United Kingdom

 

Official Name	-	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Capital City	-	London
Type of Government	-	Constitutional Monarchy
Currency	-	British Pound (£) - GBP
Fiscal Year	-	6 April - 5 April
Official Language(s)	-	English; Welsh and Scottish Gaelic since 2005 Act.
Major Language(s)	-	English, Welsh (about 26% of the population of Wales), Scottish form of Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland), Norman French is also used for occasional items of official business.
Local Time	-	GMT 00:00 (GMT +01:00 in summer)
International Dialling Code	-	+44
Internet Domain	-	.uk
Major Cities	-	Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast
Major Industries	-	Steel, Heavy Engineering and Metal Manufacturing, Textiles, Motor Vehicles and Aircraft, Construction (5.2% Of Gdp), Electronics, Chemicals
Double Taxation Treaty with India	-	YES

Economic Overview

• The economy is based on Anglo-Saxon model which focusses on liberalisation, free market, and low taxation and regulation.
• Fourth-largest economy in the world and second-largest in the European Union. It is sixth largest by purchasing power parity (PPP) exchange rates in the world.
• Highly developed, diversified, market-based economy.
• The service sector has grown substantially and accounts for 72% of GDP.
• The city of London is a leading international financial center with London Stock Exchange, the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange, and the Lloyd's of London insurance market.
• In tourism, UK is ranked as the sixth major tourist destination in the world. It attracts more than 24 million tourists per year.
• GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca are the second and third largest pharmaceutical firms in the world.
• The agriculture sector is small but has a large coal, natural gas, and oil reserves.

Department of Trade and Industry	The Combined Edible Nut Trade Association (CENTA)	Companies House
Government of the United Kingdom Response Centre 1 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0ET E-mail: dti.enquiries@imsv.dti.gov.uk Website: www.dti.gov.uk	62 Wilson Street London EC2A 2BU Tel.: +(44)-(20)-77820007 Fax: +(44)-(20)-77820939 E-mail: treenuts@compuserve.com Website: www.centa.uk.com	Companies House Crown Way, Maindy Cardiff CF 14 3UZ, DX 33050 Tel.: +(44)-(870)3333636 E-mail: enquiries@companies-house.gov.uk

Business Visa Rules
The following documents are required :

• Valid/signed passport (valid 6 months; with at least one blank visa page).
• One visa application form completed and signed.
• Two passport size photographs.
• Employment letter.
• Bank statement.
• Proof of departure - computer generated flight itinerary on travel agent letterhead (for tourist visa applicants only).
• Business cover letter addressed to the British Embassy. Letter should state exact nature of business which will be conducted, length of intended stay, and also include business contact information in the UK.

Business Hours
Shops are generally open from 9.00am to 5.30/6.00pm from Monday to Saturday, some close early on either Tuesday or Wednesday.