Hi

I need some some serious help here. I was offered a job in the UK. We(wife and 2 kids) will apply for our ancestral visas now.

Unfortunately my wife and children will not be able to join me right now but in December. My wife would have flown with me to enter the Uk as she is the main applicant on our visas. Her doctor just informed her she should not fly due to complications in her pregnancy.

Now the questions....What is my chances of passing immigration at Heathrow on my own?

Would it be better to fly to Dublin, go and check out the sites and then take a ferry to the Uk?

Ps We are from South Africa

I recommend that you DO NOT take chances with Immigration. Find yourself an EXPERIENCED IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY!

Welcome to FT, and sorry to hear about your wife's complications. If your wife is the only one in the family with the relevant UK ancestry, then I agree that it is a risk to arrive without her.

I would either consult an immigration attorney as suggested, or inform your prospective employer of the issue. Since your wife was planning on joining you in December, I'm guessing that if all goes well with the pregnancy and subsequent birth, that schedule can still be kept, which is only pushing back your employment by a few months. Most employers who are accustomed to hiring from overseas are very used to these sorts of scenarios.

Good luck,

tb

You will need the appropriate visa stamp in your passport to allow you to start work in the UK. The HR dept should require to see this (or they will be fined heavily for breaking the law). You will also need this to apply for a national insurance number; the equivalent of a US social security ID.

Without your wife with you, I dont see how you would be allowed to enter the UK except as a visitor.

If you can not afford an attorney...at least discuss concerns with UK immigration IN your country of citizenship.

One of the 'fly on the wall' documentaries about UK immigration had a newly married couple stopped. He was on a student visa but Her visa was acceptable. He was refused, but she was admitted.

Caution is strongly advised.

Just for clarification... Are you saying that your wife is eligible for an ancestral visa, but you are not?

Would you not be able to get a visa linked to your job?

The way OP has phrased it is as if he is using the family provisions of the Ancestry visa to get into the UK. If so then he cannot enter the UK without his wife as she is the one with the visa.

If he's entitled to an Ancestry visa in his own right then he needs to make his own application.

In either case he needs to have a word with the agency that issued the visa as circumstances have changed

After reading the information on the ukvisas.gov.uk web site... I think the OP had better check that he will be able to work in the UK if he enters the country on his wife's ancestral visa.

The web site says:

It says that the main applicant has to be able to support their family.

It doesn't say, anywhere, that family members are allowed to work to support themselves.

Maybe I'm missing something... but I think the OP definitely wants to double-check on his eligibility to work.

OK....so the conclusion is dont fly on my own and dont enter the UK from Ireland as I wont have the appropriate stamp in my passport.
How about this:
I fly to Ireland, cross on the ferry ( there should be some form of border control) then if asked where my wife is say she is coming in a week but I have to start work now(show them the booked ticket) if they still refuse entry I sit right there and wait while she gets on a plane(which her doctor doesn't recommend) and wait for her to enter and then enter after her.

The reason for entering via Ireland is because everybody tells me they are not that full of nonsense. I do not want to sneak in, just pass through a not so crappy border control.

The best advice anyone can give you here is to re-read post#2.

You will not be able to "sit and wait" for your wife to arrive. If you are refused entry you will be back on the next flight from whence you came

Oh boy, you are just asking for it aren't you.

Irish border controls have access to the same information as their UK counterparts so an attmept to use a not so crappy border control is more likely to bring you to the notice of the authorities as they are used to people trying to be "clever".

And yes YOU ARE TRYING TO SNEAK IN, you are trying to work in the UK illegally. Your right to live and work in the UK is TOTALLY dependent on that of your wife. Without her being present you do not have the right to live or work in the UK and anyone employing you is committing a serious offence which under the present government isn't going to be treated lightly

Forget about the Irish route. That's a recipe for endless complications and a high likelihood of finding yourself banned from entry into the UK for a long period. There are no border controls between Ireland and the UK (other than spot checks). Your visa will not be activated and therefore you will be in the UK illegally.

If you are a visa national and want to enter the UK legally, there is really no alternative to entering the UK via a point with immigration facilities. If your visa is one that allows you to join your wife, then you cannot enter without her being here.

Frankly, in your situation, you would really need specialist professional advice rather than advice from random persons on a website.

OK I thought there would be a point of entry in Hollyhead, my mistake.
How about flying from Dublin to Manchester that's still a international flight.
Somebody must check passports there and stamp them....

I really don't get what you are trying to do other than circumvent entering the UK legally.

Even if you do manage to sneak into the UK illegally, your new employer may want to see your visa to prove you are legal to work. You will have to fill out a mountain of paperwork to get into the UK "system" for National Health, taxes, etc. Even if they don't, then when your wife gets there and you try to get your legal visa you will be SOL because you entered on a tourist visa and not the work visa and would be engaing in an illegal activity by being employed. That would probably disqualify you from any legal work visa at that time.

Get a lawyer or wait till you are legal to enter.

All you are doing here is making yourself look extremely suspect in your actions. Hmmm......wonder if the UK authorities would be interested in this thread?