Ancestry Visa
If you or you spouse has a British-born grandparent (living or deceased) then you qualify for an ancestry visa. This is a highly desirable visa because it allows both of you to live and work in the UK on an unrestricted basis for 4 years. After the four years, you then have to choose between returning to where you came from or applying for permanent residence. This visa is a right and not a privilege as long as you meet the criteria. Use form FLR(O) for this visa application.
The requirements are:
1. Be able to prove that one of your grandparents was born in the United Kingdom, Channel Islands
or Isle of Man (or were born in the Republic of Ireland before 31 March 1922).
2. Be able to be maintained and accommodated without recourse to public funds ie, self-supporting.
3. Be aged 17 or older.
4. Be a Commonwealth citizen.
5. Be able to work and intend to take or seek employment in the UK.
A Commonwealth citizen who has been adopted by someone with an UK-born parent, or whose parent was legally adopted by an UK-born person, can obtain a UK ancestry visa. Together with your application you will need to provide the following:
1. Your full unabridged marriage certificate (if married).
2. Your birth certificate(s).
3. Proof of your academic qualifications.
4. Copies of your CV(s).
5. Proof of funds.
Additional pieces of paper can be asked for at any stage and without a reason given. An example is a request to provide letters from UK employment agencies vouching for your skills and experience and promising to seek employment on your behalf. Another favourite is a letter from a British person related to you who own residential property in the UK who will act as a guarantor for you. These are unlikely to be asked for in most cases and are generally believed to be delaying tactics used by issuing office for reasons known only unto them.
What the officials are essentially trying to determine is the following:
• you are of British descent
• you are who you say you are
• you’re capable and willing to work
• you are employable
• you can support yourself in the short-term
It is in nobody’s interest that an individual arrives in the UK, has no money, will struggle to find a job and then resorts to living off the British taxpayer. No country will (or should or can) tolerate such a state of affairs indefinitely. Some people may find their application rejected (albeit temporarily), but paradoxically they are being done a favour. Their experience in the UK may have turned out to be totally negative, confidence destroying and such a traumatic event in their lives that they may never recover from it.
The most important piece of paper entails your contacting the Family Records Centre in London to provide you with your grandparent (s’) full birth certificate. This exercise takes several weeks and can be costly if using an agency. If you deal with this request yourself you will save money as compared to using an agency to do it for you. It is really quite straightforward and you can visit their site at:
http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates
Another useful site that complements the one above and is best used in a secondary role is:
http://www.familyrecords.gov.uk/