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UKAncestryvisaGOV.UK

GOV.UK

UKAncestryvisa

NOTES

1.Overview
YoucanapplyforaUKAncestryvisaifyou:
areaCommonwealthcitizen
areapplyingfromoutsidetheUK
areabletoprovethatoneofyourgrandparentswasbornintheUK
areableandplanningtoworkintheUK
meettheothereligibilityrequirements

Howlongitwilltake
Youneedtoapplyatleast3monthsbeforeyouwanttocometotheUK.
Youshouldgetadecisiononyourvisawithin3weeks.
Youcanchecktheguideprocessingtimestofindouthowlonggettingavisamighttakeinyourcountry.

Fees
YourUKAncestryvisawillcost324.
Youmayalsohavetopaythehealthcaresurchargeaspartofyourapplication.Checkhowmuchyoullhavetopaybeforeyou
apply.

Howlongyoucanstay
YoucanstayintheUKfor5yearsonthisvisa.
Youcanapplytoextendyourvisa.
YoucanalsoapplytosettleintheUKpermanently.

Whatyoucanandcantdo
Youcan:
work
study
bringfamilymembers
Youcant:
change(switch)intothisvisaifyourealreadyintheUKonanothervisa
getpublicfunds

2.Eligibility
Youmustprovethatyou:
are17orover
haveenoughmoneywithouthelpfrompublicfundstosupportandhouseyourselfandanydependants
canandplantoworkintheUK

Yourancestry
Youmustalsoshowthatyouhaveagrandparentbornin1ofthefollowingcircumstances:
intheUK,includingtheChannelIslandsandtheIsleofMan
before31March1922inwhatisnowtheRepublicofIreland
onaBritishregisteredshiporaircraft
Youcanclaimancestryifeitheryouortherelevantparent:
wereadopted
werebornwithinoroutsidemarriageintheUK
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YoucantclaimUKancestrythroughstepparents.

3.Documentsyoumustprovide
Whenyouapplyyoullneedtoprovide:
acurrentpassportorothervalidtravelidentification
apassportsizecolourphotograph
bankstatementstoshowyouveenoughmoneytosupportyourself
yourtuberculosistestresultsifyourefromacountrywhereyouhavetotakethetest
Youllneedtohaveablankpageinyourpassportonwhichtoputthevisa.

Ancestrydocuments
Youllalsoneedtoprovide:
yourfullbirthcertificate
yourmarriagecertificateorcivilpartnershipregistrationdocumentifyourhusband,wifeorcivilpartnerwantstojoin
you
thefullbirthcertificatesoftheparentandgrandparentyourancestryclaimisbasedon
marriagecertificatesforyourparentsandgrandparentsandlegaladoptionpapersifyouoryourparentsareadopted
Readtheguideforafulllistofdocumentsyoucanprovide.

Youmayneedtoprovideadditionaldocumentsdependingonyourcircumstances.

4.Apply

ApplyoutsidetheUK
YoumustapplyonlineforaUKAncestryvisa.
Youllneedtohaveyourfingerprintsandphotograph(knownasbiometricinformation)takenatavisaapplicationcentreaspart
ofyourapplication.
Youmayalsohavetopaythehealthcaresurchargeaspartofyourapplication.Checkhowmuchyoullhavetopaybeforeyou
apply.
Youmaybeabletogetyourvisafasterorotherservicesdependingonwhatcountryyoureincheckwithyourvisaapplication
centre.

NorthKorea
YoucantapplyonlineifyourelivinginNorthKorea.
ToapplyfromNorthKoreayoumust:
downloadtheapplicationformandformguidance
readtheinstructionsforNorthKoreaonhowtoapply

ApplyintheUK
YoucanonlyextendthisvisaifyourealreadyintheUK.

5.Extendyourvisa
Youshouldincludeanydependantswhoareonyourcurrentvisaonyourapplicationtoextendincludingchildrenwhohave
turned18duringyourstay.

Youshouldapplybeforeyourcurrentvisaexpires.

Eligibility
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YoucanalsoapplytosettleintheUKpermanentlyifyouvelivedintheUKfor5yearsonthisvisa.

Howlongyoucanstay
Youcanextendyourvisaforafurther5years.

Fees
Youpay:
649ifyouapplytoextendyourvisabypost
1,049ifyouapplyinpersonusingthepremiumservice
Youllalsohavetopaythehealthcaresurchargeaspartofyourapplication.Checkhowmuchyoullhavetopaybeforeyouapply.
Forexample:
Whoyoureapplyingfor Applybypost Applyinperson
You

649

1,049

Alldependants

649

1,049

Howtoextendyourvisa

Youshouldreadthefullguidancebeforefillingintheform.

WithintheUKyoucan:
downloadtheformandapplybyposttheaddressisontheform
downloadtheformandusethepremiumserviceatapremiumservicecentre
Youllneedtogetabiometricresidencepermitaspartofyourapplication.

Howlongittakes
Adecisionwillbemade:
within8weeksforpostalapplications
usuallyonthesamedayifyouusethepremiumservice
Youllbecontactedifyourapplicationiscomplexandwilltakelonger,eg:
ifyoursupportingdocumentsneedtobeverified
ifyouneedtoattendaninterview
becauseofyourpersonalcircumstances(egifyouhaveacriminalconviction)

OnceyouveappliedyoucanstayintheUKuntilyouvebeengivenadecision,aslongasyouappliedbeforeyourlast
visaexpired.

6.Familymembers
Yourfamilymembers(dependants)mustapplytojoinorremainwithyouintheUKiftheyrefromoutsidetheEuropean
EconomicArea(EEA)orSwitzerland.
Adependantisanyofthefollowing:
yourpartner
yourchildunder18
yourchildover18iftheyrecurrentlyintheUKasadependant
Theymayalsohavetopaythehealthcaresurchargeaspartoftheirapplication.Checkhowmuchtheyllhavetopaybeforethey
apply.

DependantsapplyingoutsidetheUK
Yourfamilymembersmustapplyonline.
Theyllneedtohavetheirfingerprintsandphotograph(knownasbiometricinformation)takenatavisaapplicationcentreaspart
oftheirapplication.
Theymaybeabletogettheirvisafasterorotherservicesdependingonwhatcountrytheyreincheckwiththevisaapplication
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centre.

NorthKorea
YourfamilymemberscantapplyonlineiftheyrefromNorthKorea.
ToapplyfromNorthKoreatheymust:
downloadtheformandformguidance
readtheinstructionsonhowtoapply

DependantsapplyingintheUK
YourdependantscanapplytoextendorswitchtheirvisastostaywithyouiftheyrealreadyintheUK.Theyshouldapplyusing
thedependantapplicationform.
Itsbesttosendyourdependantsapplicationatthesametimeasyoursbuttheycanapplyatalaterdate.

MembersofyourfamilycantapplyintheUKasyourdependantiftheyholdavisitorvisa.

ChildrenbornwhileyoureintheUK
IfyouhavechildrenwhileyoureintheUK,youcanapplyforpermissionforthemtostay.
YoumustdothisifyouwanttotravelinandoutoftheUKwithyourchild.
CompletetheapplicationformandsendafullUKbirthcertificateshowingthenamesofbothofyourchildsparents.

Lastupdated:4February2016

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