As of 13 August 2026, AI cannot check if you can switch to another UK visa from inside the UK.

What to actually do

1. Hand it to a person

   The route this page recommends

   Someone with a licence or accountable authority has to sign this before it counts.

2. Use a tool built for this

   Second choice

3. Do it yourself

   The distant third

   A chat interface gets you a draft, but you cannot verify it yourself. That is the catch.

   How to actually do it

   1. Open the GOV.UK page for your current visa and save the relevant visa conditions, expiry information and application guidance.
   2. Gather your current passport, visa or eVisa details, previous immigration decisions, travel history, employment or study evidence, family information and any correspondence from the Home Office, redacting passport numbers and other unnecessary identifiers.
   3. Write the facts requested in the prompt, including every previous UK permission, any overstaying or refusal, and the visa route you want to switch to.
   4. Paste the prompt and your factual summary into a chatbot, then ask it to show the exact GOV.UK source for each rule and to mark every unanswered fact.
   5. Open each cited GOV.UK page yourself and compare the stated eligibility, switching restrictions, deadlines and required documents with the original guidance, not just the chatbot's summary.
   6. Send the facts, source links, unanswered questions and your documents list to a regulated UK immigration adviser or solicitor before making an application.

   Prompt

   I need information about whether I may switch from my current UK immigration permission to another UK visa from inside the UK. This is not professional advice. Use only current official GOV.UK sources, including the Immigration Rules and the relevant visa guidance, checked as at 2026-08-13. Do not guess, fill gaps, or give me a definitive eligibility decision. Ask me for any missing facts before assessing the rules. My details are: current visa or immigration permission: [insert]; expiry date: [insert]; nationality: [insert]; where and when I made my most recent application: [insert]; visas or permissions previously held: [insert]; travel outside the UK during my current permission: [insert]; proposed visa route: [insert]; intended work, study or family basis: [insert]; dependants: [insert]; relevant criminal, immigration or overstaying history: [insert]; documents I have: [insert]. Explain whether switching from inside the UK appears permitted in principle, list the rule paragraphs and GOV.UK links that support each point, identify exclusions and unanswered facts, state whether an in-country application appears possible, and give me a document checklist and questions to take to a regulated UK immigration adviser. Clearly separate official rules from uncertainty. Do not advise me to submit an application or rely on this chat instead of professional advice.

   Open it prefilled in ChatGPT or Claude, or copy it into Gemini, which takes no prefill link.