Wow, where do we even start? The idea of a brighter future being right at your fingertips is exhilarating - but the uncertainty of where to begin can be overwhelming. This is exactly how we felt as a young South African couple, aged 21 and 22, eager to embark on a new chapter but equally terrified of stepping out of the comfort of what we knew.

The most important advice we can offer is that you are not alone. Thousands of people have gone through this journey before, and many more, like us, are taking the plunge, unsure of whether this is the right decision. But just know, you don’t have to navigate it by yourself.

When we first entertained the idea of emigrating, our minds immediately went into overdrive: planning every detail, worrying about finances, accommodation, timelines - essentially trying to map out our entire lives. We’re a couple who love to plan everything down to the last detail, but we quickly realized that this was one situation where control was out of our hands.

After countless sleepless nights and second-guessing ourselves, we decided to seek professional assistance. That's when we turned to Breytenbachs, a firm with a great track record of helping people like us move overseas. Initially, we thought the unmarried partner visa would be our best option. But after discussing our situation with Breytenbachs, we were pointed in a different direction - the ancestral visa.

We had considered the ancestral route before, as Keagan’s grandfather was born in the UK. However, we assumed it would be an insurmountable task requiring endless documents - birth certificates, death certificates, marriage certificates, even divorce papers! To our surprise and relief, we discovered it was much simpler than we thought. For the ancestral visa, the key documents we needed were Keagan’s birth certificate, his father’s birth certificate (which wasn’t easy to obtain), and his grandfather’s birth certificate.

So, after reevaluating our plans, we took the plunge and decided that the ancestral visa was the best route for us. Breytenbachs have been an incredible help, guiding us through every step, and it’s been reassuring to have someone so experienced and knowledgeable in our corner.