If you are looking to invest in the UK, look no further! If you have £50,000 and £200,000 in funds to invest in a business in the UK, the Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa will allow you to do just that.
Establish or take over a UK business – either on your own or as a partner and make sure your funds are held by a regulated institution, such as a bank or venture capital firm, and are free to spend then create two new jobs for settled workers and you are off to a good start.
Make sure you have a credible business plan and proof that you have the necessary skills and experience to run a business and know where your funds were obtained. It might also be good to include an academic qualification.
You may need to complete an English language test at B1 and you must provide a criminal record certificate for any country that you have lived in for at least twelve months over the last ten years
Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa applications are assessed using a points system. You need to score a full 95 points to be granted a visa.
Tier 1 Entrepreneur points table
Condition
Access to at least £200,000 of disposable investment funds OR
at least £50,000 from one of the following:
One or more registered venture capital firms
One or more UK Entrepreneurial seed funding competitions
One or more UK government departments
Investment funds that are held in a regulated financial institution
Investment funds that are free to spend
Having access to the required maintenance funds
English language proficiency
You will need funds to support yourself during the stay of £3,310 for an initial visa application and, for an extension of one, you will need £945. Applicants are usually granted a stay of up to three years and four months initially, and then up to six years and four months with extensions.
Before the end of your five year stay, you can apply for permanent residence as long as you have not spent longer than 180 days a year outside the UK. This is known as ‘settled status’. If you have created ten jobs, or have a business that has had a gross income of £5 million over three years, or have taken over an existing business that has seen an increase in gross income of £5 million over three years, there is a shorter requirement in terms of days spent outside the UK.
NB If you want to invest a smaller amount like £50,000, you will need funding from a venture capital firm in the UK or to have some form of UK Government funding. If there are two of you investing £100,000. , you may come under the entrepreneurial team requirements.
Documents Required
• Current passport and/or other travel documents
• A separate passport photograph
• Proof of access to between £50,000 and £200,000 of funds to invest
• A business plan
• Proof that you can support yourself financially
• Proof of Tier 2 English Language requirements,
• A clear tuberculosis (TB) test result letter, if the applicant is from one of the countries on the Home Office’s TB testing list
• A criminal record certificate from any country that you have lived in for more than one year in the past ten years
Good luck!
