UK Ancestry Visa

A story today says that the UK is thinking of canceling the UK ancestry visa. This would affect grandchildren of UK citizens. My children would be affected. I am a dual citizen so I think that I'll write a letter to Tony Blair to complain. If it goes through, I'll go to England just to vote against him!

oh my oh my do you know how soon they're thinking of cancelling it?
i wasn't thinking of applying until february because i was planning on going in may..oh dear oh dear. but i'd go earlier if that was the only way to get the visa!!!
please let me know if you know when they're thinking of ending it!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/4377748.stm

The are scheduled to continue reviewing the issue through the next month at least. The article mentions a points based system that may include 4 levels of workers including unskilled.
I think that you should still apply for the visa immediately. Just getting it doesn't mean that you have to go to the UK right away. You could have the visa in your passport and go in May. You might risk your $204 but you would have some control now.
Their web site says: (You can ask for it to be post-dated for up to three months if you do not plan to travel immediately.)

The Home Office link:
http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/ind/en ... rtion.html

do you think i'd be ok if i waited until January to apply for the visa? the earliest i'll be able to apply would be mid-december (because i need to submit a bankaccount statement to show i have $2500 and i won't have that until then) (and i also am waiting for my grandma and dad to get their birth certs notarized.)
do you think the laws will have changed in a month and a half???
oh i am so worried now!

There is no way to tell what will happen or when. You should work towards completing the current requirements as quickly as you can. If things change, then try to adapt if possible. You really can't do much more than that. Worrying won't help. Hoping will. Maybe the new rules would be better for you. Good luck!

Bring on the Spring 2006 changes!

I'm of English heritage, but from a great-grandparent, not a grandparent. The Ancestry Visa draws an arbitrary (yet concrete) line between the two, and thus I have been out of luck regarding this visa.

I am about to apply for the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme, but fear that I will narrowly miss qualifying for it. It they bring in a five-tiered system, I am certain I would be able to qualify for the new "skilled" category. (I'm second-best, baby! Yeah!)

I got here on an ancestry visa 5 1/2 years ago - you have to admit, it was probably the nicest imigration policy in the world while it lasted.

I got in with 1 grandparent - although I had 3/4 grandparents british. My parents got british passports and are now nationals because of their parents.

I managed to get my application in for nationality before the new Nationality Test they are implementing. I'm not sure how I would have done on a "British Test".. what kind of questions would they ask? I'm not sure who's winning Celebrity Big Brother for instance - so good thing I beat that requirement!

I did however, have to send them my university transcripts to prove that I could speak English.. and apparently I'll need to pledge allegance to the Queen at a citizenship ceremony when/if i'm accecpted. I asked them if they realised that as a Commonwealth Citizen, my head of state had ALWAYS been the Queen. They told me that there used to be a different procedure for commonweath citizens but they decided it was too much bother and streamlined it into one.