Ancestry visa rules

Hi, I have an Ancestry Visa which expires March 2010 - its a four year visa. If I wanted to go work in another European country i.e. Switzerland, perhaps from March to August this year, would that be possible? Would it have an effect on my visa renewal in March 2010, and would I still be able to obtain citizenship in March 2012? Thanks :)

Hi

There’s some useful information on the Border Agency’s website here about absences from the UK and qualifying for citizenship:
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/britishcitizenship/eligibility/naturalisation/absencesfromuk/

Re work in Europe, I would think that you’d need some form of work permit from the authorities in the European country where you were planning to live.
While your ancestry visa allows you to work in the UK, you need to be a British citizen to work in Europe without a visa/permit.
The rules for Switzerland (which is not part of the EU) could be different.

Given your ancestry is up for renewal and you’re hoping for citizenship, it could well be worth getting formal advice about your circumstances.

Hope this helps

Daniel Landon

Hi

I am struggling to get specific information about the 180 days maximum time out of the country to qualify for Residency. I am close to 180 days but still have 17 months to go before I qualify for residency. I want to know 1. how are they going to check how many days I have been out of the country 2. What happens if I am over this amount by a few days? 3. I have heard that they will give some leniency for travel with work but how do I proove that this was a work trip? 4. I have also heard that they are lenient for travel for family emergencies, how will I proove this?

I think it stinks that this is retrospective legislation. Are there other people who are being caught by this new piece of legislation that has been poorly advertised? The only reason I found out about it was because I rang the home office about changing jobs whilst I was on a work permit. Otherwise i would be in total ignorance of this!

I know that you need to apply for ILR within 28 days of qualifying. I have to be out of the country up until 5 days before my current visa runs out and i qualify for the 5 years timeframe, how will the immigration officer at the airport treat this when I arrive back with 5 days left on my visa?

PS the absences on the web address above is different from what I have been advised by the home office and several immigration solicitors.

Hi there,

As Daniel says, a UK Ancestry visa doesn't allow you to work in any other European country.  If you're really keen to go somewhere else & are under 30, you might be able to do a working holiday instead. The Working Holiday Guru site shows the visas currently available and some info on how to go about applying to get one - see their site at http://www.workingholidayguru.com/directory/directory.php.

As for whether it would affect your status here in the UK, I would agree with Daniel's advice and call the Home Office and see if you can get some advice without giving them your name.

Good luck.

 Hi there, 

I am also on a 4 year ancestry visa. I am working with a man named William Chapman who is trying to mount a fight to get this change recanted. If you are interested in helping us, let me know and I will get you in contact with him.

Thanks