Immigration Support

Benefits of the Tier 1 Investor visa scheme:

• Greater freedom and flexibility. Tier 1 (Investor) visa holder can choose any type of entity or arrangements when establishing a business presence in the UK;
• Tier 1 (Investor) visa initially does not entail an English language requirement;
• Unlike investment visas offered by other countries such as Cyprus or Malta, investment in companies engaged in property-related business is not permitted in the UK, however funds invested into UK government bonds, share capital or loan capital  remain on the investor's bank account and can be reinvested several times;
• The investor, the spouse, and children under the age of 18 are included within the main application.

The Tier 1 Investor category is designed for high net worth individuals who are willing to invest at least £2,000,000.00 of their capital in the United Kingdom’s government bonds, share capital or loan capital in active and trading United Kingdom registered companies, of their own money under their own control for a period of at least 5 years. Once a Tier 1 Investor visa holder completes 5 years under the Tier 1 Investor category, they and their family can apply for indefinite leave to remain (permanent residence). After the 6th year, you can apply for the citizenship (subject to meeting other terms and conditions). Alternatively, it is possible to obtain permanent residence after 2 or 3 years if the investor visa holder invests £5,000,000 or £10,000,000 in the UK accordingly. Requirements for a TIER 1 (Investor) Visa in the UK:

• Access to at least £2,000,000 investment funds held in one or more regulated financial institutions in the UK;
• Evidence of the source of funds;
• An active UK bank account;
• A criminal record certificate.

TIER 1 (Investor) Visa extension requirements: The Tier 1 Investor category gives applicants full right to live in the UK for 3 years, which can be extended for a further 2 years in the future. When extending the Tier 1 (Investor) visa, the applicant must provide documents showing that an investment of at least £2,000,000.00 was made within 3 months of your ‘investor start date’ and that this level of investment has been maintained for the length of your visa.

Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa is the natural visa to obtain for those having access to £200,000.00 investment funds and wishing to start a new business or invest into an existing business they will actively be involved in running in the UK. Requirements for a TIER 1 (Entrepreneur) Visa in the UK:

• Access to at least £200,000.00 of disposable investment funds held in one or more regulated financial institutions;
• Evidence of the source of funds;
• The applicant’s previous relevant educational and business experience;
• The convincing and viable business plan;
• Meeting the required level of English language proficiency by the main applicant

TIER 1 (Entrepreneur) Visa extension requirements:

• Evidence that funds of £200,000.00 were invested either into an existing business or into a newly established business in the UK;
• The applicant was registered as a business director and remains as such at the time of visa extension;
• Regardless of the method of investment, at least 2 new jobs have been created

 

This type of visa is available to highly-skilled Non EEA (European Economic Area) nationals who are coming to the UK to fill a vacant position that cannot be filled by a UK citizen. The application process involves 2 stages: (1) obtaining a general sponsorship license by the company-employer; (2) obtaining a work permit by the employee. A tier 2 holder can take up employment with the UK based sponsoring employer only and do not have the right to set up their own business or acquire a share of their employer's business. Tier 2 visa can be granted for a maximum period of 5 years. After 5 years of being in the UK under Tier 2 the employee will be eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain in the UK (provided that other conditions are met at the time of application).  If the employee for any reason cannot apply for a permanent residence permit after 5 years, they will be required to leave the UK for a period of 12 months

This type of visa is available to a sole representative of an overseas company planning to set up a UK branch or a wholly owned subsidiary for an overseas parent company. The advantage of this category is that the individual is not required to have any particular amount of financial resources, as it is expected that the parent company would provide the all the necessary capital. However, the individual must provide a long list of documents for application. The main eligibility requirements for a Sole Representative of an Overseas Business Visa in the UK:

• The parent company must be registered outside the UK and have no branch, subsidiary or other representative in the UK at the time of visa application;
• The Sole Representative applicant cannot be a majority shareholder in the overseas company but must be senior enough to have full authority to take operational decisions in respect of the UK office operations;
• The Sole Representative applicant must provide a convincing and viable business plan;
• The Sole Representative applicant must meet the English Language requirement.

Sole Representative of an Overseas Business Visa Extension requirements in the UK:

• Evidence that the UK company has been set up and legally registered by the Sole Representative applicant;
• A branch or subsidiary in the UK must be operating in the same type of business as the overseas business;
• The overseas company have its principal centre of operations outside the UK throughout the five-year period;
• Evidence that the head office intends to continue the operations of the UK branch led by the Sole Representative applicant.

 

In the UK, Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) can be obtained after 5 years of permanent residence in the UK in one of the following professional immigration categories.

• Tier 1 (Investor)
• Tier 1 (Entrepreneur)
• Tier 2 (General)
• Sole Representative of an Overseas Business

All the above immigration categories allow the applicant to settle in the UK alongside their spouses and children who will also be eligible to obtain indefinite leave to remain  in the UK, and subsequently the citizenship (provided that other conditions are met). Once permanent residence (indefinite leave to remain) has been granted you can normally apply for naturalisation as a UK citizen one year after (provided that other conditions are met).