Entry Clearance For UK Ancestry Visa (Priority Service For Faster Decision)

• Page Contents
• Overview
• Eligibility Requirements
• Citizenship, Age and Ancestry
  Requirements
• Work Requirement
• Financial Requirement
• How Can We Help?
• Our Fixed Fees

You can apply for entry clearance for UK ancestry visa if you are a commonwealth citizen aged 17 or over who wish to come to work in the UK on the basis of having a grandparent born in the UK and Islands. Eligible applicants are normally given entry clearance for 5 years. Towards the end of the 5 years, they can apply either for an extension of stay or Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR). An application for entry clearance as a UK Ancestry migrant is made in accordance with requirements as set out in Appendix UK Ancestry to the Immigration Rules.

Our specialist team of immigration solicitors can provide expert immigration advice and legal representations on fixed fee basis for your application for UK ancestry visa. Ask a question online to our specialist team of work visa solicitors for free immigration advice online or book an appointment online for a detailed immigration advice and consultation with one of our work visa solicitors conerning your entry clearance application for UK Ancestry visa.

• Other Related Pages
• Extension Of UK Ancestry Visa
• ILR UK Ancestry
• UK Ancestry Dependant Visa

Eligibility Requirements For UK Ancestry Visa

An applicant for entry clearance for UK Ancestry migrant must meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules. They must:

• Valid application: The applicant must submit a valid application for UK Ancestry visa;
• Commonwealth Citizen: The applicant must be a Commonwealth citizen on the date of application;
• Grandparent born in the UK and Island: The applicant must have a grandparent born in the UK or Islands.
• Work requirement: The applicant must be able to work and intend to seek and take employment in the UK.
• Suitability requirements: The applicant must not fall for refusal under Part 9: grounds for refusal;
• Financial Requirement: The decision maker must be satisfied that the applicant can and will adequately maintain and accommodate themselves, and any dependants in the UK, or applying for entry clearance, without recourse to public funds. Funds must be shown as specified in Appendix Finance;
• Tuberculosis Test Certificate: The applicant should provide Tuberculosis test certificate, where this is required under Appendix T of the Immigration Rules.

You can claim ancestry if your relationship to the relevant grandparent is in the legitimate or illegitimate line.

You cannot claim UK ancestry through step-parents, but you can apply if you or your parent (through whom you are claiming ancestry) are adopted. You must show evidence of the legal adoption with your application form.

Citizenship, Age and Ancestry Requirements

The requirements relating to citizenship, age and ancestry for UK Ancestry visa  are contained in paragraph 186(i) to (iii) of the Immigration Rules.

Commonwealth Citizen

The applicant must be a Commonwealth citizen on the date of the application. To meet this requirement, the applicant must be one of the following:

• a British Overseas Territories citizen
• a British National (Overseas)
• a British Overseas citizen
• a British subject
• a citizen of a country listed in Schedule 3 to the British Nationality Act 1981

The applicant must prove this with a valid passport or travel document issued by a Commonwealth country. The applicant does not have to have been a Commonwealth citizen from birth – they can qualify if, for example, they have
recently naturalised as a Commonwealth citizen.

Aged 17 Or Over

For UK Ancestry entry clearance application, the applicant must be aged at least 17 on the date they intend to arrive in the UK. There is no upper age limit on the UK Ancestry route but, in all cases, the applicant
must show they are able to and intend to seek and take employment.

UK-born Grandparent

The applicant must be able to provide proof that one of their grandparents was born in the UK and Islands and is either the applicant’s blood grandparent, or grandparent by reason of a UK-recognised adoption. There is no requirement for the applicant’s relevant parent or qualifying grandparent to have been married at the time of birth.

An applicant cannot qualify on this route on the basis of having a great-grandparent, or more distant ancestor, born in the UK or Islands.

Meaning of ‘born in the UK and Islands’

To meet the requirement to have been born in the UK or Islands, the applicant’s qualifying grandparent must have been born in one of the following circumstances:

• in the UK
• in the Channel Islands (Bailiwick of Guernsey or Bailiwick of Jersey)
• in the Isle of Man
• in Ireland (but only if they were born before 31 March 1922)
• on a British-owned or registered ship or aircraft if the requirements of either section 50(7)(a) of the British Nationality Act 1981, or section 32(5) of the
  British Nationality Act 1948, as applicable, are met

Adoption

If the applicant or their parent is adopted, the applicant will meet the requirement to have a UK-born grandparent if either or both of the following apply:

• the applicant was legally adopted by someone who has a parent born in the UK and Islands
• one of the applicant’s parents was legally adopted by someone born in the UK and Islands

The adoption must be through an adoption process recognised as valid for the purposes of UK law. An applicant cannot claim UK ancestry through step-parents where no legal adoption has taken place.

Work Requirement

All applicants on the UK Ancestry route must be able to work and intend to seek and take employment in the UK. The work can include part-time and voluntary work. The applicant does not have to be working or have a confirmed job at the time they apply. They need only demonstrate they are able to work and intend to seek and take employment. Evidence of this could include, but is not limited to:

• job offers from UK employers
• evidence of previous work history (in any country) or relevant qualifications
• evidence of applications they have made to UK employers
• evidence of registration with a UK recruitment agency
• evidence of any steps they have undertaken to improve their chances of finding work – for example, relevant training courses
• a business plan or expressions of interest from potential clients (if they intend to be self-employed)

Financial Requirement

All applicants on the UK Ancestry route must meet the financial requirement. There is no set level of funds the applicant must hold but they must show they can maintain and accommodate themselves, and any family members applying to join them in the UK, without access to public funds. Evidence of finances must be as set out in Immigration Rules: Appendix Finance and be dated no more than 31 days before the date of application. Applicants can also rely on credible support from a third party (for example, a relative or friend) to meet this requirement.

How Can We Help?

Our Fixed Fees For UK Ancestry Visa Applications