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The British Ancestry visa allows a Commonwealth citizen
to immigrate to the United Kingdom with the liberty
to work on the basis of their ancestral ties to the
UK. No Work Permit is required, and for a Commonwealth
Citizen with the correct ancestral connection this can
be the best route for entry into the UK. This Visa category
is officially known as the, “Four Year UK Ancestry
Employment Visa” and in some circles it is also
called “Partiality Visa” or “Ancestry
Visa”. Application is usually made by Commonwealth
Citizens through the British High Commission in their
respective home country. However, if one is already
is in the UK with a different visa, then it is possible
to apply for the ancestry visa within the UK .
ELIGIBILITY -
Citizenship
A UK Ancestry visa applicant must be a citizen of the
Commonwealth.
Age
A UK Ancestry visa applicant must be 17 years of age
or over.
Ancestry
A UK Ancestry visa applicant must have one of their
grandparent who was born in the United Kingdom, the
Channel Islands or the Isle of Man or in what is now
the Republic of Ireland before 31 March 1922. Such grandparent
must be the applicant’s blood grandparent or grandparent
by reason of an adoption recognized by the laws of the
United Kingdom relating to adoption.
An application may be considered through any one of
the four grandparents, alive or deceased born in the
UK. However, the visa is not considered for those applicants
who had a great-grandparent born in the UK because this
relation is too far removed for the purposes of the
visa application
.
Employment
A UK Ancestry visa applicant must be able and plan to
work in the UK.
Public Funds
People on British Ancestry visas must be able to support
and accommodate themselves without recourse to public
funds.
DURATION & BENEFITS -
A UK Ancestry visa is issued usually for a period of
four years and during that time the ancestry visa holder
may work without restriction, employed or self-employed.
S/he may also freely exit and re-enter the UK multiple
times. One month before your Ancestry Visa expires,
s/he may then apply to be considered for a status called,
"Indefinite Leave to Remain," (I.L.R.). This
status is often also known as "Full Residency,"
or "Permanent Residency." I.L.R. allows the
holder to remain in the UK for an indefinite period.
Once s/he have been issued with the I.L.R. and have
held it to a point at which the holder can state that
over the most recent 5yrs, s/he have not spent more
than 450 days in total outside of the UK; s/he may then
apply to be "Naturalised." It is worth noting
that in the 5th year s/he must not have spent more than
90 days outside of the UK, inclusive of the total 450
days. Once Naturalised, the ancestry visa holder is
considered to be a full British citizen, and may then
apply for a full British passport.
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