UK Ancestry Visa enables Commonwealth citizens, who are the UK nationals’ immediate descendants, to live and work in the country. Several Indian, Australian, New Zealand, Canadian, and South African nationals have close ancestral ties with Britain. There are people who never reap the benefits from their ancestral rights, although they are sitting on the recognizable jackpot i.e. the citizenship of the UK.
The UK Ancestry Visa route comes with an application process one might find a challenge. There are several applicants who are denied on their first attempt.
Eligibility Requirement to Get a UK Ancestry Visa
You should meet the following criteria to apply for a UK Ancestry Visa:
- Be a citizen of the commonwealth country
- Must be 17 years old or above
- Willing to work and live in the United Kingdom
- You have a grandparent born in the Isle of Man, Channel Islands, the UK, in the Republic, or Ireland before 31st March 1922
- Can support yourself as well as any dependants without relying on public funds
How Can You Apply for a UK Ancestry Visa?
Unless you are from North Korea, you are required to apply for the UK Ancestry Visa online. You, on your appointment day, will have to have your fingerprints and photograph (called ‘biometric information’) taken at a visa application centre as part of your application. Our team is here to help you every step of the way.
Documents You Need to Apply for a UK Ancestry Visa
To enter the UK on an Ancestry Visa, you will need to provide the below-mentioned documents. There are times when an applicant goes through numerous difficulties while applying for a UK Ancestry Visa. However, the expert immigration team can help you with collating and submitting the following:
- A passport or other valid travel document
- Your tuberculosis test results, if applicable
- Evidence to prove that you have sufficient funds to support yourself and your family member (if any)
- Evidence of your claimed relationship based on your ancestry to the British national
- Evidence that you are planning to work in the country. For instance, job offers you have received or a business plan if you are self-employed
How Can I Prove My Ancestry?
You are required to show detailed evidence of your relationship with your relative who was a UK-born national. That is because you are applying as the relative of a British person for the Ancestry Visa.
To carry this out, you will be expected to provide the birth certificates of both your parent and grandparent on which your ancestry claim is based.
Also, you may well provide some other documents, depending on your specific circumstances. These could contain the following:
- Evidence that parents or grandparents have changed their name since birth. For instance, a deed poll, or marriage or civil partnership certificates
- Legal adoption papers in case you or your parents have adopted
Advantages of a UK Ancestry Visa
There are several advantages of a UK ancestry visa. The main advantage of this visa is it offers a great route to acquire Indefinite Leave to Remain and British Citizenship. Requirements are not that stringent, your entry in the country for this visa is based exclusively on family connections. Below mentioned are some of the advantages of a UK ancestry visa:
- Can work and live in the UK without any limitation
- Unlike with the Investor or Entrepreneur category route, there is no requirement for you to invest any finances in the country
- No need to obtain a work permit or sponsor
- No restrictions on the employment type undertaken during your stay in the United Kingdom
- Your spouse, civil or unmarried partner and your dependent children can take advantage once they join you in the United Kingdom
