Apply for UK Ancestry Visa | Costs, Application & Requirements

Requirements of the UK Ancestry Visa

When you apply for a UK Ancestry Visa, you need to meet the following requirements:

You must be 17 years of age or over.
You must show that you have a grandparent born in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.
Have funds to support yourself and dependants in the UK.
Can and plan to be working in the UK.
You cannot claim UK ancestry through step-parents.

It was a specific visa category opened in line with the British Nationality Act 1981, allowing those with ancestral connections to the UK, to apply for a working visa. You must be a commonwealth citizen and the full list can be found on the UK Home Office website.

As you may have read on the previous page, you can bring your partner and dependants to the UK. They will have to meet their requirements of the immigration policy and will need to apply either with you or can join you in the UK, once you have secured your UK Ancestry Visa. Please remember that you must also satisfy the requirements of meeting the adequate financial threshold and also have adequate accommodation in the UK.

We know that immigration will also be part of the UK’s economy, so immigration requirements change over time, the UK Ancestry does not usually go through any significant changes. The only changes were related to absences, however there is greater discretion applied depending on the reasons why you have spent considerable time outside of the UK.

The visa process of applying for UK Ancestry Visa

Once you have prepared all your documents, and ready to apply, you must lodge your application online at the Home Office website. The application form is dictated by your answers, so you need to read the application correctly, and lodge the application once you are happy with all the answers.

The next screen on your visa application when applying under the UK Ancestry category will allow you to pay the visa fees. Once completed, you would be able to book your visa appointment and complete the submission in person.

We hear a number of feedbacks from our clients when they visit the visa centres, that they are sometimes given advice. Please remember they are not actual case workers nor can they help on the visa process.

Visa costs to apply for a UK Ancestry Visa

The costs to apply for the UK Ancestry Visa changes on a yearly basis. The costs depends whether you are also including dependants to the visa application. The most updated information is available here on visa costs related to a UK Ancestry visa is clicking here.

Processing time for the UK Ancestry Visa

Once your visa application is lodged, you will expect to hear back from the Home Office around 8 weeks. You can also choose the priority visa service if you would like to get a decision quicker but you must do so, prior you submit your UK Ancestry visa application.

UK Ancestry Visa refusal

We know that sometimes a decision may be wrong or that you have failed to complete the application correctly or the evidences were missing at the date of application.

Getting a UK Ancestry visa refusal is not pleasant news you want to receive. As with all immigration applications, you can seek to challenge the decision.

Here is a list of common grounds of refusal that you should be aware of when applying for the UK Ancestry Visa:

If you are not a commonwealth citizen, then your application will be refused automatically. This is regardless of meeting the requirements or you have held previous citizenship.
Your grandparents were not born in the UK or that you cannot provide the evidential ties. As with all immigration based application, evidences are crucial with your legal submission.
You are not able to work in the UK. As we discussed this earlier, simply not working now is not a ground of refusal but if you fail to show the intention of working in the UK, this would result in the refusal.
Not being able to meet the adequacy test for either maintenance or accommodation requirements. Simply stating that you would live with family or friends without any evidences are not sufficient. The Home Office will not make contact to check on this.
However not all challenges are appropriate because if you have failed to provide the evidences or missed critical information to the application, then submitting an administrative review would not be advised.

Sending UK Ancestry visa refusal letter & appeals

At first, please email us a copy of the decision letter, we will advise on the merits of the refusal and whether it would be advisable to challenge or simply reapply for the UK Ancestry Visa.

As we say, going back to the root cause of the problem is better and correcting this, could potential delay in coming to the UK. Where your UK Ancestry visa is refused and you need some legal advice on what to do next, call us on 0207 237 3388 or you can email us at info@icslegal.com with a copy of your decision letter.

Travelling to the UK on the UK Ancestry Visa

Once your visa is granted, you will be expected to travel to the UK as soon as possible and in most cases within 30 days. This is because, your visa is valid for 5 years and you would be expected to complete those periods in order to extend your leave to remain in the UK.

Where you have arrived in the UK, you would not be expected to register with the Home Office. Your visa will be activated at port, and the details of your arrival will be inputted into the Home Office Atlas system.

As your visa prevents you from seeking local authority help for housing or seeking public funds from the DWP, you can live with family until you are able to secure employment.

You must be self-sufficient throughout your periods of residency in the UK. At the time of your visa being granted, you would have provided sufficient evidences to show there would be adequate accommodation and financial support available when you come to live in the UK under your UK Ancestry Visa.

Taking legal advice on your UK Ancestry Visa

A visa application needs to be carefully planned and lodged, so if you meet the requirements of your UK Ancestry Visa, we can help and prepare the application. At ICS Legal, we care about how an application is prepared and lodged.

We make sure that you meet each and every requirements of the UK Ancestry visa is met prior submission and provide clear guidance’s. You can speak to one of our UK Immigration Lawyers on 0207 237 3388 or you can email us at info@icslegal.com.

Related FAQ's

We specialise in Immigration Law, Human Rights Law, British Nationality Law & European Law (post Brexit).

