To be eligible to apply for an ancestry visa you need to meet the following requirements:
Eligibility requirements:
1. Country and Age:
- Be a Commonwealth citizen and aged 17 or
over
To apply for an ancestry visa, you must be a Commonwealth citizen at the date of application, not necessarily at the date of birth. Additionally, you must be 17 or over. It is quite easy to prove the above mentioned, as you need to provide a current passport or other valid travel identification and your full birth certificate
2. Blood Line:
- provide proof that one of your grandparents was born in the UK and islands, or on a British registered ship or aircraft
Therefore, you must show that you have at least one grandparent who was born in the UK and islands, or on a British registered ship or aircraft. Additionally, you must show they are your blood grandparent or grandparent by an adoption recognised by the laws of the UK.
Grandparents means parents of your mother or father, hence this term does not include your great-grandparents. Thus, you will need the full birth certificates of the parent and grandparent through whom you are making the ancestry application, or legal adoption papers if you, or your parents, are adopted.
3. Economic circumstances:
- You must be able to work and intend to take or seek employment (this includes self-employment) in the UK, as well as be able to maintain and accommodate yourself and any dependants adequately without recourse to public funds
Accordingly, you must show that you intend to work in the UK and you will not be depending on public funds. Therefore, it will be helpful to have your cv ready or even better, a job offer from a UK based company.
But what is most likely is that you do not have a job offer yet, hence you need to show that you have appropriate qualifications and a plan, so you are realistically able to find employment.
Furthermore, you may wish to come to the UK and become self-employed, which is also possible, but in that case, you must have a business plan.
When assessing your employability it may be relevant to consider your age and health, but please bear in mind that disability cannot prevent you from being granted an ancestry visa.
It is also worth mentioning that nowhere is it stated that you should just work, which means you can come to the UK and become a student on an ancestry visa, but you need to remember you will still be obligated to work at the same time, for example by taking part-time employment that fits in with your studies.
To be able to prove you’ve enough money to support yourself, bank statements may be strong evidence. In a case where you do not have a job offer yet, cash savings may also have a strong impact in deciding your case.
Application process:
You can apply for an ancestry visa online, but the earliest you can do this is 3 months before you travel. You should get a decision on your visa within 3 weeks when you apply from outside the UK.
UK Ancestry visas currently cost £516, and some healthcare surcharges may also apply.
This visa will allow you to stay in the UK for 5 years, but after this time you can extend this visa, or even apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain, assuming that you are able to meet all requirements.
IF YOU HAVE BEEN AFFECTED BY ANY UK IMMIGRATION MATTER, PLEASE CONTACT SOLICITOR TITO, A UK IMMIGRATION AND HUMAN RIGHTS SOLICITOR, FOR A FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION ABOUT YOUR LEGAL OPTIONS. CALL 07544 669131/01163800744 OR ON SKYPE: TITO.MBARITI.
Contact for Free Initial General Advice