Am I Eligible for Ancestry Visa?

Hi everyone,

My grandfather was born in Ireland in 1928 and later moved to Canada. I am hoping to acquire an Ancestry Visa, but am not sure if his birth qualifies me for one.

I am a Commonwealth citizen, over the age of 17, planning on working in the UK upon arrival and will be able to support myself financially. The reason for my concern is due to the wording on the UK Boarder Agency website:

"you have a grandparent who was born in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man,
you have a grandparent who was born in what is now the Republic of Ireland before 31 March 1922"

Does this mean a grandparent born after 1922 in the Republic of Ireland does not qualify? Politically speaking, the state of Ireland is part of the United Kingdom, which leads to my confusion over whether or not I am eligible.

I sent an e-mail inquiry to WorldBridge, and they basically replied with everything I have already read on their website.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and any help would be greatly appreicated!!

You may be able to claim Irish citizenship rather than British citizenship, so you should look into this as well.

If you get Irish and not British, you can still come to the UK and work as an EU citizen.

I think the significance of 1922 is I believe that was the year that Ireland became a republic. And just to correct you, what is now the Republic of Ireland has no connection with the UK - they are two separate countries, though both are in the EU.

Thank you for your reply, and that is exactly what I have been contemplating (the idea of whether I should just try for an Irish Visa)

That is the year of Ireland becoming a Free State (1922) which leads me to wonder what the significance of March 31st is.

And yes, the Republic of Ireland is not part of the UK, my apologies! Though, Northern Ireland is in fact a part of the UK, which is what I meant to say earlier. I still have to verify which region of Ireland he was born in, as I’m not sure whether that would impact my ability to obtain either of these VISA’s.

Yes, the nationality laws relating to Northern Ireland are quite complicated and have changed over time, so I agree your first step would be to find out exactly where he was born.

But just to give some reassurance - a New Zealander friend of mine got an Irish passport through a grandparent, and has been living and working in the UK for well over 20 years.