UK
Ancestry Visa

Your United Kingdom Ancestry Visa will be valid for 5 years, after which you can apply for permanent residency.

You will need to apply for your United Kingdom Visa from within your home country or country of citizenship/official residency.

Yes. If you are on a UK Ancestry Visa your spouse is also entitled to work in the UK.

Yes – you do not need to wait until your UK Ancestry Visa is accepted before applying for the rest of your family. You can all apply together as long as you meet the requirements. Visit Am I Eligible for more information.

If you are able to prove that you and your partner have been living together in a relationship like marriage for at least two years your partner will be able to join you in the UK and be entitled to work there.

All though it is not necessary, it is strongly advisable and advantageous to have a firm offer of employment in the UK when you submit your UK ancestor visa application.

Everyone working in the UK needs to have a UK National Insurance Number (NIN). Applying for an NIN can be a difficult process if you're new to the UK and it can take up to 2 weeks to process. Visa First can start organising your NIN application before you arrive in the UK to help speed up the process. Apply for your UK NIN Number today.

Our fees for UK Ancestry Visa processing are:

Irish Residents: €375
UK Residents: £260
Australian Residents: AU$585
New Zealand Residents: NZ$675
Canadian Residents: CA$550

Apply for your UK visa online now.

To make sure you can start working and getting paid in the UK straight away, Visa First is partnered with Traveltowork and can help fast track the process of setting up a UK bank account – which can take up to 6 weeks. Traveltowork is partnered with the UK's leading banks including Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds TSB and can set up a UK bank account for you. This service costs AU$75. Apply to open a UK bank account today.

Thousands of customers choose Visa First to organise their UK Visas every year because:

• We make getting the visa you need fast and hassle-free.
• We are the only company with an online visa status engine which allows you to check the status of your visa 24/7. Check your status now.
• We're visa experts and have organised over 130,000 visas for people like you.
• Our visa guarantee means no visa – no fee!*
• We don't just do visas, we sort out everything you'll need overseas – from accommodation, bank accounts, airport pick up, jobs and much more.

Apply for your UK Visa with Visa First today.

Yes. The British High Commission introduced digital fingerprinting on December 1st 2007. Once Visa First receives your completed application and payment we will submit it to the UK Immigration Authorities and provide you with full instructions on the further steps of your application, including details of the biometric (fingerprinting) appointment with Consular representatives.

Yes, you can as anyone else with right of abode.

Yes, you can contact the Births, Marriage and Deaths Register to obtain a certified copy of your grandparent's birth certificate.

For your daughter to be eligible to apply for the UK Ancestry visa she must you have a grandparent who was born in the United Kingdom (including the Channel Islands or Isle of Man) or a grandparent who was born in what is now the Republic of Ireland before 31 March 1922. Unfortunately as her grandfather was born in Malta she is not eligible to apply for this type of visa.

However if she's aged between 18-30 and has never been in the UK on a working holiday visa, then she might be eligible to apply for the UK Youth Mobility Scheme which will allow her to stay and work in the country for up to 2 years.

If your grandmother was born in Scotland you are eligible to ably for UK Ancestry visa as Scotland is a part of the UK. You will simply need to provide with your, your parent's and your grandparent's original birth certificates.

The visa itself does not entitle you to travel to Spain. The UK Ancestry visa is valid only for UK.

Being self-employed won't prevent you in any way to apply for the Ancestry visa. You might have some difficulties only with the bank statement as you will have to explain all deposits over $400 and provide supporting documents but still this won't be a problem. With regards to your spouse, s/he will have to submit a separate application as a dependent to you.

There will be no problem to apply for the Student visa once again next year when you need to go. You will simply need to lodge another application and provide all the required documents once again. In addition you will have to write a letter of explanation why you didn't go on the previous visa.

If you want we can help you with the organizing of the visa. If you're interested you can provide me with a contact number and a colleague of mine will call you and guide you through the process.

There is no need to have a return ticket to New Zealand when you have an Ancestry visa for the UK. A one way ticket to England will be just fine.

The UK Ancestry visa covers your stay only in the UK – it has nothing to do with a British passport. If you wish to travel through European countries you will need to obtain a Schengen visa for the relevant county.

To be eligible for an Ancestry visa your grandparents must have been born in the UK – this means your parents' parents'. Unfortunately there is no way around it.

Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom so you will have no problems travelling, living or even working there. With regards southern Ireland you need to check if you are required to have a visa in order to enter the country. The UK Ancestry visa covers you only for the UK.

The UK Ancestry visa is a multiple entry one. You can check on your passport the date when the visa has started and from then on you can enter and leave as many times as you want within the visa validity.

Unfortunately you won't be eligible to apply for the UK Ancestry visa because your grandparents have to be born in the UK only. British colonies are not acceptable.

If you're aged between 18-30, have no children and have never been in the UK, then you might be able to apply for the UK Youth Mobility Program which is valid for 2 years.

There is absolutely no problem to get another Ancestry visa for the UK. You will simply need to have all the required documents and submit an application once again.

You won't be able to include your wife's son on your application as he's not considered to be dependant on you. And as you're the main applicant you can only include in your application dependants as wife and your children. The only option in my opinion is to adopt the child and you will provide the adoption certificate

For the UK Ancestry visa you need to have grandparent born in the UK which makes you eligible. You will need to provide your birth certificate, your mother's birth certificate and your grandfather's birth certificate – all ORIGINALS.

Basically when applying for the UK Ancestry visa you need to provide a bank statement for 1600 GBP. You need to have this required minimum of funds upon arrival in the UK because otherwise you might not be allowed in. Please be advised that the fact that you have your visa granted doesn't mean that you will be allowed to enter the country if you don't meet the entry requirements.

