UK Immigration Blog, Thoughts and Opinions

The introduction of the Points Based Schemes has led to the deletion of the Working Holiday Maker category which was replaced by the Tier 5 Youth Scheme. This scheme has so far been opened to Japanese and Australian nationals, New Zealanders and Canadians.

However, the ancestry visa category is still an available route for Commonwealth citizens if they can show that they have at least one grandparent born in the UK, Channels Islands, Isle of Man or if the grandparent was born before 31 March 1922 in what is now the Republic of Ireland.

An applicant does not need to have a specific job to come to, but he must only show that he/she is able to seek or take employment in the UK. Main applicants can be accompanied by their spouse or civil partner, but not their unmarried partners. They can also be accompanied by their children under the age of 18 as long as they do not lead an independent life.

It is significant that the ancestry route leads to settlement after five years of lawful residence. However, unlike other categories where an applicant has to show continuous employment, under the ancestry category an applicant must only show that he/she is able to work and intends to take employment in the United Kingdom.

Further, there is nothing to prevent someone from returning to his country of nationality and applying again for an entry clearance under the ancestry visa.

Unfortunately, there are talks that the UK Border Agency might delete this category in the near future.