Getting a UK Ancestry visa a 2nd time

I have a UK Ancestry Visa that expires in January 2009 along with my passport. I have not been living and working in the UK for 5 years straight, thus, cannot apply for right to abode. I've looked into extending my visa (which is quite pricey) but I'm not sure if I need to renew my passport first in order to do so. I was wondering if I could just go through the same process and get an ancestry visa the way I did the first time when I go back to Canada at Christmas. I vaguely recall being told when it runs out I can just apply for a new one. Has anyone done this?

I have. And I have a new one. So, yes, theoretically, it can be done.

Four years ago I applied for an ancestry visa but never used it, as I detoured to Holland and ended up marrying a Dutchman! We've visited England many times since then, but never lived there.

So when I was offered a job in the UK recently, and my husband realized that he had to stay behind for the time being, I had to reapply for the visa which had just expired, as I couldn't take advantage of being the spouse of an EU citizen. My passport was expiring too, so I renewed that first.then applied for the Ancestry Visa.

However, the process for the visa is different now.you don't just mail in your documents and payment.you have to apply online, pay (in Canada; it's a bit different in Holland) and the website then prompts you to make an appointment with Worldbridge (they've outsourced the process to a private company) to bring in documents and provide biometric information in person (in only certain major Canadian cities I believe). I don't know the timelines in Canada.In Holland, the timeline from the moment I applied for a new passport until I received the visa was about two months. I had to wait almost a month from the moment I submitted my application until my appointment at the Worldbridge office in Amsterdam.

So the complicating factor for you would be that you probably won't be in Canada long enough to go through the whole process. And, depending where you are from in Canada, you may have to travel to get to your appointment. If you are still in the UK right now, I would get the passport renewed prior to your trip home (which should take about two weeks) to cut down the time a bit.

Hopefully someone who has applied for the visa within Canada can verify the process and timelines.