Visa Start Date Vs Country Arrival

Hi All,

I searched the treads and can't find my question exactly,

As you have to apply for the Ancestry Visa 3 months or earlier before your Visa start date, my question is

Im leaving Australia for central America in January, meaning i Need to sort out the UK visa before we leave. but i dont intend on being in the UK till the end of 2014. So if we start the Visa in February 2013, is it fine to not enter the UK till the end of the year?

we are not concerned about the sacrifice of time on the Visa or about ever settling permanently in the UK.

Also with this visa, i read about only leaving the UK for 90 days or less at a time. Is this only for the people who wish to have their visa extended or want permanent residency after the 5 years?

Are we free to travel europe within the visa time and return to the UK as we please?

any Info would be a great help.

Thanks

I have had several ancestry visas over the years. From memory you have 6 months from the issue date of the ancestry visa to enter the UK.

So if we start the Visa in February 2013, is it fine to not enter the UK till the end of the year?

Yes, you can enter any time up until near the expiry of the visa. Apart from this, there is no 'time you must enter by', except that it complicates gaining ILR/residency at a later date.

i read about only leaving the UK for 90 days or less at a time.

Only applies if you want to later apply for ILR.residency, and even then the limit has been increased to 6 months in each year.

As koala said. The visa doesn't start from when you leave Australia, it starts from the day you arrive in the UK. What you need to check is the expiry for your visa from when it is issued.... for example a WHV, which is valid for a year in the first instance, and you have a year in which to activate it.... (that is an example.)

So, the important date is the issue date since it will be from that date that you have a time limit to activate it within and as koala says, she thinks it's 6 months. It will say in the small print on the website somewhere, I'm sure!

But if you're only coming here as a tourist, do you need an ancestry visa at all? You don't need a visa as an Australian tourist (subject to certain time restraints, which you'd have to check).

A very misinformed post - did you read my reply at all or just disregard it?

The visa doesn't start from when you leave Australia, it starts from the day you arrive in the UK

Incorrect - visa start date is printed on the visa and is the date given in the application form. Arrival date has no bearing.

for example a WHV, which is valid for a year in the first instance

Assuming you are talking about UK WHV (now known as YMS/Tier 5), incorrect. Valid for 2 years and always has been.

and you have a year in which to activate it.

Incorrect, starts on the date on the visa, if you enter later time in between is lost.

it will be from that date that you have a time limit to activate it

Incorrect, there is no time limit as I stated above.

as koala says, she thinks it's 6 months

Incorrect when she said it, and incorrect now!

Wadef

thanks for your information, It sounds like you have done your research and i really appreciate your help and providing correct Info.

thanks for the others trying to help also.

Wadef when I received my ancestry visas I DID only have 6 months to activate the visa, it said so in my passport.

The only information I can find on the website is that the applicant must enter the UK on the date stated in the application. It's a little bit vague.

Wadef I have to ask - have you ever had an ancestry visa?

Hi Guys,

after a long search on the UK Border Agency site it states

'You can arrive in the UK at any time up until the 'valid until' date, but remember that this is also the last day that you are permitted to stay in the UK.'

so im guessing the 6 month thing is 'activation' - I will 'activate' my visa 3 months from application but i wont Enter the UK till our Volunteer program is done in Central America.

Does that sound about right?

cheers

It is certainly not made clear enough in the application process then.

No, I was talking about the Oz WHV, which I'm very familiar with, but as I stressed in my post, gave a year as an example, not fact. I know lots of young Brits who have done WHVs in Oz - friends of my children actually and with that, you get your visa and a time limit within which to activater it. Then it's a year in the first instance, extended to two if you comply with the regional work for 3 months, should you want to.

But the OP hasn't answered my question - in that does he need an ancestry visa to enter the UK if he's coming for only a holiday?

The only information I can find on the website is that the applicant must enter the UK on the date stated in the application. It's a little bit vague.

See eggo44's quote

Wadef I have to ask - have you ever had an ancestry visa?

No, but I've held a Tier 1 visa and a WHV before that - most of the same immigration rules apply as for Ancestry including the ones relevant to this post.

Edited by: wadef

'You can arrive in the UK at any time up until the 'valid until' date, but remember that this is also the last day that you are permitted to stay in the UK.'

Yep

so im guessing the 6 month thing is 'activation' - I will 'activate' my visa 3 months from application but i wont Enter the UK till our Volunteer program is done in Central America.

Does that sound about right?

Nope. Forget about 'activation'. Visa starts on the date on the visa which is the date on the application form. You enter whenever you want after that.

I have just received my UK ancestry visa. Unfortunately due to changed study plans I will now be arriving one month earlier than I stated on my application - do you think this will cause me troubles on arrival?

Quite likely. Best thing to try would be enter as a tourist then leave and reenter on your Ancestry visa when it is valid. You won't be able to work before you do that. Not sure about studying, you may be covered under a student visitor visa.