UK Ancestry

UK Ancestry

If you are a Commonwealth citizen and have a grandparent who was born in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man, you may be able to live and work in the UK on the basis of your UK Ancestry for a period of five years.  A UK Ancestry visa can only be obtained from outside the UK.

Requirements for a UK Ancestry visa

As follows:

  • You must be a Commonwealth citizen
  • You must be able to prove one of your grandparents was born in the UK
  • You are able and intend to work in the UK
  • You are aged 17 or over
  • You have sufficient funds to support yourself and any dependents while in the UK

In addition you are also required to provide proof that one of your grandparents was born in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, on a British-registered ship or aircraft or in the Republic of Ireland before 31 March 1922.

You must be able to prove that your grandparent is your blood grandparent or grandparent through recognised adoption according to the UK laws relating to adoption; this applies whether it is you or your parents who were adopted. An applicant cannot, however, claim UK ancestry through their step-parents.

In addition to meeting the maintenance and accommodation requirement, you must also satisfy the Home Office that you are able to work and intend to take or seek employment or self-employment in the United Kingdom.

The intention to work in the UK or securing employment before applying is not a pre-requisite for applying for the UK Ancestry visa. Proof that you are looking for a job is sufficient to meet the criteria.

UK Ancestry - Immigration
Accommodation and maintenance

To be eligible, you must also be able to demonstrate that you are able to support and house yourself and any dependants without recourse to any public funding. This means that after income tax, national insurance contributions and housing costs have all been deducted, the level of income available to you and your family, would be the same as would be received in income support.

Employment/ self employment/ unemployment

When applying for the UK Ancestry visa, you should provide evidence of your work history covering the five-year period. If you are unemployed at the time of the application, it is important to provide as much evidence as possible to show how you have supported yourself. If you are or have been seeking employment, you should provide evidence of this, as well as any reasons why you have been unable to secure employment.

UK Visas and Immigration is likely to subject your application to particular scrutiny, if at the time of submission you are unemployed.  With this in mind, you need to make sure you provide adequate evidence of maintenance and any sources of income.

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