If the Birth Certificate is a certified copy issued by the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages then it will be acceptable. Apart of the birth certificates there are other documents that need to be submitted as a part of the application.

If you want we can help you with the visa processing. Please provide me with a contact number and a colleague of mine will call you and explain you the processing.

I'd advise you to get the Ancestry visa first because it's easier and faster to be obtained and once you're already in the UK you can contact the UK Home Office and check how you should apply for citizenship.

You can apply for UK Dependent Ancestry visa if you're aged under 18. If you are, please get back to me and we'll contact you and explain you the processing!

The visa will start running from the "Valid From Date" that will be stamped on your passport. You can enter the UK whenever you decide within the visa validity. Please be advised that the time that you spend outside the UK will be deducted from your visa validity.

Please be advised that the required funds for each person applying for the UK Ancestry is AUD 3000 and each one of you must complete an application form and get their biometrics (fingerprints and digital photo) done in the Visa Processing centre.

Yes, it's possible to apply for a new Ancestry visa from inside the UK. Please be advised that you must apply at least 4 weeks before your current visa expires. We can provide you with assistance with your documents check in order to make sure that everything is OK and your visa doesn't get rejected. The fee for the service is £70.

There is absolutely no problem to apply for the UK Ancestry visa even though your fiancé is a British citizen.

Unfortunately you are not eligible to apply for the UK Ancestry visa as in order to do so your grandparent must have been born in the UK. Birth certificates showing this are always required as a part of the application. The fact that your grandmother had a British passport does not qualify you for this visa.

Once your current Ancestry visa expires, you will simply need to apply for another one. The good thing is that this can be done from inside the UK and you won't have to travel back to your home country. Please be advised that you should apply for this at least 4 weeks before your current visa expires. If you're interested we would be able to provide you with assistance for the visa processing by checking your visa application and documents so that the visa doesn't get rejected. The fee for this service is £70.

In order to be eligible to apply for a UK Ancestry visa your grandparent must have been born in the UK and you must present the original birth certificates of this grandparent, your parent's and yours. If you hold a Canadian passport and you meet the above requirement there should be no problem to apply for the UK Ancestry visa.

You won't be allowed to apply for the Ancestry visa from inside the UK because of 2 reasons:

1. if you're on a working holiday visa which is a non-switchable category, which means that you can't apply for another type of visa while in the UK on this one and you must leave the country once the visa expires
2. the 1st time that you apply for an Ancestry visa you must be at your home country

If you're at the moment on a work visa (other that the working holiday visa) and you already had an Ancestry visa, you will be allowed to apply from inside the UK.

To be able to get a British passport you need to have spent a certain period in the UK. First you should get an Ancestry visa if you're eligible for such. If you have lived and worked continuously in the UK for five years in this category and if you still meet the UK ancestry requirements, you can apply to live in the UK permanently and then apply to obtain a British passport.

If your Ancestry visa is still valid there should be no problem to return t the UK even if you've been out of the country for a year. However with regards to the visa extension you will have to check with the Home office because now that you are no longer minor you won't be able to apply for an Ancestry visa. This is because an eligible applicant should provide birth certificate of a grandparent of his born in the UK. In your case as your great grandfather was English you won't be able to apply for an Ancestry visa.
Still I'd advise you to check with the UK Home Office if you can obtain another longterm visa.

Yes, if you have an Ancestry visa you will have to work as well. Otherwise if you intend only to study you will have to apply for a Student visa.

Yes, your husband and son will be able to work in the UK if they have UK Ancestry Dependent visa. Please be advised that they should apply together with you as it will be much easier and the application will be straight forward and you will need to do this while your son is still 17.

If you're interested we can help you with the visa organizing for the 3 of you.

In order to be able to apply for an Ancestry visa for the UK you need to provide the Immigration authorities with 3 original birth certificates – yours, your parent's and your grandparent's. If you fail to do this they will simply refuse your application. There is absolutely no way that the Births, Marriages and Deaths Registry not to be able to issue a birth certificate for your grandfather if he was born in the UK. I'd advise you to contact them again because without the birth certificate of your grandfather you won't be able to apply for the Ancestry visa.

There is not upper age limit and the lower age limit is 17 at the time of planned arrival in the UK.

However, there is common sense upper age limitation. Since you need to live at least 5 years in the UK before you can apply for a citizenship, you will need to be able to work or have an income. If you cannot demonstrate the ability to find work trough combination of age, experience and qualifications or you have no income to support yourself, the British High Commission may not approve your application.

We generally recommend to applicants over 55 to have reliable income independent of country of residence or the ability to find a job.

No, you are not required to a job in advance of arrival in the UK. Most people actually arrange their work after arrival.

At Visa First we do everything we can to make sure you receive the best possible service. If you feel that we have not achieved this goal we have set up a complaints handling process:

Complaints Process:

1. Where an official complaint is received by Visa First, the company will record the nature of the complaint and issue an acknowledgement email to the client within 5 business days of receiving the complaint. The acknowledgement will provide the client with the contact name who is responsible for dealing with the complaint. The official complaint must be made by email (you may also write, although this will slow down the process), and confirm that the client wishes to enter this process. Please email your complaint to complaints@visafirst.com
2. Visa First will investigate the complaint as swiftly as possible and where applicable, the complainant will receive a regular written update on the progress of the investigation at intervals of not more than 20 business days.
3. Visa First will try to resolve the complaint within 40 business days of having received the complaint. If the complaint cannot be resolved within 40 business days, the Firm will write to the complainant notifying them of the anticipated timeframe for the conclusion of the investigation.
4. Within 5 business days of the conclusion of the investigation of the complaint, Visa First will issue a resolution letter detailing the outcome of the investigation. This letter will include, if applicable, an explanation of the terms of any offer that the company is prepared to make in settlement of the complaint.