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UK Tier 1 Investor Visa Solicitors

The Investor visa UK is now closed to new applications. There is no direct replacement, so if you need advice on coming to the UK to live or work, please contact us to discuss your options.

If you are in the UK on a Tier 1 Investor visa, our immigration experts can advise on switching to a different type of visa or applying for indefinite leave to remain in the UK (if you qualify).

Please contact our award-winning immigration lawyers in London to discuss your UK investor visa options by calling or using our simple online enquiries form.

Read about the Investor visa

The following information is now out-of-date and retained for general information purposes only.

Our Investor Visa Immigration department is led by our senior immigration solicitors and senior immigration consultant Mr Paul Gulbenkian. They are recognised for their experience and knowledge by the Legal500 and have established a reputation for providing flawless and strategic immigration advice, which is tailored for each of their clients.

Under their leadership, our highly qualified and Law Society accredited team of business immigration solicitors advise private clients as well as corporate, major international organisations, both entrepreneurs and investors, moving to live and work in the UK.

Fast Track - British Citizenship by Tier 1 Investment

In order to qualify for a Tier 1 (Investor) visa, you must score 75 points on the Tier 1 points-based application. You will need to produce a portfolio of investments and/or money in a regulated bank.

Tier 1 Investor visa is ideal for individuals with high net worth funds wishing to invest into UK government bonds, share capital or loan capital in active and trading UK registered companies. If you have at least:

  • £2 million to invest, you may be able to apply for this visa and you may be eligible for settlement after 5 years;
  • £5 million for which you may be eligible for Indefinite Leave to Remain settlement after 3 years and British Citizenship thereafter; or
  • £10 million for which you may eligible for settlement after 2 years and British Citizenship thereafter.

If successful, you will usually be granted an initial visa of 3 years and 4 months for entry clearance or 3 years if switching from a different category of visa if eligible to do so. An extension application (explained below) will then need to be made (if investing £2 million) for a further two years after which you may be eligible for Indefinite Leave to Remain and settlement.

You must have money of your own, under your own control, held in a regulated financial institution and disposable in the UK amounting to not less than £2 million. You must show that you are able to make an investment of £2 million or more in the UK. You may not use assets or possessions such as property as evidence of your funds for investment and  you cannot invest in companies mainly engaged in property investment, property management or property development

This money may be held overseas at the time of application, but must be freely transferable to the UK and able to be converted to pounds sterling or it may already be in the UK.

You may rely on money that is owned either jointly with or solely by your husband, wife, civil partner, unmarried or same-sex partner. You must have unrestricted right to transfer and dispose of the money and you must have permission from your husband, wife, civil partner, unmarried or same-sex partner to have control of this money in the UK.

The Requirements and Eligibility Criteria

Regardless of whether your are outside the UK or have an existing visa and want to switch to the Tier 1 Investor Visa, you must have at least £2 million available to be invested in UK government bonds, share capital or loan capital in active and trading UK registered companies. The £2 million cannot be invested in companies mainly engaged in property investment, property management or property development. The investment funds must belong either to the you or your spouse or unmarried or same-sex partner, and this must be proven in terms of the amount of money and where it is held. The source of the funds must be provided if they have been held for less than three months. The funds must be disposable, held in a regulated financial institution and UK bank account must have been opened. A fee of £1500.00 for the applicant and each dependent must be paid, as well as the NHS Immigration healthcare surcharge.

Applying from Outside the UK

This visa can be applied for from outside the UK if you are a non-EEA or Switzerland national. This visa must be applied for within three months of the planned date of travel to the UK. Upon arrival, the funds must be invested in qualifying investments within three months. After 2 years, if £10 million has been invested, as the visa holder, you may apply to settle and thereby obtain Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), or after 3 years if £15 million is invested you may also settle and receive ILR. otherwise you will be entitled to remain for up to 3 years and 4 months. The visa can be extended for up to 2 years. If the initial £2-million investment is maintained for five years, and as long as you don't leave the UK for more than six months of the year, permanent residence can be applied for.

If you wish to apply for a Tier 1 Investor Visa as a first step towards entering or remaining in the UK, contact our London office on 0203 959 9123 to talk to one of our expert business immigration solicitors.

Steps to Apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (Settlement) in the UK

Extending Your Investor Visa

Your Investor Visa will expire after three years and four months.  After this period, you will be able to apply for a further two year extension if your meet the following eligibility criteria:

Applications for Extension if your Investor Visa was Granted Before 6th November 2014

If you were granted an Investor Visa before 6th November 2014 can apply to extend your visa if you:

  • have at least £1,000,000 under your control in the UK
  • have invested at least £750,000 (or 75%) of that in UK government bonds, share capital or loan capital in active UK companies
  • invested this sum within 3 months of your ‘investor start date’

Funds under your control in the UK

  • This sum should include the £750,000 (or more) investment and £250,000 (or the balance needed) to bring it up to at least £1,000,000.
  • These funds can be either:
  • your own money or your partner’s money
  • money leant to you by a UK regulated financial institution, as long as you have personal assets with a value of £2,000,000 or more

Applications for Extension if your Investor Visa was Granted After 6th November 2014

If you were granted your Investor Visa after 6th November 2014, the same rules outlined above apply, except you must have at least £2,000,000 under your control in the UK.

If you wish to apply for an extension of your Investor Visa as a first step towards being granted Indefinite Leave to Remain, contact our London office on 0203 959 9123 to talk to one of our experienced solicitors.

