UK Ancestry Visa
The Ancestry visa is a route to settlement in the UK that sounds almost too good to be true. The visa holder can work without needing to be sponsored by an employer. Additionally, the work requirements are very relaxed. It is not necessary to earn a particular level of salary which is usually a requirement on work visa routes. You can also study in the UK. If you are successful you will be granted entry clearance for a period of five years. After that you can apply for indefinite leave to remain in the UK. Dependant partners and children can also apply under this route (unmarried partners must have cohabited for at least two years).
Main Requirements For A UK Ancestry Visa
- You must be one of the following: a Commonwealth citizen, a British Overseas citizen, a British Overseas Territories citizen, a British National (Overseas), or a citizen of Zimbabwe;
- You must have a grandparent who was born in the UK, which includes the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, or the Republic of Ireland (if born before 31/03/1922), or on a British registered ship or aircraft - there is no requirement for your grandparent to have been a British citizen;
- Your grandparent must be your biological grandparent or grandparent through an adoption that is recognised under UK law;
- You must be aged 17 or over on the date of intended arrival in the UK;
- You must be able to adequately maintain and accommodate yourself and any dependants without recourse to public funds;
- You must be able to work and genuinely intend to seek and take employment in the UK;
- Switching into the Ancestry visa from within the UK is not allowed. You can only apply for an Ancestry visa from outside the UK.
Commonwealth Countries
Commonwealth nationals are citizens of the countries listed in Schedule 3 to the British Nationality Act 1981. The list of Commonwealth countries can change so you should always check before applying. Apart from the UK, there are currently 55 other countries in the Commonwealth. They are:
Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Brunei, Cameroon, Canada, Republic of Cyprus, Dominica, Kingdom of Eswatini, Fiji, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Western Samoa and Zambia.
Settlement on the basis of UK Ancestry
Once you have obtained a UK Ancestry visa, you will be granted leave to enter the UK for a period of five years. After five years residence in the UK, you will be eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain. At that stage you must be able to provide evidence that you have been working or genuinely seeking work during the past five years. You will also need to have spent not more than 180 days outside the UK in any of the previous five years and passed tests to demonstrate you have satisfactory knowledge of the English language and Life in the UK. Strangely, unlike many other visa routes, family members are eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain at the same time as the main applicant, even if they have not, at that stage, lived in the UK for five years themselves. If you are not eligible for settlement then you can apply for an extension of your UK Ancestry visa instead.