UK Ancestry visa by nationality: how many are issued and refused (2005–2025)
In 2025 the Home Office issued 1,926 UK Ancestry visas and refused 70 (3.5% of decisions); the largest numbers went to nationals of South Africa (645 issued, 7 refused), Australia (433 issued, 7 refused) and Canada (282 issued, 3 refused) (Home Office entry clearance visa dataset, published 27 August 2026). The 2025 figures include family members, whom the file counts only from 2020 Q3: the series back to 2005 count main applicants.
Issued in 2025: 1,926 (1,493 main applicants, 433 family members)
Source: Home Office, Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes detailed datasets, year ending June 2026 (XLSX, published 27 August 2026, downloaded on 15 October 2026; next update 26 November 2026), sheet Data_Vis_D02, visa type "UK Ancestry", by nationality and year of decision; main applicants, and family members from 2020 Q3 only. 2026 figures are provisional. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Statistics, not advice. These are official figures for past decisions. They cannot predict the decision on your application: the Home Office decides, and the rules on GOV.UK can change. Check the official guide before you apply or pay.
By nationality (2025)
Every nationality with at least one decision in 2025. The refusal rate is refused ÷ (issued + refused), as in the Home Office grant rate; withdrawn and lapsed applications are left out. Small numbers swing a lot from year to year. Tap a column heading to sort, or type to filter.
| South Africa | 479 | 166 | 645 | 7 | 4 | 1.1% | 1,129 | 27,964 |
| Australia | 356 | 77 | 433 | 7 | 6 | 1.6% | 521 | 36,771 |
| Canada | 237 | 45 | 282 | 3 | 0 | 1.1% | 273 | 8,601 |
| New Zealand | 255 | 25 | 280 | 0 | 4 | 0.0% | 262 | 19,355 |
| Zimbabwe | 68 | 23 | 91 | 11 | 4 | 10.8% | 103 | 2,494 |
| India | 16 | 24 | 40 | 22 | 19 | 35.5% | 41 | 771 |
| United States | 7 | 15 | 22 | 5 | 10 | 18.5% | 33 | 82 |
| Pakistan | 13 | 8 | 21 | 3 | 9 | 12.5% | 22 | 100 |
| Nigeria | 6 | 10 | 16 | 2 | 18 | 11.1% | 18 | 104 |
| Kenya | 8 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0.0% | 9 | 112 |
| Jamaica | 7 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0.0% | 3 | 69 |
| Zambia | 3 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 11.1% | 7 | 125 |
| Ghana | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0.0% | 2 | 53 |
| Malaysia | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 2 | 66 |
| Malta | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 3 | 18 |
| Barbados | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 2 | 19 |
| Mauritius | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 15 |
| Bangladesh | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 25.0% | 8 | 24 |
| Netherlands | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 2 | 7 |
| Singapore | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0.0% | 4 | 43 |
| Italy | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 3 | 9 |
| Latvia | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0 |
| Malawi | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 4 | 45 |
| Philippines | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0.0% | 1 | 1 |
| Portugal | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 6 | 7 |
| Turkey | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0.0% | 0 | 1 |
| Bahamas, The | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 1 | 23 |
| Botswana | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.0% | 2 | 42 |
| China | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0.0% | 2 | 1 |
| Congo (Democratic Republic) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0 |
| Eswatini | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 13 |
| France | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 2 | 1 |
| Germany | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0.0% | 10 | 3 |
| Indonesia | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0.0% | 1 | 0 |
| Japan | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 2 | 0 |
| Jordan | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0 |
| Lithuania | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 1 |
| Namibia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 1 | 32 |
| South Korea | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 1 |
| Spain | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.0% | 0 | 0 |
| Sri Lanka | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50.0% | 6 | 43 |
| St Lucia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 13 |
| Sweden | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0 |
| Switzerland | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.0% | 2 | 3 |
| Thailand | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 3 | 62 |
| Uganda | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 6 | 26 |
| Albania | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | – | 0 | 0 |
| Algeria | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100.0% | 0 | 0 |
| Austria | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100.0% | 0 | 1 |
| East Timor | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | – | 0 | 0 |
| Gambia, The | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 100.0% | 0 | 0 |
| Kuwait | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | – | 0 | 0 |
| Lesotho | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100.0% | 0 | 0 |
| Nepal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | – | 1 | 0 |
| Romania | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 100.0% | 0 | 0 |
| All nationalities | 1,493 | 433 | 1,926 | 70 | 106 | 3.5% | 2,516 | 97,225 |
Family members (partners and children) appear in the Home Office file only from 2020 Q3 (July–September 2020); before that the file has main applicants only, so the long series count main applicants.
