Can You Apply for a UK Ancestry Visa Using a Great-Grandparent?

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03rd Feb 2025

You cannot apply for a UK Ancestry Visa using a great-grandparent. The UK Ancestry Visa is only available to Commonwealth citizens who can prove that one of their grandparents was born in the UK, the Channel Islands, or the Isle of Man. Since the eligibility is based on a grandparent, a great-grandparent does not qualify. However, if your great-grandparent was British, there may be other immigration routes available to you.

Dean Morgan's avatar
Dean Morgan Director
Category: Ancestry Visa
Read Time: 2 mins

Ancestry Visa – The Easiest Route to the UK Based on Family Lineage

The UK Ancestry Visa is a long-standing and popular immigration route for Commonwealth Citizens with historic ancestral ties to the UK. The key requirement for the visa is that you must have a grandparent born in the UK, Channel Islands or the Isle of Man. If you can satisfy this key part of the criteria, you shouldn’t have too many issues with the remaining requirements. This is on the assumption you have enough savings to pay the application fee and Immigration Health Surcharge. You’ll also need to demonstrate you have sufficient funds to support yourself on your arrival in the UK.

Where Having a British Great-Grandparent Might Help You Obtain British Citizenship

While applying for an Ancestry Visa using a great-grandparent is out of the question, you may be able to apply for British citizenship. We should caveat this statement by saying that this is a complex area of nationality law with many intricacies and nuances. It’s an area known as British citizenship by descent.  

British citizenship by descent applies to individuals born outside the UK who can claim British citizenship through their parent(s) or, in some cases, their grandparent’s British nationality. Typically, British citizenship by descent can only be passed down by one generation, e.g. from a parent to a child. However, there are numerous instances where different criteria apply. The requirements can also change based on the year you were born. For further details, we suggest consulting the Citizenship section of the UKVI website.

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