The Tier 1 Investor visa enables wealthy applicants to apply to come to, or remain in, the UK on the basis that they intend to invest at least £2m in UK companies or UK Government bonds.
The funds may be held in either an overseas bank or a bank in the UK and they may be held in either foreign currency or in pounds sterling, but the applicants must open a UK bank account before the application can be submitted.
If the funds are held outside the UK they must be transferable to the UK.
Unlike other kinds of settlement visas, there is no English language requirement for Tier 1 Investor applicants. They only need to meet an English requirement at such time as they apply for indefinite leave to remain.
The length of time required to be eligible to apply for settlement or Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK will vary depending on the amount of investment:
- Investment of £2 million – the applicant will be eligible to apply for ILR after 5 years
- Investment of £5 million – the applicant will be eligible to apply for ILR after 3 years
- Investment of £10 million – the applicant will be eligible to apply for settlement after 2 years
When applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain, the applicant must not have been absent from the UK for more than 180 days in each qualifying year. Absences are a common problem for Tier 1 Investor applicants. There is a discretion that the Home Office can exercise, but they only do so in few exceptional cases.
To be eligible to apply for Naturalisation as a British citizen, the applicant must be resident in the UK for at least 5 years and must have held ILR for at least 12 months. There are further requirements for absences, residence, English language etc.
The applications for extension and settlement under Tier 1 Investor route can either be submitted by post or with a super premium service. When using super premium service, the applicant will usually get a decision within 24 hours once the documents and biometric details have been collected. The service costs £8,750 on top of the usual application fees.
Our Lawyers at Edmans & Co have extensive knowledge in dealing with Tier 1 Investor Visa applications, be it an initial application, extension application or even an appeal to the Immigration Tribunal.
Call us now on 020 7439 3000 to speak to one of our lawyers regarding your Tier 1 Investor Visa application. You can also use our contact form to get in touch with us.