UK Ancestry Visa ILR: The 5-Year Settlement Route

Researched and maintained by the ILR Calculator UK editorial team · Reviewed against Appendix UK Ancestry and the Immigration Rules in force on 24 June 2026 · General information about UK settlement, not regulated immigration advice. For advice on your own case, use an adviser regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA) or a solicitor.

UK Ancestry visa holders can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain after 5 years of continuous residence — with no sponsor, no salary threshold and no English test to enter, but a distinctive requirement to show you have worked and intend to keep working. The route is open to Commonwealth citizens aged 17 or over with a UK-born grandparent, and offers one of the cleanest paths from arrival to British citizenship.

The UK Ancestry route to ILR

The UK Ancestry visa, under Appendix UK Ancestry, lets Commonwealth citizens with a UK-born grandparent live and work in the UK for 5 years, then settle. Unlike the Skilled Worker route, there is no sponsor, no job offer and no minimum salary — you can work in any job, be self-employed or run a business. The trade-off is two route-specific tests at settlement: you must prove your ancestral link with an unbroken document chain, and show you have been economically active. The first Ancestry visa must be applied for from outside the UK; extensions and the ILR application are made in-country. Check your timing with the ILR eligibility calculator.

The grandparent rule — who qualifies

This is where most Ancestry applications succeed or fail. The qualifying ancestor must be a grandparent, and that grandparent must have been born in a qualifying place. The rule is applied strictly.

Source: UK Immigration Rules, Appendix UK Ancestry. You evidence the link with a full chain of birth certificates from you to the UK-born grandparent, plus marriage or change-of-name certificates where a surname changed. A single missing certificate breaks the chain.

The work requirement at settlement

This is the requirement unique to the Ancestry route, and a common reason ILR is refused. At settlement you must show that across your 5 years you have been in employment, self-employment, or actively seeking work, and that you intend to continue working. The work does not need to have been continuous or with the same employer, and any job at any salary counts — but you must evidence a genuine, consistent commitment to economic activity.

UK Ancestry ILR requirements at a glance

Source: Appendix UK Ancestry and Appendix Continuous Residence. Financial evidence must follow Appendix Finance and be dated no more than 31 days before the application.

Continuous residence and absences

Like other routes, the Ancestry visa is assessed against the 180-day rolling absence rule: no more than 180 days outside the UK in any 12-month period during your qualifying years. There is one route-specific quirk worth knowing — for UK Ancestry settlement, the continuous residence can also be measured from the date of your last grant of permission, an extra option not available on most routes. Test your travel with the absence calculator and read the full 180-day rule guide.

English, Life in the UK and finances

Three further requirements apply at settlement:

• English at B1 — there is no English test to enter on the Ancestry visa, but you must meet English at B1 at ILR unless exempt. Nationals of majority English-speaking Commonwealth countries, and applicants aged 65 or over, are among those exempt.
• Life in the UK test — a pass is required before you apply, for applicants aged 18 to 64.
• Financial independence — you must be able to maintain and accommodate yourself and any dependants without public funds. There is no fixed income or savings threshold, and you can rely on credible third-party support such as from a relative.

The route to British citizenship

The Ancestry route offers one of the cleanest pipelines to a British passport. After ILR, you can usually apply to naturalise 12 months later, subject to the residence, absence and good-character rules under the British Nationality Act. If you are married to a British citizen and meet the requirements, the 12-month wait after ILR is waived. Map the timing with the naturalisation calculator.