Immigration Corner | Obtaining a UK Ancestry visa

Dear Mr Bassie,

I know that there have been some recent changes to the immigration rules, and I would like to know if someone can still apply for a United Kingdom (UK) Ancestry visa.

Please let me know.

– K.B.

Dear K.B.,

Persons can still apply for a UK Ancestry visa if they: are Commonwealth citizens; are applying from outside of the United Kingdom; are able to prove that one of their grandparents was born in the United Kingdom; are able and planning to work in the United Kingdom; meet the other eligibility requirements.

The earliest that persons can apply for this visa is three months before travelling. Applicants should get a decision on the visa within three weeks when applying from outside the United Kingdom. The application cost for the UK Ancestry visa is £516. Persons should be aware that they may also have to pay the healthcare surcharge as part of the application. Persons should check how much they will have to pay before applying.

If persons would like to get a faster decision on the application and they are applying to extend their stay in the United Kingdom, they can pay an extra £800 for the super priority service. Those persons will get a decision:

• By the end of the next working day after providing their biometric information, if the appointment is on a weekday;

• Two working days after providing their biometric information, if the appointment is on the weekend.

Once successful persons have received their decision letter, the biometric residence permit will take up to 10 working days to arrive. Please note that working days are Monday to Friday, not including bank holidays.

The successful applicant can stay in the United Kingdom for five years on this visa. Those persons can apply to extend their visa and can also apply to settle in the United Kingdom permanently.

Those persons can work, study and take family members with them. However, they cannot change, that is ‘switch’, into this visa if they are already in the United Kingdom on another visa or be eligible to get public funds.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the visa, persons must prove that they:

• Are 17 years old or over;

• Have enough money without help from public funds to support and house themself and any dependents;

• Can and plan to work in the United Kingdom.

Ancestry

With respect to ancestry, they must also show that they have a grandparent born in one of the following circumstances:

• In the United Kingdom, including the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man;

• Before March 31, 1922, in what is now Ireland;

• On a British-registered ship or aircraft.

Those persons can claim ancestry if either they or the relevant parent were adopted or were born within or outside marriage in the United Kingdom. Please note that persons cannot claim United Kingdom ancestry through step-parents.

Applying

With respect to the documents persons must provide when applying, they will need to provide a current passport or other valid travel identification; bank statements to show that they have enough money to support themselves; their tuberculosis test results, if they are from a country where they have to take the test. They will also need to have a blank page in their passport on which to put the visa.

Ancestry documents

Persons will also need to provide:

• Their full birth certificate;

• Their marriage certificate or civil partnership registration document, if their husband, wife or civil partner wants to join them;

• The full birth certificates of the parent and grandparent their ancestry claim is based on;

• Marriage certificates for their parents and grandparents, if they were married;

• Legal adoption papers, if they or their parents are adopted;

• Evidence that they are planning to work in the UK. Also, be aware that persons may need to provide additional documents, depending on their circumstances.

Please note that when applying from outside the United Kingdom, persons must apply online for a UK Ancestry visa. Those persons will need to have their fingerprints and photograph, this is known as ‘biometric information’, taken at a visa application centre as part of their application. Also, please note that persons can only extend this visa if they are already in the United Kingdom.

I hope this helps.

John S. Bassie is a barrister/attorney-at-law who practises law in Jamaica. He is a justice of the peace, a Supreme Court-appointed mediator, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a chartered arbitrator and a member of the Immigration Law Practitioners Association (UK). Email: lawbassie@yahoo.com.