UK Ancestry Visa - wait time

tallie,

If the copy you got from the UK Registry is beige in colour and has some kind of a stamp/seal embossed on it, that's a certified copy of an original.

It would look something like this:

http://www.pfc.org.uk/graphic/bcert/type1.gif

However, you'll have to get copies of your own long form and your qualifying parent from your province of birth- if it's Ontario, the registrar's office in Thunder Bay is where you request them from. These will show everything as far as parents names go and everything else.

Hope this helps a little!

tallie,

However, you'll have to get copies of your own long form and your qualifying parent from your province of birth- if it's Ontario, the registrar's office in Thunder Bay is where you request them from. These will show everything as far as parents names go and everything else.

Hope this helps a little!

Just to add.

I'm presently living in Holland. I applied for my Ancestry Visa a couple of weeks ago online, then realized that (doh) I had my grandparents birth certificates, and my long-form birth certificate, but my dad's was back home(in Thunder Bay, coincidentally).

So I thought I'd reapply for his (just like I applied for my grandparents'), but it's not so simple, in Ontario at least. Only HE can apparently, unless:

# If you are the legal guardian of a child and you can provide court documents proving that you have custody of the child.

# If you are the Next-of-kin, executor or estate administrator, and the person named on the certificate is deceased. (You must provide proof of death, e.g., a death certificate or a funeral director’s statement of death, and any other documentation requested by the Office of the Registrar General). You will only be able to obtain a long form (certified copy) of a birth certificate. Short form birth certificates will not be issued for a deceased person.

(I tried to post the link, but I don't have enough posts yet! )

I ended up paying about $60 to have my dad ship his birth certificate to me in order to have it on time for my appointment in early September!

Just a little thing to keep in mind.Good luck with your application!

I did contact the UK Registry office and what they sent me was NOT what your specimen shows. This is a setback, as now I must reapply for their certificates again. Is there a link for where to apply?

Thanks so much for this information. Better to know now and have time to fix it than to think I had everything and find out I didn't.

tallie,

For UK certificates

http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/

For Ontario certificates

https://www.orgforms.gov.on.ca/eForms/start.do

Be prepared with as much information as possible- names, place and date of birth.

The UK turnaround time was about 2 weeks (sending to Canada). Canada was about a week, but they have a rush service for extra cost.

Hope this helps!

Peter

Thank you very much, Peter, for the links. I will get busy on this straight away.

I too am in the process of getting my documents ready to apply for the Ancestry Visa as both sets of my grandparents were born in England. I am originally from Saskatchewan but right now I am in Wales since May 15th this year visiting my soon to be fiance' doing some research on family history and how to obtain my grandparent's birth certificates. I made a couple of phone inquiries and was told to apply for the birth certificate through the Registration Office in the place that they were born.

I have gone to the World Bridge Site and sent them an email on what documents are required and they sent me a page of what is needed and it did say long form birth certificates of all parties concerned plus marriage certificates of both parents and grandparents.

I will be going back home with the boyfriend for 6 weeks and because I am from Saskatchewan I will be going to the Edmonton Office to do my biometrics and then have to send all papers and documents to Ottawa. What I am wondering if anyone could tell me how long after you apply online for the visa does it take to get an appointment - do you think that the 6 weeks I will be back home for will be enough time to get the appointment, send to Ottawa and get my passport back before coming back to Wales. Any information would be appreciated. Thanks

Since all you need to do is prove lineage to a grandparent born in the UK, I can't see why you don't just need a grandfather's UK birth certificate, his son's (your father's) long form Canadian birth certificate (which states the parent's names) and your long-form birth certificate.

I guess Worldbridge was trying to be as thorough as possible, but if you can prove lineage through the male line then marriage certificates wouldn't be necessary since the last name and all other identifying details are the same, right? Saves you time and money I would think.

Those were all the documents I submitted and I was approved four years ago.

Has anyone applied from outside Canada? I would like to know how long it takes for Worldbridge to process a visa from the Netherlands where I presently reside in particular. I applied online in mid-August, but couldn't get an appointment in Amsterdam until 9 September, and the 9th and 10th were the only available appointment dates for the entire month!

The first time I applied for one, in Canada, it took about 10 days.in the pre-biometric days.

supermom,

6 weeks should be OK.

5-15 business days is the average time the High Commission in Ottawa takes to process your documents. Settlement visas are up to 3 months.