So, you are a Commonwealth citizen, you have established that your UK born grandparent (maternal or paternal) passed on to you a route of entry into the UK. Hence, you have applied for an ancestry-visa from outside the UK. You have also asked to bring your spouse with you and the two of you are now living and working in the UK.
Mission accomplished?
Having gone through the first… process (and having paid quite a lot of money to make it happen), you will know that with this visa you can stay in the UK for 5 years, you can apply to have it extended and you can also apply to settle in the UK permanently. And yes, you can work, study and bring family members subject to eligibility.
But have you considered what happens at the end of your first 5 years in the UK? Will you be able to comply with the requirements for settlement (indefinite leave to remain)? What is likely to happen if you apply but fail to provide SPECIFIED evidence (‘specified’ is emphasised because the current Immigration Rules, Appendix FM-SE specifies and limits the sources from which you will be permitted to produce evidence)? Will this set you back for another 5 years; i.e. will you be forced to extend your current visa (and pay Home Office Fees and Health Surcharges for a further 5 years, effectively taking you on what is referred to as the 10-year route? Or will your application simply fail because your application is considered to be ‘invalid’? How are you going to collate evidence which doesn’t exist because you didn’t know in advance that you would require it at the end of the ‘qualifying period’?
The golden rule is not to procrastinate. Get advice early. The sooner the better. Don’t wait until a month or two before your visa expires – it may just be too late!
For assistance and advice please contact Depner Immigration Consultants www.depner-immigration.com at info@depner-immigration.com
Daniel Dippenaar – Barrister Immigration Consultant 10 May 2019