Entrepreneur Visa for UK Immigration

Entrepreneur Visa for immigration to the UK

Entrepreneur visa enables you to migrate to the UK to start a new business, or invest in an existing business. You may qualify for this visa under the Tier 1 Entrepreneur or Graduate Entrepreneur schemes if you have:

Start a business in London with an Entrepreneur Visa

♠ at least £200,000; or
♠ at least £50,000 from:

(i) one or more venture capitalist firms regulated by the Financial Services Authority; or (ii) one or more Entrepreneurial Seed Funding competitions endorsed by the Department of International Trade; or (iii) one or more British Government Departments, or Devolved Departments in Scotland, Wales or N. Ireland, and made available by the relevant Department(s) for establishing or expanding a UK based business; or are applying for leave to remain and have or were last granted a Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur Visa and have at least £50,000; or are applying for leave to remain and have or were last granted leave as a Tier 1 (PSW) Migrant, and on a date within 3 months before the application:

(i) were registered as self-employed with HMRC; or (ii) were registered as a new business in which you are a director; or (iii) were registered as a director of an existing business; and are working in an occupation at or above NQF level 4 and have at least £50,000; and the funds must be held in financial institution(s) regulated in UK and must be disposable in UK.

You will get your entrepreneur visa for 3 years if you meet these requirements and have: the appropriate English language certificate at Level B1 (or a degree taught in English, or an English speaking country passport); and Maintenance funds (£3310 for applications from outside UK, £945 for an in-country application, £1890 for each dependent where the applicant has been in UK for less than 12 months, £630 for each dependent, if in UK, and the applicant has been here for more than 12 months)

Extending Your Visa

You may qualify for permanent residence (indefinite leave to remain) at the end of your initial 3 year Entrepreneur visa depending on the business turnover and the number of jobs created.

Alternatively you can apply for an extension of your visa if the following requirements are met:

that you have made a direct investment of at least £200,000 or £50,000 into business(es) in the UK.

if however your present entrepreneur visa was your first visa, you must have, within 6 months of either entry into the UK or the same visa being granted:

(i) registered as self-employed with the HMRC; or
(ii) registered a new business in which you're a director; or
(iii) registered as the director of an existing business.

that you are engaged in business activity at the date of application and that within 3 months of the date of application were registered as above.

your investment in the business must have created at least two additional full time jobs for people settled in the UK and these jobs have existed for at least 12 months; and

you meet the applicable maintenance requirement.

If you meet these requirements you will get your entrepreneur visa extended for another 2 years after which you will be able to make an application for indefinite leave to remain (permanent residence).

Becoming Permanently Settled

Tier 1 entrepreneurs will qualify for permanent residence in one of the following ways - depending on their business turnover and the number of jobs their investment created.

(I) After 3 years if

on a date no earlier than three months before the application date you were:
(a) registered as self-employed with HMRC; or
(b) registered a new business in which you're a director; or
(c) became the director of an existing business; and

have established new business(es) or invested in existing business(es) in the UK that have created 10 additional full time jobs for people settled in the UK and these jobs have existed for at least 12 months; or have established a new business(es) or invested in existing business(es) in the UK that have had an income of at least £5 million during a 3 year period after your investment; and

have spent 3 years continuously and lawfully in the UK as a Tier 1 Entrepreneur and have not been outside of the UK for more than 180 days per year.

(II) After 5 years if

and have established new business(es) or invested in existing business(es) in the UK that have created 2 additional full time jobs for people settled in the UK and these jobs have existed for at least 12 months; and

have spent 5 years continuously and lawfully in the UK as a Tier 1 Entrepreneur, Innovator, or Business person, and have not been outside of the UK for more than 180 days per year.

Once you become permanently settled in the UK you will no longer need any further visa extensions. You will then be able to make an application to become a British Citizen in due course and apply for British passport.

Other Requirements

You will also need to show that you:

don't fall for refusal under the general grounds;
have sufficient knowledge of the English & Life in the UK;
have not breached immigration rules
have not overstayed for more than 28 days.
provided evidence in the required format;

You will be refused if:

your presence is not deemed conducive to public good;
you withheld or gave misleading information.