Source: Home Office, Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes detailed datasets, year ending June 2026 (XLSX, published 27 August 2026, downloaded on 15 October 2026; next update 26 November 2026), sheet Data_Vis_D02, visa type "UK Ancestry", by nationality and year of decision; main applicants, and family members from 2020 Q3 only. 2026 figures are provisional. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
All nationalities, year by year (main applicants)
| Year of decision | Main applicants: issued | Refused | Withdrawn | Lapsed | Refusal rate | Family members issued (from 2020 Q3) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 10,142 | 186 | 143 | 40 | 1.8% | – |
| 2006 | 9,742 | 498 | 126 | 45 | 4.9% | – |
| 2007 | 8,381 | 309 | 107 | 16 | 3.6% | – |
| 2008 | 7,711 | 321 | 106 | 23 | 4.0% | – |
| 2009 | 4,888 | 252 | 63 | 16 | 4.9% | – |
| 2010 | 4,770 | 241 | 71 | 10 | 4.8% | – |
| 2011 | 4,354 | 151 | 97 | 10 | 3.4% | – |
| 2012 | 3,838 | 167 | 25 | 2 | 4.2% | – |
| 2013 | 4,160 | 141 | 14 | 1 | 3.3% | – |
| 2014 | 4,372 | 180 | 13 | 6 | 4.0% | – |
| 2015 | 4,826 | 180 | 20 | 12 | 3.6% | – |
| 2016 | 4,123 | 168 | 11 | 6 | 3.9% | – |
| 2017 | 3,694 | 128 | 11 | 0 | 3.3% | – |
| 2018 | 3,853 | 121 | 36 | 1 | 3.0% | – |
| 2019 | 3,673 | 58 | 33 | 0 | 1.6% | – |
| 2020 | 2,428 | 27 | 23 | 0 | 1.1% | 553 |
| 2021 | 2,548 | 42 | 8 | 0 | 1.6% | 1,471 |
| 2022 | 3,398 | 22 | 50 | 0 | 0.6% | 1,687 |
| 2023 | 3,044 | 14 | 33 | 0 | 0.5% | 1,267 |
| 2024 | 1,787 | 112 | 36 | 0 | 5.9% | 729 |
| 2025 | 1,493 | 42 | 15 | 0 | 2.7% | 433 |
| 2026 (January–June, provisional) | 815 | 12 | 19 | 0 | 1.5% | 230 |
Family members (partners and children) appear in the Home Office file only from 2020 Q3 (July–September 2020); before that the file has main applicants only, so the long series count main applicants.
