Oracle Capital Group has published a number of articles on these pages in recent months on proposed changes to the rules for Investor, or Tier 1, UK Visas. Mostly these articles have been intended to make our clients aware of the debate which is going on in the UK on wider immigration issues. But the Home Office has announced two changes which will directly affect those applying for Tier 1 UK Visas.
As our clients will know, under the current legislation any overseas national investing £1m in the UK, or showing that they have a personal net worth of £2m plus a £1m loan from a British bank may obtain a Tier 1, Investor, Visa. In many cases, the issuing of such a Visa will be the start of a process which will eventually lead to the holder being granted the right of permanent residence in the UK and even UK citizenship.
At present, the investment needed to obtain the Visa has to be made within three months of the date of entry (or grant of the visa if issued in the UK). Failure to do so has been regarded as a breach of the rules, which can prevent further extensions of the Visa and a prohibition on returning to the UK for 12 months.
Now, however, investments will be allowed after the three-month period has expired in cases where, “there were exceptionally compelling reasons for the delay in investing” and where the delay was, “unforeseeable and outside the appellant’s control”. However, it must be noted that, as before, anyone who is simply slow in making their investment is still likely to lose out. The regulation specifically states that delays caused, “by the applicant’s failure to take timely action”, are excluded.
If you are applying for a Tier 1 Visa, therefore, the message is: make your investment within three months if at all possible. If you cannot do this, ensure that your lawyers have a sound reason to explain to the Home Office.
The second change is one which many holding or applying for Investor Visas will welcome. The age for which applications for Investor Visas will be accepted has been lowered from 18 years to 16. If an applicant is under 18 they must have the support of their parents or legal guardian, but they do not even need their own bank account as long as suitable arrangements can be made for the investment of the funds.
This is especially good news for those clients whose children are studying in the UK. The children could now switch immigration categories at the age of 16 to a Tier 1 (Investor) migrant. The extra two years could be very useful, especially if the young person continues to study in the UK after school. It would mean that, if they had already been at school in the UK for at least two years before switching Visas, an investment of the maximum £10m threshold could lead to an application for British Citizenship within 3 years of switching to Investor status.