Our Lawyers provide honest, trusted legal advice and exceptional service to all our clients. In return, we would expect all our clients to treat our professionals with courtesy and respect.

ICS Legal provides our clients with initial advice, to program management and compliance services - bringing in value to what we deliver.

Our speciality lies in the field of Immigration, Nationality and EU Law, so it means we always are dealing with this side of the law. We are able to support you in making a correct decision, avoid delays on your case, save money and time, not forgetting the stress of any doubts with your application.

There are many routes available to come to the UK, extend or switch, some of them do not allow extension or even switching. Knowing what is right can be a difficult task and this is why we are here. Simple task of not using the prescribed forms can mean your application is invalid, which means if you have no valid stay, you would have to return back and there is no appeal rights.

Our initial consultations are a chargeable service. We initially discuss the requirements of the application to ensure you meet the requirements and have the documentation required at hand for the submission. It gives you an opportunity to meet us and ask questions.

Each case will be checked thoroughly, everything will be cross referenced so guidelines are met and we will also add our legal document which would outline the Immigration Rules and how the client has satisfied the rules. We use documents that are used by Home Office case workers, so we know exactly what they would look for in your case.

The most important fact is that law constantly changes, policy guidelines and requirements are always changing, so it is best that you always use specialised services to support you. We never compromise our services, our fees remain very competitive but our expertise is at the very highest standard.

We are regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA) - at the highest level which is Level 3 with JRCM licence.

IAA which is the rebrand of OISC is the UK Government Regulated Body and it is a criminal offence if someone is providing Immigration advice without being regulated by the IAA.

Please visit our regulatory bodes page to find more information of government and other agencies which we listed by. Click here.

Your Lawyer would take some background information regarding yourself. Relevant questions would be asked to ascertain whether your case can be handled by our team.

You will also be able to ask questions, understand what is required to meet the Immigration Rules, Nationality Law and EU Law where relevant.

Should we be able to provide assistance, your case worker will give you a customer care letter whereby it would outline the service agreement and the cost associated.

After each consultation we aim to provide a consultation report which would outline what was discussed, the action plan and what to do next.

We have a procedure in place for ensuring client confidentiality.

We keep the affairs of our clients and all information relating to our clients confidential, except where we are compelled to disclose information by reason of a legal or regulatory obligation.

A customer care letter from us will ensure that we outline the service we would be providing, it would also provide a break down of the costs associated so you can rest assure that there are no hidden charges and that fees do not go up unless changes are made (i.e. Home Office fees etc).

We place our clients first, so when you sign the customer care letter and we go through your case file, and we believe that the case would not be successful, we will terminate the agreement and return your documents.

We will also provide alternative solutions with no added costs. We also have a cancellation period should you feel you want to withdraw your file.

Please note that all cases cannot be guaranteed as circumstances depends and whether you met guidelines, however the Home Office caseworker can still refuse cases on the balance of probabilities and other factors.

Our job would be to prepare your case in the best possible way.

Yes, we do. ICS Legal other than fixed costs, offer our client's priority services in what we do including retainer services.

As a private legal firm, we want to ensure we can provide the service you want. Our fees are very competitive and that is why we do not provide a No Win No Fee service as we do not feel the need to over charge our clients with such schemes.

With us, you will know exactly what we would be charging.

The fees are to be paid through cash or bank transfer.

Home Office, third party including other costs not charged by us, will be confirmed when that is possible and are subject to changes.

Our commitment to our clients is that we will update you every time we get an update from the Home Office. The waiting period can be a very daunting time as decisions can be life changing however the Home Office do set some guidelines on waiting times, but we intend to keep you updated throughout the process.

No, and this is the same even if you use a no win no fee service, it would be impossible for anyone to guarantee a successful application. The likelihood of an application being successful can be given based on previous cases or success rates, however we do not operate such a policy of selling our services based on previous applications.

We aim to ensure that this service is not used by any of our clients, but there are times where even with the best possible applications are unsuccessful. As we take our clients cases personally, we would like to provide a helping hand. We have designed an aftercare service whereby if your case fails, then your case worker would be able to help you look at other formalities of staying in the UK should you have valid leave still remaining or help you make an out country application. Please note should you require appealing on your matter, we can only deal with the initial appeal and your application will be straight away referred to an advisor who deals with representations.

It is vital that all our clients can provide honest feedback, we would encourage this and this helps us to become better on our service delivery.

No, we do not offer any services to find work or sponsorship.

When you instruct ICS Legal, we will set out the scope of work. This will tell you the work we have agreed to complete and set out the charges.

This means, we will tell you the services that are covered by the fixed costs work which we would set out in our email to you and the Client Care Letter (CCL).

1. Our Terms of Business (TOB) can be found by clicking here.

We are transparent in the ways we work. Please note, as you are buying professional legal advice, its important you understand our terms of working and what is being offered.

ICS Legal operating model is line with how law firms operate - however please note each firm have their own process and policies.

If you are unsure of what the scope of the work is or require more tailored advice & help, please email us at info@icslegal.com. We value our client's feedback.