Ancestral Visa - long shot i know but...

[john_D]

i have to ask as we are exploring every avenue!

looking at the ancestral visa, if someone's paternal grandfather was born at sea to british parents (on a british boat we believe if that makes a difference!) is they any chance an application for an ancestral visa could be successful?

the grandfather went on to live his life in south africa

thanks for any help you can give

[PaperPusher]

And where was the birth registered? And where was the boat travelling to and from?

[kiwigirl25]

In addition to Paperpusher's questions; what country was the ship registered to? When did this happen? Do you have the name of the ship therefore able to check the ships records? Do you have your Grandfather's birth certificate?

Below is an extract regarding births at sea from a family history research website I use - it links to quite a few National Archive records. If the birth was not registered in this manner and your Great Grandparents waited to register the birth in South Africa, dependant on when this happen, it was not compulsory to register British births abroad so you may have difficulties finding a note of the birth. As South Africa is part of the Commonwealth if your Grandfather was born post British independence (1961) and was registered as an "overseas" British birth then there would be a record of this. But unless you are very young I doubt that the latter would apply.

The Registry of Shipping and Seamen records list the birth and death returns from 1837 to 1965. Marine records came into existence under the provisions of the 1836 Act and were continued to be made under subsequent legislation.

Currently the registrations are made under the Merchant Shipping Act and subsequent regulations which state that if a child is born in a ship or a person dies in a ship, registered in the UK, the master of the ship will make a return to the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen who will register the event.

The Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen will then send a certified copy of the registration to the appropriate Registrar General.

Whilst the majority of these records will be about merchant seamen, many of the records also include details about passengers.

[john_D]

Thank you for your replies, after a call to her father I have found out that he believes the boat was travelling from the UK to South Africa. He also believes the ship was British registered although he is going to try and check this further by speaking with his brothers

The registration of birth is something we have had difficulty with, I have tried to check births at sea but not had any luck so far. With regards to the other queries about the birth certificate and name of the ship I don’t know unfortunately but have again passed these questions on to her father who will speak with other family members to try and find out more information

Her grandfather was born in 1906, that is something I do know! Thank you very much for the quote about the Registry of Shipping and Seaman, I will go and read about that further

[kiwigirl25]

Hi John

I'm actively researching my family history and have paid access to all kinds of British records. Do you want to send me a private message with the details so I can see if I can find any information in the National Archives? It's an annual subscription so won't cost me anymore to do.

If you have his exact birth date and it's not a common name like John Smith it should be a quick search. I should be able to either to give you some information or come back with a "nothing" with in a day or so.