Ancestry Visa

[gdillon98]

Hi,

I am an australian citizen who currently holds a UK ancestry visa which expires on June 19 2013.

I worked in the UK from 2008 to 2010 but haven't been back since.

The ancestry visa is in my old passport. In 2011 I had to get a new passport as the old one was full and as i didn't know if/when i'd head back to UK i never bothered to get visa transferred to new passport.

I will be in Poland early June so will head back to UK at some stage after that. I'm trying to find out the following please:

- do i need to re-apply for new visa before old one expires or can i just renew whenever?
- can i go in on holiday visa into UK and just re-apply once i get in there?
- do i need to show parent and grandparent original birth certificates again given I've already done this the first time?
- will i be refused entry to UK if i try enter on say june 12 given ancestry visa runs out 1 week later. will i even be allowed to use ancestry visa given it's in my old passport?

I've had a look at a few different websites but the info is a bit vague.

sorry for all the questions, it's a bit of a sticky one cos i've got a visa running out soon in an old passport and i really don't know what to do.

If anyone info that can help i'd be greatly appreciative thanks.

thank you
greg

[Tats]

Your case is not a straightforward one so it is difficult to easily answer your questions.

It's clear that you have been away for nearly over 2 & half years (at the minimum). I don't see that there is a law for Ancestry cases which clearly states that you can't be away for that long. However, you were expected to be living in the UK and primarily working here during the 5 years you were granted the visa for. With this long period of absence, you may have difficulties if you return and decide to apply for ILR after 5 years of holding Ancestry visa. I don't know what reason you can give them to convince them that the absence was justified.

If you return to the UK and want to be admitted as a Visitor/holiday maker, your ancestry visa might be considered no longer valid. If you succeed in entering the UK with the Ancestry visa (Tough one considering your long absence), you will have to extend the Ancestry Visa immediately and I'm not sure that 5 days is enough time to successfully put in the application (perhaps a face to face application for extension within the 5 days could do if you get an appointment/or perhaps you can post an extension application immediately you arrive the UK) . Note that you can't apply for a NEW Ancestry visa in the UK but can EXTEND an existing valid Ancestry visa. You shouldn't let your ancestry visa expire while you are in the UK without having any valid application for extension with the Home Office. You will need to bring all the Original Birth certificates/documents with every application/extension you make regarding ancestry, including for ILR.

There is no problem if your Ancestry visa is in a previous passport, as long as you carry both. They will just check the old passport and then write something like VIPP (visa in previous passport) in the new passport in addition to the Ancestry Visa number.

There is no limit to the number of Ancestry visas you can apply for and you can keep renewing it for a further 5 years without applying for ILR. It may be advisable to just reapply for a new ancestry visa from Australia if you are currently there to avoid any potential entry problems in the UK.

Note that this is just from my knowledge as a I was on Ancestry visa before getting ILR. If you have doubts, call the British High commission/Embassy or call the UK home office. Good luck.