Source: Home Office, Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes detailed datasets, year ending June 2026 (XLSX, published 27 August 2026, downloaded on 15 October 2026; next update 26 November 2026), sheet Data_Vis_D02, visa type "UK Ancestry", by nationality and year of decision; main applicants, and family members from 2020 Q3 only. 2026 figures are provisional. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
The six nationalities with the most visas, 2015–2025 (main applicants)
| Year | South Africa | Australia | New Zealand | Canada | Zimbabwe | India |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1,099 | 1,935 | 1,111 | 511 | 102 | 17 |
| 2016 | 1,248 | 1,412 | 812 | 447 | 147 | 13 |
| 2017 | 1,303 | 1,152 | 648 | 381 | 131 | 25 |
| 2018 | 1,632 | 1,084 | 585 | 362 | 106 | 13 |
| 2019 | 1,730 | 832 | 489 | 367 | 162 | 29 |
| 2020 | 1,471 | 407 | 169 | 212 | 95 | 20 |
| 2021 | 1,582 | 363 | 175 | 241 | 59 | 70 |
| 2022 | 1,758 | 640 | 368 | 272 | 100 | 170 |
| 2023 | 1,398 | 627 | 375 | 253 | 91 | 202 |
| 2024 | 750 | 423 | 221 | 219 | 79 | 16 |
| 2025 | 479 | 356 | 255 | 237 | 68 | 16 |
Family members (partners and children) appear in the Home Office file only from 2020 Q3 (July–September 2020); before that the file has main applicants only, so the long series count main applicants.
Source: Home Office, Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes detailed datasets, year ending June 2026 (XLSX, published 27 August 2026, downloaded on 15 October 2026; next update 26 November 2026), sheet Data_Vis_D02, visa type "UK Ancestry", by nationality and year of decision; main applicants, and family members from 2020 Q3 only. 2026 figures are provisional. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Who can apply
- “You can apply for a UK Ancestry visa if you’re one of the following: a Commonwealth citizen a British overseas citizen a British overseas territories citizen a British national (overseas) a citizen of Zimbabwe”.
- You must “prove one of your grandparents was born in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man”, or a grandparent born “before 31 March 1922 in what is now Ireland” or “on a ship or aircraft that was either registered in the UK or belonged to the UK government”. “You cannot claim UK ancestry through step-parents.”
- You must be 17 or over, “have enough money without help from public funds to support and house yourself and any dependants” and you must show you “can and plan to work in the UK”.
- “A UK Ancestry visa costs £726.” “You may also have to pay the healthcare surcharge as part of your application.” “You can stay in the UK for 5 years on this visa.”
Source: GOV.UK, UK Ancestry visa (read on 5 November 2026). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
What these numbers are, and what they are not
- They are decisions on UK Ancestry visa applications made from outside the UK (entry clearance), by nationality and by the year of the decision. Partners and children applying as family members appear in the file only from 2020 Q3; before that the file has main applicants only.
- They do not include extensions or settlement applications made inside the UK.
- 2026 figures cover January to June only and can be revised; the Home Office publishes the next update on 26 November 2026.
Questions people ask
Can I get a UK Ancestry visa through a great-grandparent?
The GOV.UK guide asks you to prove that one of your grandparents was born in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man, before 31 March 1922 in what is now Ireland, or on a ship or aircraft registered in the UK or belonging to the UK government; it does not mention great-grandparents. You cannot claim through step-parents.
How much does a UK Ancestry visa cost?
£726 from outside the UK, according to GOV.UK, and you may also have to pay the healthcare surcharge. Extending it from inside the UK costs £1,407 per person.
What are the UK Ancestry visa requirements?
Be a Commonwealth citizen (or a British overseas citizen, British overseas territories citizen, British national (overseas) or a citizen of Zimbabwe), be 17 or over, prove a grandparent born in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man, have enough money without public funds, and be able and plan to work in the UK.
How many UK Ancestry visas are refused?
In 2025 the Home Office refused 70 and issued 1,926: 3.5% of decisions were refusals. For South Africans 7 were refused and 645 issued; for Indians 22 refused and 40 issued.
How many South Africans get a UK Ancestry visa?
645 in 2025 (479 main applicants and 166 family members), more than any other nationality; 1,129 in 2024.
Can a UK Ancestry visa lead to citizenship?
After 5 years in the UK on the visa you may be able to apply for indefinite leave to remain (settlement), which GOV.UK says you can use to apply for British citizenship.
Is there an age limit for the UK Ancestry visa?
GOV.UK says you must be 17 or over.
How long does a UK Ancestry visa take?
GOV.UK says you should get a decision within 3 weeks when you apply from outside the UK. The visa lasts 5 years.
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