Third Party Funding

Third party funding is allowed to meet the funds requirement. Therefore if the funds are held by someone other than the applicant, they can still be relied upon.

The third parties may be:
a corporate firm (within or outside the UK)
a family members (within or outside the UK)
an investor (within or outside the UK)

Please note that third party funding is only acceptable for investment funds, the applicant must have their own money to meet the maintenance funds requirement.

Genuine Entrepreneur Test

The ‘genuine entrepreneur’ test will be carried out by the UK Visas & Immigration taking into account the following factors:

supporting evidence submitted by the applicant;
viability & credibility of the source of the funds;
viability & credibility of business plans & market research;
applicant's education & business experience;
any mandatory accreditation, registration, insurance;
applicant's immigration history & background in UK;
any other relevant information.

Further Tips

The investment funds must be held in cash

The funds do not need to be held by the applicants as long as they have permission to invest them in the UK.

Tier 4 Students cannot switch into the Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) Visa, they must apply from outside the UK.

For initial visa application the funds do not need to be in British Pounds Sterling (GBP). However the funds held must be equivalent to the required amount in GBP on the date of application.

If you made the investment before apply for the entrepreneur visa, you can rely on the investment if it was made within 12 months of the application date. If you apply on or after 6 April 2014, this period is extended to 24 months if your current or most recent grant of leave was under Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur).

The number of full time jobs created by the investment can be made up of a combination of part time jobs if the number of hours a week in the jobs meet the required threshold.

You may be able to team up with another person and jointly rely on the investment if you exercise equal control over the investment funds, and have both mentioned each other in your applications and have not been granted a visa under this category and no one else has relied on the same funds in another application.

If you are on a Tier 1 Post Study Work Visa and are required to show you are working at the required level you should note that this must be with respect to delivering the service of your business as opposed to any administrative, marketing or website function work.

You have to demonstrate that the funds were available to you throughout the relevant period prior to them being invested in the business.

Administrative Review

If an application for Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa from abroad is refused, the applicant will have a right of "administrative review" of the decision which right must be exercised within 28 days of service of the decision.

The applicant will however only be able to rely on the information and evidence already submitted to the UK Visas & Immigration and will not be allowed to submit fresh evidence. It is therefore advisable to seek professional immigration advice and representation when making your visa application or the request for the review of any adverse decsion.

Wish to Apply?

If you'd like to apply for the Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa please be aware that a good number of applicants are refused even though they appear to have the required level of investment.

These refusals are attributable to the applicant's failure to provide evidence in the format required by the immigration rules or them being legally illiterate failing to properly understand the law.

The applicant as a result not not only lose the application but also the application fees. Another costly consequence of a failed visa application is that applicants are prevented from relying on new evidence demonstrating their eligibility in an appeal or further application for an administrative review.

It is therefore critical that proper immigration advice and representation is sought before you submit your case to the UK Visas & Immigration to ensure you meet all applicable immigration rules and policy guidelines increasing your prospects of success.

How we can help

Tier 1 entrepreneur visa applications are complex, but once the entrepreneur visas are won they can be very rewarding for prospective entrepreneurs. As the UK's leading immigration lawyers with inimitable reputation for excellence in entrepreneur visa applications, we will provide you with immigration advice and services that are tailored to your circumstances, free of legal jargon and aimed to get the best possible results for you.

We will provide you with an interpreter, if required, who speaks your language and will make a professional assessment of your case advising you of its strengths and weaknesses. After receiving your instructions we will come on record as your lawyers and will not only provide ongoing immigration advice and collate supporting evidence, but will also prepare your entrepreneur visa application and draft and submit legal representations in support of the same to the British Home Office. We will keep you informed throughout the process, liaise with the Home Office whilst your entrepreneur visa application is considered and get a decision on your entrepreneur visa application.

Our accredited immigration lawyers and advisers in London & Birmingham specialise exclusively in entrepreneur visa applications and charge fixed fees unlike solicitors. Call or email us today to get the immigration advice and representation you need to develop the best possible case for your entrepreneur visa and increase your chances of success.

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