What is an UK Ancestry Visa
The UK Ancestry Visa is available to Commonwealth Nationals who can demonstrate lineage from a British born Grandparent. The Visa permits the eligible person to live, work or study in the UK for up to 5 years. The Ancestry category has less restrictions than other working categories and is considered one of the more desirable visas to hold as its valid for 5 years the term required to meet the residential requirement for settlement.
The Ancestry visa permits you to live and work in the UK without sponsorship restrictions meaning you can work and study with whomever you choose. This is very beneficial to those who want more control over their career path, due to employment flexibility. The UK Ancestry Visa is issued for a period of five years. You may apply to extend you UK Ancestry visa for a further term of 5 years. However, many people choose to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain ILR after they have completed 5 years. The other benefit of this visa is that you can bring a dependant with you and they too will enjoy employment or study without sponsorship restrictions.
Explore
Exploring your Ancestry
Explore
- We provide an initial ‘preliminary’ virtual meeting to establish your overall claim to Ancestry and provide basic advice and timelines.
Inform
Inform you on your eligibility
- The consultation will assess whether you meet the full criteria of the visa. This process can be quite complex depending on the availability of documentation to demonstrate the lineage to your Grandparent.
- If we do not feel that you have a claim to Ancestry we may ask to review more documentation to evidence your eligibility before you commit to the application.
Prepare
Preparing your application
- Our service offer will set out the process and opinion of making an application under this route and whether there may be other suitable options.
- After engagement we will provide a tailored list of specific documentation and will review the documentation against meeting the visa requirements.
- Upload the finalised information to the online visa application and submit the finalised document bundle along with our Cover Letter which sets out your eligibility and how you meet the UK Ancestry rules.
Support
Supporting you all the way
- General on-hand support during the whole process.
- Liaise with UKVI officials should further enquiries be made. This could be due to having previous Immigration history, or UKVI may make further enquiries if the application is of a complex nature.
- Brief the applicant on the logistical process of the visa application right up to collecting the BRP card in the UK.
Find out how we can help you
We can help guide you through the whole process.
Ancestry Visa FAQs
Once the application has been submitted the current processing time is 3 weeks
The fee to apply for an ancestry visa from outside the UK is £516. In some countries you may be able to expedite your UK Ancestry visa and that will depend on the third-party provider who manages the visa applications on behalf of UKVI.
In addition to the visa application fee, you may also be required to pay the Immigration Healthcare Surcharge (IHS). This is a charge associated to those who are applying in long term visa categories including Ancestry. Typically set at £400 / year the IHS permits you to access the National Health Service for the term of the visa. In some cases the IHS may be partially refunded if you do not complete the full term of the visa.
Yes, you may choose to apply to extend your Ancestry visa if you decide you do not want to commit to settlement during this point in your life. However, delaying the opportunity may become more costly and rules may become more complex in the future. If you are applying to extend your visa from within the UK, the application fee is £1033. There is a fast-track service available if you would like to get a fast turn-around however usually the application will be considered within 8 weeks.
You may bring your family to the UK as dependants on your visa. Your partner may also work in line with conditions on your visa.
