UK Ancestry visa

Last updated January 19, 2025

A UK Ancestry visa is a visa issued by the United Kingdom to Commonwealth citizens with a grandparent born in the United Kingdom, Channel Islands, Isle of Man or Ireland (before 1922) who wish to work in the United Kingdom. It is used mainly by young Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders and South Africans of British descent coming to the UK to work and as a base to explore Europe.^[1]

Requirements

The main requirements are:^[2]

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 on or before March 31, 1922.
to be a citizen of a Commonwealth country (it does not matter how citizenship was acquired), applying from outside the UK. Zimbabwe 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 applicant may also be required to pay a healthcare surcharge as part of the process.^[2]^[3]

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 (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.^[4]

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 indefinite leave to remain, it is possible to apply for British citizenship by naturalisation after meeting normal residence requirements. See British nationality law .

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.^[5]
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 at any time, or what is now the Republic of Ireland 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 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, Jack McConnell, expressed his concern over the possible abolition of the UK Ancestry visa. Mr. McConnell had recently been in Canada to encourage Canadians of Scottish heritage to move to Scotland. 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.^[6]

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.^[7]

The abolition of this route was once again brought up by the Home Office in February 2008 in a green paper.^[8] 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 or permanent residence.^[9]

Related Research Articles

The term "British subject" has several different meanings depending on the time period. Before 1949, it referred to almost all subjects of the British Empire. Between 1949 and 1983, the term was synonymous with Commonwealth citizen. Currently, it refers to people possessing a class of British nationality largely granted under limited circumstances to those connected with Ireland or British India born before 1949. Individuals with this nationality are British nationals and Commonwealth citizens, but not British citizens.

Indefinite leave to remain (ILR) 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 and who is free to take up employment, engage in business, self-employment, or study. When indefinite leave is granted to persons outside the United Kingdom it is known as indefinite leave to enter (ILE).

Indian nationality law details the conditions by which a person holds Indian nationality. The two primary pieces of legislation governing these requirements are the Constitution of the Republic of India and the Citizenship Act, 1955.

British National (Overseas), abbreviated as BN(O), is a class of British nationality associated with the former colony of Hong Kong. The status was acquired through voluntary registration by individuals with a connection to the territory who had been British Dependent Territories citizens (BDTCs) before the handover to China in 1997. Registration for BN(O) status was limited to the 10-year period preceding the transfer as a transitional arrangement for former BDTCs; current residents cannot newly acquire this nationality.

A British Overseas citizen (BOC) is a holder of a residual class of British nationality, largely held by people connected with former British colonies who do not have close ties to the United Kingdom or its overseas territories. Individuals with this form of nationality are British nationals and Commonwealth citizens, but not British citizens. BOCs are subject to immigration control when entering the United Kingdom and do not have the automatic right of abode there or in any British overseas territory.

The right of abode is an individual's freedom from immigration control in a particular country. A person who has the right of abode in a country does not need permission from the government to enter the country and can live and work there without restriction, and is immune from removal and deportation.

Australian nationality law details the conditions by which a person is a national of Australia. The primary law governing nationality regulations is the Australian Citizenship Act 2007, which came into force on 1 July 2007 and is applicable in all states and territories of Australia.

New Zealand nationality law details the conditions by which a person is a national of New Zealand. The primary law governing these requirements is the Citizenship Act 1977, which came into force on 1 January 1978. Regulations apply to the entire Realm of New Zealand, which includes the country of New Zealand itself, the Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau, and the Ross Dependency.

The primary law governing nationality of Ireland is the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act, 1956, which came into force on 17 July 1956. Ireland is a member state of the European Union (EU), and all Irish nationals are EU citizens. They are entitled to free movement rights in EU and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries, and may vote in elections to the European Parliament. Irish citizens also have the right to live, work, and enter and exit the United Kingdom freely, and are the only EU citizens permitted to do this due to the common travel area between the UK and Ireland.

This article concerns the history of British nationality law.

A Commonwealth citizen is a citizen of a Commonwealth of Nations member state. Most member countries generally do not treat citizens of other Commonwealth states any differently from foreign nationals, but do grant limited citizenship rights to resident Commonwealth citizens. For example, in 14 member states, resident non-local Commonwealth citizens are eligible to vote in elections. The status is most significant in the United Kingdom, and carries few or no privileges in many other Commonwealth countries.

A British Overseas Territories citizen (BOTC), formerly called British Dependent Territories citizen (BDTC), is a member of a class of British nationality granted to people connected with one or more of the populated British Overseas Territories, other than the Falkland Islands or Gibraltar.

