UK Ancestry

The UK Ancestry category provides a route of entry and stay in the UK for Commonwealth citizens with a UK-born grandparent who intend to work in the UK.

The route is often considered attractive as:

  1. it does not require sponsorship by a UK-based employer, which can be a costly and burdensome process

  2. there is no English-language requirement for entry to the UK

  3. it allows the main applicant to bring their dependent partner and children to the UK

  4. permission is granted for five years in one go, making it cheaper than other routes, and

  5. it ultimately leads to settlement in the UK after five years

Although the Immigration Rules for the route were simplified from 1 December 2020 for the post-Brexit immigration system via Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules HC 813, few substantive policy changes were made. The route, which previously sat in Part 5 of the Rules, still has no points allocations and is therefore not a ‘points-based’ route.

Eligibility

The definition of a UK-born

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