B_Carby

Hello to you all and thank you for taking the time to read my post.

Myself, my wife and child are current UK citizens and have lived here for the past 15 Years.

My wifes family are currently living in South Africa on a farm and we are desperate to get them out of the country given the current climate.

Is there any way that we can get them over on any of the current UK visa systems as this is causing myself and family a great amount of stress.

Father is a previous engineering company owner
Brother is fully qualified boilermaker
Sister is a part qualified pharmacists assistant.
Mother has previous company secretarial experience.

Any help or guidance that you can provide us will be greatly appreciated.

Kind regards
Bryan

BritInParis

Any recent British, Irish or any other European ancestry on either the father or mother's side?

angie_329

I am sorry to hear about your family in SA. I know what it's like as I have had friends there, also on farms and living in fear. I see afriforum is running a campaign of protest on farm murders.

The UK is very hard now for immigration. The parent/ dependent route was made very difficult and now it's impossible. There are work permits Tier 2 and shortage occupations but its a long route to citizenship and often a minimum salary requirement of 35,000 to move to ILR and then BC ( 6 years)
https://www.gov.uk/tier-2-general

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigrat...ccupation-list

There is Tier 1 entreprenour/ investor but you need deep pockets.
https://www.gov.uk/tier-1-entrepreneur

I would suggest you consider Australia and or Canada for them. This is quicker to citizenship and there are more options on work visas for skilled trades Also one person can qualify and bring their partner and possibly other family members along.

Canada is easier on the maximum age if your parents are older.
With an Aus or canadian passport they will have visa free travel to the UK to visit.

A good SA to AUS site is saaustralia.org- they have a couple of good immi agents who answer questions honestly re if they may qualify on trades. You could post there perhaps.

Have your parents any UK/ born grandparents? They could then go the Ancestry visa route. This is a good option.

I would also advise you write out all the ages/ qualifications - and any ancestry.. also you could speak to 1stcontact as they have offices in SA and are registered for UK visas and Aus visas applications.

I also know some South Africans who have gone to Italy and got residency by showing independent means. and health insurance This will lead to Citizenship eventually. Portugal is also dong a golden visa.. requires property purchase.

B_Carby

Thank you all for your quick responses.

It would appear that she has a family member of Irish descent which we will explore (Grand father of her Dad). We will explore this avenue to see if we can source his birth certificate to help with the Ancestral route.

If nothing comes of the Ancestral route then we will look into Canada and Australia as the next best options.

Its never going to be a quick process but hopefully we can do our best to give them the best option for the future.

Thanks again. We really appreciate your responses.

Bryan

angie_329

I think grandfather of her dad will probably be too far back to be of use.

findmypast.co.uk is good for tracing family in ireland and uk.

But since colonial history with nationality law is so complex esp with UK immigrants into Africa, ( Rhodesia/ SA) etc.. have your parents run their details through the nationality database here. Worth checking out. Or at least eliminating so you can focus on what will work for them.

https://www.whatpassport.com/countri...sh_Citizenship

angie_329

Just remembered New Zealand as there is a higher maximum age limit ( 56) for skilled immigrants. I think Aus and Canada are now 45 max.

Here is the official government website to explore options.

https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas

angie_329

I just saw on the site that Boiler Makers are required in the skill shortage section ( metal fabricator heading)

Metal Fabricator Visa Options – Skill Shortage Lists, Immigration New Zealand

sayang

NZ also has the cheapest investor visas, so if the farm is valuable, that is another way. (sell up)