TIER 1 Investor Visa

Tier 1 (Investor) is the category under the Points Based System for high net worth individuals making a substantial financial investment to settle in the UK.

A. Duration of UK Tier 1 (Investor) Visa and settlement

Qualifying period for settlement (ILR) is:

• 5 years if £2m invested; or
• 3 years from the point when £5m is invested; or
• 2 years from the point when £10m is invested.

The requirements relating to naturalization applications have not been affected and even if they obtain ILR in two years by investing £10 million in the UK economy they would still be required to wait for another 3 years and comply with the residence requirements in order to apply for naturalization.

B. Allowable absences

Migrants with UK Tier 1 (Investor) Visa will be allowed to remain outside the UK for maximum 180 days in any calendar year without losing their right to apply for permanent settlement.

C. Extension Application 

If initial leave granted before 29 March 2019

Please note that it is no longer possible to apply for visa extension if your initial leave was granted before 29 March 2019 under the old immigration rules.

If initial leave granted on or after 29 March 2019

If you were granted initial Tier 1 (Investor) entry clearance, leave to enter or leave to remain under the Rules in place on or after 29 March 2019, to extend your leave as a Tier 1 (Investor) Migrant you must have invested not less than £2 million in the UK by way of UK share capital or loan capital in active and trading UK registered companies. The investment referred to above must have been made: 

• within 3 months of your entry to the UK, if you were granted entry clearance as a Tier 1 (Investor) Migrant and there is evidence to establish your date of entry to the UK, unless there are exceptionally compelling reasons for the delay in investing, or 
• within 3 months of the date of the grant of entry clearance or leave to remain as a Tier 1 (Investor) Migrant, unless there are exceptionally compelling reasons for the delay in investing, or 
• where the investment was made prior to the first grant of leave as a Tier 1 (Investor), no earlier than 12 months before the date of the application which led to the first grant of leave as a Tier 1 (Investor) Migrant, and, in each case, the level of investment must have at least been maintained for the whole of the remaining period of that leave.

There is no deadline for submitting a visa extension application under this route.

D. Settlement Application

Settlement applications are made to the Home Office. The investment criteria you need to meet differ depending on when you first entered the route and when you apply for settlement, as set out in the table below.

E. What is allowed and prohibited on the Tier 1 Investor Visa

On this visa, you are allowed to:

• bring your partner and children with you as your ‘dependants’, if they’re eligible – spouse and children under 18 years old
• work or study freely without any limitations
• apply to settle after 2 years if you invest £10 million
• apply to settle after 3 years if you invest £5 million
• apply to settle after 5 years if you invest £2 million

On this visa, you are not allowed to:

• work as a professional sportsperson, for example a sports coach
• apply for most benefits (public funds), or the State Pension

F. Administrative Review (extension and settlement applications)

If the extension or settlement application is refused by the Home Office, the applicant will be given a right to make a request for a review of the decision that must be exercised within 14 days of getting a refusal decision. The applicant will only be able to rely on the information/documents already submitted with the application and will not be allowed to provide or submit any fresh evidence with the review request.

It is therefore strongly advised to take professional help while making grounds for making review request.

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