Visa- Ancestry vs EU Family Permit?

Hi Folks,
brand new to this forum. We're happy this community exists and look forward to lots of good and lively conversation.
SO, we need a little clarity for our confusion re the Visa I can and should procure. Hopefully someone can help.

Here's our backstory, quickly.

My wife and I are Canadians- born, raised, living in Ontario.
My wife's company is transferring her current job to the UK office. looks like we're UK bound in reasonably short order. We're really excited!

Most important- My wife has recently procured her EU citizenship (through a grandparent clause in her country of ancestry). She is a full dual Canadian/EU citizen with an EU passport and the ID card and etc.

The info we've found online about what I am supposed to do in order to be able to work in the UK is confusing (sometimes) contradictory (sometimes) or doesn't quite match our exact situation as delineated above.

Our question.

1. I qualify for an Ancestry Visa through my Scotland born grandfather. He's long deceased and we have some documentation for him but not his birth certificate so that would need to be tracked down and ordered first.

2. we THINK I qualify for an EEA Family Permit so i can work in the UK because of my wife's EU status, but that's the thing we're the least clear on.

Which of these two do you suppose is the smart road for us to take?
How long do these processes take, btw?

It's all fairly overwhelming!

It seems like we're very fortunate to begin with in terms of our move being possible and relatively easy... but we want to be confident that I can get to work as soon as possible.

Thanks in advance for your help/experience/wisdom!

Based on the fact that you can get a UK passport through the paternal line (if it is the paternal line) from your grandfather - this is the best route... my preferred choice.

If your grandfather is on your mothers side it may be a little more cumbersome & take a different route

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

Birth certificates can be ordered on line from the GRO in Southport UK - even better you can call them (have done it this in the past) -give them the details pay the money by CC - it takes about two weeks

Then apply for the Brit passport, which at present takes 6-8 weeks + the $227 charge

For the ancestry visa you'd still need the birh certificate. Cost of the ancestry visa is currently in the $400 range

The final option which is the EEA family permit route (the process time should be less thn 4 weeks)- this is very inexpensive just a few Euro's or free in some cases - & its OK if you did not have the right to a British passport or the ancestry visa.

Otherwise, its the choice of speed.

For the EEA family permit - read below

http://ec.europa.eu/youreurope/citizens ... dex_en.htm

I'd check what the process time is for the EEA family permit through your wifes citizenship consulate

Hope this helps & it made some sense

Hi,
Wow, the first option sounds too good to be true!
I'm definitely not questioning an expert, but I can't find reliable confirmation that I'd qualify for a uk passport anywhere online. the only thing i saw that seemed to work said at the end that i would have had to have been registered at a british consulate ten days after my birth. (!?) that def did not happen.

on that option:
my parents are both canadian born. my dad's father was born in glasgow, and came to Canada and became a citizen here in 1960ish. i am also Canadian born.

this would be the absolute ideal, would love some details on making it happen.

otherwise, i'd still love to hear opinions on the other two (Ancestry or eea family permit)

thanks so much already!

If you wish to get to the UK as fast as possible, we suggest that you get an EEA Family Permit as the processing times are the shortest ones. In order to increase your chances of success, we would suggest that you both start to look for a job in the UK as you'll have to provide evidence of your job applications with your supporting documents. Another advantage of this application is that it,s totally free of charge.

UK Ancestry is also quite easy to get providing you already have the long versions of your grand-parents and parents' birth and marriage certificates.

Note that it's possible that you have inherited of your father's British nationality. Once in the UK, you can figure out if you're entitled to get a British passport and apply from here.

VisaWise | Immigration Consultancy
OISC Registered Immigration Advisers
Members of the Quebec Bar
London, United Kingdom
info@visa-wise.co.uk
www.visa-wise.co.uk