Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa

The Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa is the UK immigration route for migrants who wish to establish, join or take over one or more businesses in the UK. A ‘business’ may be a sole trader, a partnership or a company registered in the UK. You must have £200,000 to invest in a business(es) in the UK, or £50,000 from an approved source. (Note you cannot invest in a business which is primarily involved in property development or management.)

If your UK Tier 1 Visa application is successful, you will be granted leave in the UK for three years and four months (if you are applying from outside the UK) or for three years (if you are switching to Tier 1 Entrepreneur in the UK). After this you may be eligible to apply for a Tier 1 Entrepreneur extension visa, which will be granted for two years. In this situation you may be eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain after five years in total.

But if your business is exceptionally successful, the Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa rules mean you may be eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain straight away after your first grant of Tier 1 Entrepreneur leave, in which case the extension visa application is not necessary.

Attributes

Investment funds – for your Tier 1 Visa (Entrepreneur) application to be successful, you must have access to not less than £200,000 (either your own or from third parties); the money must be held in one or more regulated financial institutions and the money must be disposable in the UK. If applying inside the UK for leave to remain, the funds must be held in the UK.

Alternatively, you can apply by showing access to £50,000 funding to invest in business from: one or more UK Entrepreneurial seed funding competitions endorsed by UK Trade & Investment, or one or more UK Government Departments, or Devolved Government Departments in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. If the funds have not been held for 90 days before the date of application, then evidence of third party funding showing the source of funds must be provided.

English language – you must show a knowledge of English to level B1 CEFR by: passing a specified English language test; being a national of a majority English speaking country; or having a bachelor’s degree taught in English

Maintenance funds – Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa applicants must have held the required level of maintenance funds for a consecutive 90-day period ending no more than one calendar month before the date of application.

‘Genuine Entrepreneur Test’

In order to combat a perceived abuse of this visa category, in January 2013 the Home Office introduced a ‘genuine Entrepreneur test’. This requires Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa applicants to provide evidence of your business intentions to UKVI as part of your application so they can be satisfied you are a genuine applicant. Except for a business plan, which is now mandatory, there is no prescriptive list as to what you are expected to provide but we suggest as a guide the following:

• a detailed business plan with thorough market research into your area of business (mandatory);
• your CV;
• any relevant qualifications;
• evidence of any business advisory services you have used;
• membership of any regulatory bodies;
• evidence of certification to operate or insurance (where relevant);
• lease of business premises;
• contracts or correspondence with potential clients; and
• business bank statements if the business is already trading.

Note, entrepreneur applicants are often invited for interview by Entry Clearance Officers/UKVI to ask them about their application and test their knowledge of their business and business plan, i.e. test their ‘genuineness’.

Extensions

In order to extend your stay in the UK as an Entrepreneur after the initial grant of leave you must show that:

• you have invested the investment funds directly into one or more businesses in the UK;
• within six months of being granted entry clearance you have either: registered with HM Revenue and Customs as self-employed, registered a new business in which you are a director or registered as a director of an existing business;
• you are engaged in business activity at the time of your application for leave to remain and you have established a new business or businesses (or joined an existing business) that has created at least two full-time jobs for persons settled in the UK which have existed for at least 12 months each; and
• you meet the maintenance requirement.

Note, if joining an existing business, you would have to show your joining created the additional jobs.

Settlement

You can apply for settlement if you have met the above extension requirements and have resided in the UK under the Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) category for a ‘continuous’ five-year period.

‘Continuous’ period – as a Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) migrant, you are allowed a certain level of ‘permitted absences’ from the UK during your stay without endangering your eligibility for settlement. You are entitled to be absent from the UK for up to 180 days in any twelve-month period (counting those twelve-month periods back from the date of application for settlement).

If you do not meet the residence requirement for settlement, you can apply to extend your visa for a further two years and this can be extended indefinitely, provided the requirements are met.

Accelerated settlement

You can qualify for ‘accelerated settlement’ after three years four months (if you applied from outside the UK) or three years (if you applied in the UK) in the following circumstances.

If you have established a new business(es), or joined an existing business, and you have: created at least ten new full-time jobs (each lasting for at least 12 months), or generated £5 million income during this period.

Our Service

Our Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa lawyers can assist with all stages of the process and fully prepare the application on behalf of the client. We will advise on the merits at the outset and make clear the legal and evidential requirements so that the application is set up on the best footing from the very start. We of course advise on all the supporting documents and evidence required and take the client through the immigration process from start to finish.

We can assist with templates for documents specified by the Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa rules and deal with third parties where necessary and we aim to make the whole process as smooth as possible. If there are any issues in your immigration matter you will know before applying and we can help best overcome them. In short, we prevent mistakes and ensure any application meets the requirements of the Immigration Rules. Our expert Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa solicitors are here to help you safely navigate your way through the UK immigration process.

We can assist with business plans and prepare the applicant for the interview process to ensure the applicant is well-equipped to satisfy an Entry Clearance Officer of their genuineness.

The Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) route closed to new applicants on 29 March 2019, but remains open to extension applications for Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) migrants until 5 April 2023 and settlement applications until 5 April 2025. Furthermore, the Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) category is open for Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneurs) until 5 July 2021 and, as above, tier 1 Entrepreneur extension applications will remain open until 5 April 2023, and settlement applications until 5 April 2025.

 

The Graduate Entrepreneur route will remain open to applicants until 5 July 2019. Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneurs can switch into the Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) category until 5 July 2021 and Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) extension applications will remain open for such applicants until 5 July 2025, and settlement applications until 5 July 2027.

Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) and (Entrepreneur) have been replaced by the new Start-up and Innovator category which opened on 29 March 2019. Please please contact us by 020 3946 2560, email info@qorelegal.co.uk or use our online contact form.for further information on these new routes.

Contact our Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa Solicitors London, UK

Qore Legal is based in Central London and we assist clients from throughout England. We also specialise in immigration services for Chinese companies and individuals. For Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa guidance, please contact a Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa solicitor at Qore Legal call 020 3946 2560, email info@qorelegal.co.uk or use our online contact form.