Eligibility to Apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (Settlement) in the UK

After meeting the required length of residence in the UK on an Investor Visa, you may apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain and settlement in the UK.  Once this is granted, you will be free to live and work in the UK with no immigration restrictions and apply for British Citizenship.

Apart from your length of residence in the UK, the other requirements from being Indefinite Leave to Remain are:

  • Passing the Life in the UK Test
  • Passing a recognised English language test

Your Indefinite Leave to Remain status can be revoked if you spend longer than two years outside of the UK, or you commit a criminal offence.

At OTS Solicitors, we offer clear, concise advice on the steps required to apply, extend and or settle in the UK through the Tier 1 Investor Visa route. Ultimately we can assist you to obtain Indefinite Leave to Remain for you and your family in the UK.  Our Immigration team is meticulous in the filling in and preparing legal representations and immigration visa forms, which results in 99% of all the applications we submit being successful.

Let our immigration solicitors assist you with obtaining your Investor Visa in the UK. Please fill in our contact form, or call us on 0203 959 9123.

Your Questions and our answers about UK Tier 1 Investor Visa Solicitors

Thank you for getting in touch with us.

Your enquiry is being reviewed by our team and one of our solicitors will contact you shortly.

In the meantime, you can also call us on 02039 599123 or contact us here.

Dear Sir, thank you for your enquiry. Our clients will normally find the businesses they intend to invest in. If you require any further information please contact the team on 02039 599123

Thank you for getting in touch with us.

Your enquiry is being reviewed by our team and one of our solicitors will contact you shortly.

In the meantime, you can also call us on 0203 959 9123 or contact us here.

Thank you for your enquiry.

Our success rate dealing with business visa is extremely high. We have a team of Legal 500 ranked lawyers with extense experience in dealing with all sorts of business immigration related matters.

Please call us on 0203 959 9123 or contact us so we can assist you.

Dear Sir/Madam,

Many thanks for your Tier 1 Investor Visa enquiry.

There are various requirements you will need to meet to be eligible for the Tier 1 Investor Visa. The Tier 1 Investor Visa is ideal for individuals with high net worth funds wishing to invest into UK government bonds, share capital or loan capital in active and trading UK registered companies. You will firstly be required to show you have access to the required fund, and that you have held the funds for the required time frame. Please note, the Tier 1 Investor Visa route will be suspended this Friday (7/12/18). We understand this will be until an audit process is introduced. Our solicitors will contact you shortly to discuss your matter further.

Dear Sir/Madam

We note your enquiry. In terms of applying from inside the UK, it is unfortunately not possible as you only hold visitor visas. You will need to apply from your country of long-term residence. Regarding your other question, we will contact you by email to address it.

Dear Sir

Thank you for your enquiry. We note you are planning to apply for an Investor Visa. We can confirm that there is no English language requirement under this visa category.

Our business immigration solicitors will contact you shortly to discuss the various Tier 1 Investor Visa requirements.

Thank you for your question.

I understand you are looking at visa options for your parents to invest in the UK.

The requirements of the entrepreneur category are that an applicant must be able to show access to £200,000 in cash funds, and satisfy the English Language requirement. There is also a maintenance requirement where a certain level of savings must have been maintained for 90 days before making the application.

The requirements for the Investor Visa include that you must have at least £2 million investment funds to invest in the UK.

Dear Mr Nankani, investment for the purposes of the Tier 1 Investor Visa must be made way of investing into UK Government Bonds; or Company Share Capital or Loan capital in active and trading UK registered companies. Investment cannot be directly made into the UK Equities market. You would be entitled to Citizenship upon meeting the residency requirements at the time. Marriage to a British Citizen would make a difference to the residency requirements for the purposes of naturalisation, however, you have been granted Indefinite Leave to Remain on the 5 year partner route under Appendix FM. For a comprehensive discussion of your enquiry, a qualified Immigration advisor from OTS Solicitor shall contact you shortly.

Please could you advise which Tier 1 application you made and the reason that you did not travel prior to your leave expiring. Generally if you have not travelled during the period of time prior to your leave expiring you will not be able to obtain a new grant of leave without making a fresh application. However, there are some exceptions.

Dear Sir,

Thank you for your enquiry.

In regards to your background experience in construction and civil engineering, if you can show the transferable skills you would have in managing a IT business in the UK then it may be possible for you to qualify under the genuineness test for Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa. You will be required to submit the right type of evidence in support of your application. We will be able to assist you with this.

Someone will be in touch with you shortly to see how we can help you further.

Please note, this answer cannot be taken as a legal advice until we have your full instructions. The answer provided above is for information purposes only, if you would like to proceed to full legal advice and consultation with our Immigration Solicitors, please let us know your availability for an appointment by contacting us on 0207 936 9960 or through our contact form.

We look forward to hearing back from you soon.

Kind Regards,

OTS Solicitors

Thank you for your email to OTS Solicitors.

After reading your query, I am confident that we can advise you regarding your case.

This is something that our firm routinely deals with. I would suggest that we arrange a consultation to discuss your case further. The following is not an exhaustive list and should not be taken as legal advice until we have your full instructions. However, there are certain requirements you will need to show:

•£200,000 GBP to invest in your proposed business in the UK, or £100,000 GBP if you are part of an entrepreneurial team of two partners
•Or you may have access to £50,000 to invest in your business from a venture capital firm regulated by the FSA
•Evidence of a genuine and viable business plan
•Evidence of your English language ability and that you have sufficient funds to maintain yourself in the UK.

Without taking your full instruction we are unable to advise you, and kindly ask that you confirm your availability for an appointment with us this week/next week?

We look forward to hearing back from you soon.

Best regards,

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