Apply for an Ancestry Visa

You, and any dependants, could be eligible to apply for an ancestry visa if you:

• Are a Commonwealth citizen
• Are applying outside of the UK
• Are able to prove that one of your grandparents was born in the UK
• Are planning to work in the UK
• Meet the other eligibility requirements

You must be 17 or over to apply for an ancestry visa, and already have sufficient funds to house you and any dependants in the country without support from UK public funds.

The earliest you can apply for your ancestry visa is three months before you travel – the waiting time for a decision is three weeks.

If your visa application is accepted, you can stay in the UK for up to five years, and may even be able to extend this further by applying for a UK ancestry visa renewal, or by applying to settle in the UK.

The fee for a UK ancestry visa is £516, and an Immigration Health Surcharge will also be applied.

A spouse or a partner with whom you have been cohabitating for 2 years or more, and children living in the same household under the age of 18, can all be considered dependants for the purposes of a visa application.

When you apply for a UK ancestry visa you will need to provide the following documents:

• A valid passport or another travel document, with a blank page to put the visa
• Proof that you have the finances required to support yourself
• Your full birth certificate
• If your married partner or civil partner wants to join you in the UK, you will need to provide the necessary certificates or documents
• Valid birth certificates of the relative your ancestry claim is based on
• Adoption papers if you are adopted
• Proof that you are planning on working in the UK – this can be evidence of job offers you’ve received from a registered UK business, or a legitimate business plan if you are self-employed

You will also need to provide tuberculosis test results if you are traveling from a country where the test is required.

No. There is no English language requirement in this immigration category.

No – you must provide evidence that you are able to maintain and accommodate yourself without recourse to public funds.

Your initial visa will be valid for 5 years; it is not usually necessary to apply for an ancestry visa extension unless you have not passed the Life in the UK test and cannot apply for settlement.

After 5 years’ continuous residence in this category, you can apply for settlement, which will grant you indefinite leave to stay in the UK.

If your ancestry visa application is refused, you have a right to an administrative review of the decision – this is an internal UKVI review.