visa does not make any difference in this respect and you still must provide all the documentation you would have to provide if you were flying directly from Algeria.

As far as I know, the only exception is for spouses of EU citizens, under some conditions.

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