UK Ancestry Visa to ILR 2026: 5-Year Settlement Timeline

Overview: the UK Ancestry visa route to settlement

The UK Ancestry visa is for Commonwealth citizens who can prove they have a grandparent born in the UK. It lets you live and work in the UK and leads to indefinite leave to remain (ILR) after 5 years of continuous residence, with British citizenship available 12 months after that.

It is one of the more generous routes to settlement: there is no minimum salary, no sponsor, and you are free to work for any employer or be self-employed. The main route-specific condition is that you must be able to work and be working or seeking work. This guide covers what ILR requires, the absence rules, the tests, documents, and costs.

The rules are set out in the GOV.UK UK Ancestry visa guidance. Always check the latest official guidance or consult an immigration adviser for your specific situation.

Eligibility requirements for ILR

To qualify for indefinite leave to remain on the UK Ancestry route, you must:

• Have completed 5 years of continuous residence in the UK on the Ancestry visa.
• Have been able to work and working or seeking work during your stay.
• Not have been absent for more than 180 days in any rolling 12-month period.
• Pass the Life in the UK test.
• Meet the English language requirement at level B1 or above (unless exempt).
• Not fall foul of the general grounds for refusal.

The work requirement

Unlike most settlement routes, UK Ancestry has an explicit work condition. At the ILR stage you should be able to show you have been working or actively seeking work — through payslips, employment contracts, self-employment or business records, or evidence of job-seeking. There is no minimum income: part-time, full-time, employed, and self-employed all count, and periods of genuinely seeking work are acceptable.

Timeline: Ancestry visa to ILR to citizenship

• Year 0: Enter the UK on the Ancestry visa; your continuous-residence clock starts.
• Year 5 (minus 28 days): Earliest date you can apply for indefinite leave to remain.
• ILR + 12 months: Earliest date you can apply for British citizenship, subject to the citizenship residence and absence rules.

Track your exact dates, accounting for every trip, with the ILR eligibility calculator.

Absence rules

You must not spend more than 180 days outside the UK in any rolling 12-month period during the 5-year qualifying period. Because the window is rolling rather than per calendar year, a single long trip spanning a year boundary can still breach it. Check every window with the absence calculator.

English language requirement

At ILR you must show English at CEFR level B1 or above — via an approved Secure English Language Test, a degree taught in English, or by being a national of a majority-English-speaking country. Many Commonwealth nationals satisfy this through nationality or prior study; confirm your evidence is accepted before booking a test.

Life in the UK test

You must pass the Life in the UK test — 24 multiple-choice questions in 45 minutes, pass mark 75%. It costs £50 and can be retaken as needed. Prepare with the free Life in the UK practice tests.

Required documents

• Current passport and BRP.
• Evidence of work or seeking work across the qualifying period — payslips, contracts, self-employment/business records, or job-search evidence.
• Evidence of 5 years continuous residence — tenancy agreements, council tax, utility bills, bank statements.
• Your ancestral link (full birth certificates connecting you to your UK-born grandparent) — usually established at the visa stage; keep the chain available in case it is requested.
• Life in the UK test pass certificate and English language evidence.

Build a personalised list with the ILR document checklist.

Costs breakdown

Over the 5-year route the IHS alone comes to £5,175 per person. Estimate your full journey with the UK visa cost calculator.

Dependants

Your partner and children can be dependants on your UK Ancestry visa. Each follows the same 5-year qualifying period and the same absence, test, and language rules, applies for ILR in their own right, and pays their own IHS and application fees.