A UK Ancestry visa is a

visa Visa most commonly refers to: *Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Visa Plus, an interbank network *Travel visa, a document that allows ...

issued by the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Commonwealth citizen A Commonwealth citizen is a citizen or qualified national of a Commonwealth of Nations member state. Most member countries do not treat citizens of other Commonwealth states any differently from foreign nationals, but some grant limited citizen ...

s with a grandparent born in the United Kingdom,

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

or Ireland (before

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

) who wish to work in the United Kingdom. It is used mainly by young

Australians Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizens, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Australians, several (or all) ...

New Zealanders New Zealanders ( mi, Tāngata Aotearoa), colloquially known as Kiwis (), are people associated with New Zealand, sharing a common history, culture, and language (New Zealand English). People of various ethnicities and national origins are citiz ...

and

South Africans The population of South Africa is about 58.8 million people of diverse origins, cultures, languages, and religions. The South African National Census of 2022 was the most recent census held; the next will be in 2032. In 2011, Statistics Sout ...

British descent British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs mo ...

coming to the UK to work and as a base to explore Europe.

Requirements

The main requirements are: :* to have a grandparent born in the United Kingdom, Channel Islands or Isle of Man at any time; or a grandparent born in what is now the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

on or before March 31, 1922. :* to be a citizen of a

Commonwealth country The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territorial evolution of the British Empire ...

(it does not matter how citizenship was acquired), applying from outside the UK.

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

remains a Commonwealth country for immigration purposes. :* to be aged 17 or over :* ability, and intention, to undertake employment :* ability to support oneself (and one's dependents) in the United Kingdom without recourse to public funds. As a result of the

Immigration Act 2014 The Immigration Act 2014 is an Act of Parliament of The United Kingdom. It received Royal Assent on 14 May 2014. The act makes provision to prevent private landlords from renting houses to people without legal status, to prevent illegal immigrant ...

, the applicant may also be required to pay a healthcare surcharge as part of the process.

Terms of visa

The visa is granted for five years in the 'limited leave to enter' category. After this, the holder can apply for an extension (limited leave to remain) or for

indefinite leave to remain Indefinite leave to remain (ILR) or permanent residency (PR) is an immigration status granted to a person who does not hold the right of abode in the United Kingdom (UK), but who has been admitted to the UK without any time limit on their stay a ...

(ILR). For ILR, the holder must show that he or she has been living continuously in the UK and is currently in continuing employment or has worked throughout the five years. The Home Office's guidance makes clear that if the applicant is working at the time of the ILR application, the applicant needs to show only that his or her current employment will continue. If not working at the time of the ILR application, the applicant will need to show that he or she has been continually working or looking for work throughout the five-year period. This visa does not prevent the holder from undertaking study; however, to stay within the terms of the status the holder should also be working.

British citizenship

After acquiring

, it is possible to apply for British citizenship by naturalisation after meeting normal residence requirements. See ''

British nationality law British nationality law prescribes the conditions under which a person is recognised as being a national of the United Kingdom. The six different classes of British nationality each have varying degrees of civil and political rights, due to the ...

''. * The increase in the period of time under UK ancestry to five years before ILR can be applied for effectively means that applicants (who are usually not married to British citizens) must wait six years for British citizenship. This is because naturalisation as a British citizen for a person not married to a British citizen requires that ILR or its equivalent be held for twelve months. * Children born in the United Kingdom to persons with UK ancestry (since 1983) are not British citizens by birth. However, the child can be registered a British citizen once the parent obtains ILR if the child is still under 18 (it is not necessary to wait for the parent to become British).

Irish-born grandparent

A grandparent born in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

at any time, or what is now the

prior to 1 April 1922, gives rise to an entitlement to a right to admission under UK ancestry. However, there may also be an entitlement to register as an Irish citizen by descent which grants ''de facto'' permanent residency in the UK immediately. This may be possible as an alternative to, or in addition to, a UK Ancestry visa.

2008 abolition proposal

On 26 October 2005, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' published an article outlining possible plans by the British Home Office to abolish admission under UK ancestry in favour of a points-based migration system. The issue had apparently been raised in the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee. The possibility of abolition alarmed many people with British-born grandparents living in Commonwealth countries.

Scotland's First Minister The first minister of Scotland ( sco, heid meinister o Scotland; gd, prìomh mhinistear na h-Alba ) is the head of the Scottish Government and keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland. The first minister chairs ...

Jack McConnell Jack Wilson McConnell, Baron McConnell of Glenscorrodale, (born 30 June 1960) is a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 2001 to 2007. McConnell served as the Minister ...

, expressed his concern over the possible abolition of the UK Ancestry visa. Mr. McConnell had recently been in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

to encourage Canadians of Scottish heritage to move to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. Canada has over four million citizens that are of Scottish descent. Part of the reason for this campaign was the concern over declining population and birth-rate in Scotland. His campaign received a great deal of interest in Canada. In March 2006, the announcement of a new points-based system made it clear that the ancestry route to the UK was outside its scope. The abolition of this route was once again brought up by the Home Office in February 2008 in a

green paper In the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth countries, Hong Kong, the United States and the European Union, a green paper is a tentative government report and consultation document of policy proposals for debate and discussion. A green paper represen ...

. After receiving substantial feedback during consultation, the proposal was revised in July 2008 to preserve the clearance, but to provide that people taking that route to go through a probationary citizenship stage before applying for

British citizenship British nationality law prescribes the conditions under which a person is recognised as being a national of the United Kingdom. The six different classes of British nationality each have varying degrees of civil and political rights, due to the ...

or permanent residence.

References