Britain to axe ancestry visas

They have been a key pathway for Australians to work in Britain for more than 35 years, but ancestry visas could soon be axed in the UK.

The proposal was buried deep inside a lengthy document released by the British Government this week as part of a massive overhaul of its citizenship rules.

The move has sparked outrage among some MPs, who believe abolishing the ancestry visas which have been available to Commonwealth citizens since 1972 could damage relations with member countries including Australia and New Zealand.

A green paper released by the Government setting out its proposed new rules for citizenship calls for a debate over whether the “UK ancestry route should be abolished”.

Under existing rules, Commonwealth citizens aged 17 and over can be granted residency if they can prove that one of their grandparents was born in the UK.

Those awarded visas are allowed to work in Britain and then apply for citizenship after five years.

But under the Government’s planned changes to its citizenship rules, people seeking UK citizenship would have to “earn” the right to stay by proving their worth to society through community service activities.

An Australian-style points system for skilled migrants wanting to work in Britain is also being introduced.

“Given that the proposed immigration system provides explicit routes to the UK for those coming as economic migrants, family members or refugees, we need to decide whether a Commonwealth national’s ancestral connections to the UK are sufficient to allow them to come here to work without the need to satisfy a resident labour market test,” the green paper says.

“We are therefore asking this question as part of the consultation contained within this paper.

“We will take the results of the consultation exercise into account before coming to a decision.”

Labour MP for Great Grimsby Austin Mitchell attacked the Government for trying to axe ancestry visas, saying they should remain out of respect for Britain’s ties to Commonwealth countries such as Australia and New Zealand.

He also noted that a relatively small number of migrants moved to the UK after obtaining ancestry visas, with just 8490 arriving in 2006.

“The (Commonwealth) dominions sprang to our aid when we needed them in two world wars and since,” he wrote in a letter to Britain’s Daily Telegraph newspaper.

“They are keen to maintain the long-standing Commonwealth ties and associations with this country.

“Yet, the green paper blithely proposes to abolish the ancestry visas granted in recognition of these ties on the grounds that they are ‘outdated’.

“We should have serious doubts about the judgment of ministers and officials who are willing to stir up feelings of bitterness and betrayal that will be provoked by their unthinking lack of concern for historic ties that so many of us value, here as well as there.”

The Government is expected to table draft laws outlining the citizenship changes by the middle of the year.

The changes are likely to affect migrants arriving in the UK from 2010.