If you are a citizen of a Commonwealth country and one of your grandparents was born in the United Kingdom (including the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man), you have United Kingdom ancestry.
You can come here to work if you can show that:
- you are a Commonwealth citizen;
- you have a visa or other form of permission to enter the United Kingdom because of United Kingdom ancestry, or your permission to stay here in this category has previously been extended;
- you are aged 17 or over;
- you have a grandparent who was born in the United Kingdom (including the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man), or a grandparent who was born before 31 March 1922 in what is now the Republic of Ireland;
- you are able to work and you plan to work in the United Kingdom; and
- you can adequately support and accommodate yourself and your dependants without help from public funds.
If you do not meet these requirements, you will need to apply under one of our other work-based immigration routes in order to work here.
Applying from outside the United Kingdom
You must obtain permission to enter the United Kingdom (known as 'entry clearance') on the basis of your United Kingdom ancestry before you travel here. This entry clearance will take the form of a visa or entry clearance certificate - to obtain it, you should apply to the British diplomatic post in the country where you live.
Applying from inside the United Kingdom
If you have already entered the United Kingdom with a different kind of visa, you cannot switch to the United Kingdom ancestry category. The Home Office will only give you permission to stay in the country on the basis of United Kingdom ancestry if:
- you entered the United Kingdom holding entry clearance based on your United Kingdom ancestry; or
- we have already given you permission to stay based on United Kingdom ancestry.
Settling or extending your stay in the United Kingdom
If you have lived and worked continuously in the United Kingdom for five years in this category, and if you still meet the United Kingdom ancestry requirements you can apply to live here permanently.
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