United Kingdom - Work Skills & Ancestry - UK Ancestry Visa (for Americans)
You qualify for a UK Ancestry Visa if you hold a passport from a commonwealth country and at least one of your grandparents was born in the United Kingdom.
If you have a grandparent born in the UK, there are possibilities that you may already meet the requirements of British Citizenship by Descent (from a British parent or a mother or father born in the UK) or British Citizenship Double Descent (from your UK-born grandparent).
The UK Ancestry visa is available to a candidate holding a passport of a Commonwealth country, with a UK-born Grandparent. To become eligible for the Ancestry Visa, the candidate must be 17 years or older. There are two ways in which you can obtain a Commonwealth citizenship (and thereby qualify for the UK Ancestry Visa):
- you (or a parent) were born in Canada; OR
- you acquire the citizenship of a Commonwealth country.
The most common programs available are those for Malta, Grenada and Antigua. These are "Citizenship by Investment" programs, giving you the opportunity to become a citizen through making a finacial invesment in the country (typically through purchasing a property or government-approved investment).