UK tourist visa from India

Standard Visitor visa. One visa covers more than the name suggests: GOV.UK states you can visit "for tourism, business, study (courses up to 6 months) and other permitted activities" — so a short course, a conference and a family visit are the same application, not three different ones. What it does not cover is work, or living in the UK through repeat visits.

£135 for up to 6 months, as published at gov.uk/standard-visitor. The fee is per applicant and is not reduced for families: GOV.UK states that if you apply with family members, "each person must have their own application and pay the fee", and each attends their own appointment. If the UK is only a stop on the way somewhere else, the Visitor in Transit visa is £74.50 and is a different, cheaper application — worth checking before paying the full fee. Longer-validity visitor visas (2, 5 and 10 years) cost more and are priced separately.

As published at gov.uk: "Once you've applied online, proved your identity and provided your documents, you'll usually get a decision on your visa within 3 weeks." Read the clock carefully — it starts after the appointment and the document upload, not when you pay. The earliest you can apply is 3 months before you travel, which sets the real planning window: three months out at the earliest, three weeks of decision at the end, and the appointment slot somewhere in between.

Usually up to 6 months per visit. GOV.UK notes you "might be able to apply to stay for longer in certain circumstances, for example to get medical treatment". The six months is a maximum the officer may grant, not an entitlement, and the visitor route is not a way to live in the UK — a pattern of long, frequent visits is what gets refused at the border rather than at the application.