Maltese nationality law details the conditions by which a person is a national of Malta. The primary law governing nationality regulations is the Maltese Citizenship Act, which came into force on 21 September 1964. Malta is a member state of the European Union (EU) and all Maltese nationals are EU citizens. They have automatic and permanent permission to live and work in any EU or European Free Trade Association (EFTA) country and may vote in elections to the European Parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Right of abode in the United Kingdom</span> British immigration status

The right of abode (ROA) is an immigration status in the United Kingdom that gives a person the unrestricted right to enter and live in the UK. It was introduced by the Immigration Act 1971 which went into effect on 1 January 1973. This status is held by British citizens, certain British subjects, as well as certain Commonwealth citizens with specific connections to the UK before 1983. Since 1983, it is not possible for a person to acquire this status without being a British citizen.

The Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP) was a scheme from 2002 until 2008, that was designed to allow highly skilled people to immigrate into the United Kingdom to look for work or self-employment opportunities. It was different from the standard UK work permit scheme in that applicants did not need a specific job offer in the UK. It has now been replaced by Tier 1 (General) of the new points-based immigration system for those who are already living in the UK with HSMP and Tier 2 for those who are currently living outside of the UK or living in the UK in a different immigration category.

The primary law governing nationality in the United Kingdom is the British Nationality Act 1981, which came into force on 1 January 1983. Regulations apply to the British Islands, which include the UK itself and the Crown dependencies ; and the 14 British Overseas Territories.

Pakistani nationality law details the conditions by which a person is a national of Pakistan. The primary law governing these requirements is the Pakistan Citizenship Act, 1951, which came into force on 13 April 1951.

The British National (Overseas) passport, commonly referred to as the BN(O) passport, is a British passport for people with British National (Overseas) status. BN(O) status was created in 1987 after the enactment of Hong Kong Act 1985, whose holders are permanent residents of Hong Kong who were British Overseas Territories citizens until 30 June 1997 and had registered as BN(O)s.

The visa policy of the United Kingdom is the policy by which His Majesty's Government determines visa requirements for visitors to the United Kingdom and those seeking to work, study or reside there. The visa policy of the UK also applies to the Crown dependencies of Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man, which each operate their own immigration enforcement and have separate work permit systems. The visa policy does not apply to any of the British Overseas Territories, who generally apply their own visa policies.

United Kingdom immigration law is the law that relates to who may enter, work in and remain in the United Kingdom. There are many reasons as to why people may migrate; the three main reasons being seeking asylum, because their home countries have become dangerous, people migrating for economic reasons and people migrating to be reunited with family members.

References

↑ Johnston, Philip (21 February 2008). "Britain may abolish ancestry visa". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on March 26, 2008.
1 2 "UK Ancestry visa". gov.uk. 22 April 2016.
↑ "The Immigration (Health Charge) Order 2015", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 2015/792
↑ "Guidance: UK Ancestry (v 14.0)" (PDF). Home Office. January 2014. pp. 16–17.
↑ https://icslegal.com/uk-ancestry
↑ Allardyce, Jason (2 October 2005). "McConnell urges expat Scots to return home". The Sunday Times . London. Archived from the original on August 9, 2016.(subscription required)
↑ "A Points-Based System: Making Migration Work for Britain (Cm 6741)" (PDF). Home Office. March 2006. p. 6. ISBN 0-10-167412-0.
↑ "The Path to Citizenship: Next steps in reforming the immigration system" (PDF). Border and Immigration Agency. February 2008. pp. 23–24. ISBN 978-1-84726-593-7.
↑ "The Path to Citizenship: Next steps in reforming the immigration system - Government Response to Consultation". UK Border Agency. July 2008. pp. 10–11. ISBN 978-1-84726-760-3. Archived from the original on 2010-03-03.

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[tele-1] Johnston, Philip (21 February 2008). "Britain may abolish ancestry visa". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on March 26, 2008.

[UKAV-2] 1 2 "UK Ancestry visa". gov.uk. 22 April 2016.

[3] "The Immigration (Health Charge) Order 2015", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 2015/792

[4] "Guidance: UK Ancestry (v 14.0)" (PDF). Home Office. January 2014. pp. 16–17.

[5] ttps://icslegal.com/uk-ancestry

[6] Allardyce, Jason (2 October 2005). "McConnell urges expat Scots to return home". The Sunday Times . London. Archived from the original on August 9, 2016.(subscription required)

[7] "A Points-Based System: Making Migration Work for Britain (Cm 6741)" (PDF). Home Office. March 2006. p. 6. ISBN 0-10-167412-0.

[8] "The Path to Citizenship: Next steps in reforming the immigration system" (PDF). Border and Immigration Agency. February 2008. pp. 23–24. ISBN 978-1-84726-593-7.

[9] "The Path to Citizenship: Next steps in reforming the immigration system - Government Response to Consultation". UK Border Agency. July 2008. pp. 10–11. ISBN 978-1-84726-760-3. Archived from the original on 2010-03-03.

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