UK Ancestry Visa from South Africa

[CAT77]

Hi All,

I am currently awaiting on my British Citizenship, having lived here for over 10 years (plus 5 years when I was a teenager), and my husband (UK born) and I are looking into getting my father here on an Ancestry visa as he's been out of work for a number of months now, and we are supporting him from here.

My husband has managed to get a copy of his Grandmothers Birth UK certificate, but it seems we also need both his parents and grandparents marriage certificates which my father will need to try and get from Dept of home Affairs in Pretoria. The problem is, we do not really know when they were married, especially for his grandparents (we assume around 1922-1927).

Has anyone has any expereinces of successfully applying without the Marriage certificates?

In terms of the other items needed, my husband is going to ensure my father has at least R30,000 in his bank account before he applies, and my Son (who is self employeed) will provide work (and the relevant job offer) for my father. My husband and I will also provide his accomodation (is it beneficial for us to write a letter stating this?).

My Father is living in a back packers at the moment which isnt ideal, but we want to make sure we get this application right the first time.

[CR001]

Has anyone has any expereinces of successfully applying without the Marriage certificates?

You would likely need the marriage certificate if claiming ancestry through the maternal grandmother to show the link to change of surnames down the line. Were they definitely married in SA?? Does he have all the SA unabridged birth certificates for himself and the parent he is claiming ancestry through?? These can take awhile to get from HA (I waited 8 months for mine and my mothers birth certs).

In terms of the other items needed, my husband is going to ensure my father has at least R30,000 in his bank account before he applies, and my Son (who is self employeed) will provide work (and the relevant job offer) for my father. My husband and I will also provide his accomodation (is it beneficial for us to write a letter stating this?).

In terms of the funds, he will likely need a paper trail of where it came from in addition to holding it for 3 months minimum without decreasing in balance. You could possibly expect all of this to be scrutinised due to the heavy family in the UK influence, ie funds and job and accommodation.

My Father is living in a back packers at the moment which isnt ideal, but we want to make sure we get this application right the first time.

In addition to the funds, hopefully you are aware of the high cost of this application, ie £516 visa fee and £2000 IHS. Your father also needs a TB cert from an HO approved test provider.

[CAT77]

Thanks for the quick reply.

Yes, we are aware of the £2000 IHS fee and the need for a TB cert.

My father has his own birth certificate, but so far his brothers have been unable to find his mothers birth and marriage certificates.

They are not 100% sure that they were married in SA, but as his grandfather was South African and all of the children were born in SA that is the assumption.

I have checked the FreeBMD database and cross checked against marriages under the grandfathers name, and cant find any record of marriage in the UK.

Looks like we will need to keep sending money out to my father via Western Union for him to pay into his account to build up a paper trail, but the problem is while this is ongoing we are also having to pay his R190 per night accomodation bill.

[CAT77]

Hi Char,

I have downoaded the HO requirements for approving (or not) Ancestry applications, and also done some research on various immigration sites and I cant find any mention of the £1600 or so thats needed in savings.

In fact this is what I did find. Is this not relevant any more?

"Requirement 4: UK Ancestry Visa Financial Requirements

You must be able to maintain and accommodate you and any dependants while you are in the UK without having to have recourse to public funds

Unlike other UK visas, such as the UK spouse visa, the Home Office do not specifically list a certain income that you need to earn, or an amount in savings that you must have in order to be eligible for a UK ancestry visa.

Therefore, as long as you can show that you can provide for yourself and any dependants by being employed or self-employed, this should suffice."