My To-do list for our ancestral visa application

This is the To-do list I used for our UK Ancestry visa application with spouse dependent:

At least 6 months before you intend applying for your visa:

• Apply for SA unabridged birth certificates
• Apply for SA marriage certificates
• Apply for UK birth certificate
• Get quotes from pet transport agents if you are considering taking your pet/s

At least 4 months before you intend applying for your visa:

• Begin the process of having your pet micro-chipped, vaccinated, titre tested etc and confirm the agent you are using for their transport

At least 3 months before you intend applying for your visa:

• Get or renew SA passports if necessary (check the expiry date in current passport and make sure there are enough pages)
• Ensure that there are sufficient funds per applicant in a bank account (the consensus at the date of this post is R30 000 per applicant)
• Update CV of the main applicant to the UK format (free template here)
• Register with employment agencies (Reed and Indeed are good options)
• Start collecting proof of relationship for spouse dependent (20 photos over the duration of the relationship, including wedding photo, mail addressed to both applicants at the same address, joint bond statement if applicable etc)

Roughly a month before you want to go to your biometrics appointment:

• Get TB test done - see the list of approved clinics here.
• Apply for a couple of jobs and keep the email responses
• Arrange for proof of UK accommodation eg invitation letter from friend or family member (incl copy of their passport, utility bill) or booking through Booking.com or Airbnb
• Apply for the ancestral visa online, book the biometrics appointment and pay the NHS surcharge, register with TLS contact.  Before doing the online visa application it may help to complete the form manually - a manual copy can be found here.

A week before the appointment for biometrics:

• Get 3 months bank statements showing sufficient funds per applicant printed and stamped by the bank
• Take colour photocopies of important documents such as birth and marriage certificates

On the day of the appointment:

• Ensure that you have the originals and photocopies of all relevant documents
• Make sure that none of your documents have staples or paper clips attached
• None of your documents should be laminated
• Make sure your documents are in an easily accessible file - I found a concertina file like this one works great.
• Get to your appointment half an hour early, take a deep breath and relax, it's going to be fine!

Ancestry visa

Grant and I will be emigrating to the UK on an ancestry visa.  

Photo by Chris Lawton on Unsplash

This visa is available to Commonwealth citizens over the age of 17 years, who are descended from a grandparent who was born in the UK.   In our case, Grant's paternal grandparents were born in the UK.  

In order to apply for an ancestry visa one needs to prove the ancestral line from the  grandparent to the applicant, to do this the following documents have to be provided: 

• a copy of the UK-born grandparent's birth certificate (sourced via this website)
• the relevant parent's unabridged birth certificate
• if the ancestral line is being traced through the maternal line, and name changes have occurred through marriage, then the relevant marriage certificates will be necessary.
• the applicant's unabridged birth certificate

Other documents that are required are:

• if a spouse is applying as a dependent - the marriage certificate and proof that the relationship has existed for some time (the appropriate length of time seems to be at least 2 years)
• proof that the applicant intends to work in the UK (CV and correspondence with employment agencies or prospective employers)
• Bank statements to prove that you have sufficient funds to support yourself and your dependents
• Proof that adequate accommodation will be available on arrival in the UK 
• Copies of previous passports and UK visas that may have been granted in the past

You also have to have TB screening done at an approved centre, pay the visa fee (currently £516 per applicant)and the NHS surcharge (£2000 per applicant from 8 January 2019).

For all the information on the ancestral visa, there is a pdf provided by the UK government here.

You can apply for an ancestral visa 3 months before your intended date of travel.  On your application you state your intended date of travel and when your passport is returned to you it will contain a vignette that allows you 30 days to enter the country from the intended date of travel.  So for example our intended date of travel was entered as 17 November 2018 and our vignette is valid from that date to 17 December 2018.  It is a common misconception that you have 30 days to leave the country from the date that your visa is granted, but this is not so.

The ancestral visa (without paying extra for priority) normally takes roughly 15 working days to process.  (Ours took 9 working days)

You will also receive a letter with your passport - this letter needs to be available when you enter the UK as it is possible they will ask for it at immigration.  The letter also has details of the post office which you must go to to collect your BRP (Biometric Resident Permit).  Once you enter the UK on your ancestral visa you should collect your BRP within 10 days.  This card is effectively your proof that you are legally entitled to reside in the UK.