UK Visa and Settlement Options for Entrepreneurs
Are you an experienced or budding entrepreneur looking to set up a business in the UK and make the UK your home? In this blog, our immigration solicitors look at business visa options for entrepreneurs.
UK Online and London-Based Immigration Solicitors and Business Visa Lawyers
For business visa advice call OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
Business visas for entrepreneurs
At OTS Solicitors our immigration lawyers will look at the range of business visa options and work out which one best suits you in terms of your settlement goals and business plans.
If you do not fit into any of the current business visa options then another option is to obtain employment with a sponsoring employer in the UK who holds a sponsor licence to sponsor your entry clearance into the UK on a skilled worker visa.
After 5 years on the skilled worker visa, you can apply to settle in the UK provided you meet the residence requirement and general eligibility criteria for an indefinite leave to remain application. Once you have secured ILR status you are free from UK immigration control and can set up your own business without requiring endorsement from an endorsing body or having to meet specified business criteria under the immigration rules, such as an innovator founder visa applicant’s business needing to be innovative, viable and scalable.
Entrepreneur visa options
You may have read about a UK entrepreneur visa but that immigration route has now closed. In addition, the government has recently closed 2 other entrepreneur visa options (the start-up visa and the innovator visa) and provided a replacement route as well as other business visa options.
The current entrepreneur visa options are:
- The innovator founder visa
- The global talent visa
- The high-potential individual visa
- The expansion worker visa. This visa used to be called the sole representative visa. It is now part of the global business mobility visa route. It is only suitable where a business has an overseas office and wants to set up a branch or subsidiary company
Not all of the above entrepreneur visa options lead to settlement so that is why it is best to speak to an immigration solicitor before making a visa application.
If you are already in the UK on a work visa or a spouse visa and want to start your own business then our immigration lawyers can talk to you about your current visa conditions and explain if you need to consider switching visas. If you are in the UK on a start-up visa or an innovator visa and you are concerned because these 2 routes have closed to new applicants there is no cause for concern as your visa remains valid. Our business immigration solicitors can explain whether you need to consider switching visas.
The innovator founder visa
The essential point of the innovator founder visa is that you must be starting (either as an individual or part of a team) a business that is innovative, creative, and scalable.
The innovator founder visa requires a 2 stage application process; endorsement from a government-approved endorsing body and then an application to the Home Office. The good news is that whilst your business plan needs to show that your business idea is viable financially you do not need a minimum level of investment.
The innovator founder visa lasts up to 3 years but you can apply to extend the visa – there is no limit on the number of extension applications you can make. You can apply to settle in the UK after entry on the innovator founder visa after meeting a residence requirement of 3 years provided your business has met the business growth criteria for your ILR application and you meet the general ILR eligibility criteria.
The global talent visa
The global talent visa is another visa where you need an endorsement from an endorsing body to confirm that you are either a leader in your field or a potential leader. Endorsement is unnecessary if you are exempt from the endorsement requirement because you are a prestigious prize winner. The prize list is produced by the government and is limited. Therefore, most global talent visa applicants require an endorsement.
The global talent visa is sector limited. You cannot be a ‘global talent’ in football or tennis (there is a separate sportsperson visa) as your talent needs to be in academia or research, arts and culture or digital technology.
Like the innovator founder visa, the global talent visa can lead to accelerated settlement in the UK rather than having to wait to meet the usual 5-year residence requirement for an indefinite leave to remain application. Under the immigration rules, you can obtain a global talent visa for up to 5 years and apply to extend the visa as many times as you want. In some cases, you can apply for accelerated settlement after having been in the UK on a global talent visa for 3 years.
The global talent visa has some advantages over the innovator founder visa:
- You can apply for a 5-year visa rather than the 3-year innovator founder visa
- Your business is not under a requirement to be innovative or scalable or viable as the endorsing body is endorsing you as a leader or potential leader in your field rather than your business
Some applicants are deterred from applying for a global talent visa because they do not think their talent is exceptional or global in nature but immigration solicitors recommend discussing all options as the global talent visa can offer the best and the most flexible visa option for entrepreneurs looking to settle in the UK.
The high potential individual visa
The high-potential individual visa is restricted to those who graduated from a top overseas university in the last 5 years. The government uses a list of ‘top’ colleges and your college must be on the list to qualify. You must have graduated at the equivalent level of a UK bachelor’s degree, UK postgraduate degree, or UK PhD or doctorate. You, therefore, do not require endorsement from an endorsing body to qualify for the high-potential individual visa.
If granted a high-potential individual visa you can stay in the UK for 2 or 3 years (3 years if you have a PhD). Whilst you are in the UK you can set up your own business (it does not have to be innovative, viable, or scalable) or you can work for an employer.
The disadvantage of the high potential individual visa is that it cannot be extended and you cannot apply for indefinite leave to remain based on entry under the high potential individual route. Immigration solicitors recommend that you look at this visa if you are a recent graduate from a top university as at the end of the 2 or 3-year visa you may be able to switch to a visa that leads to UK settlement.
How OTS Solicitors can help you on your journey to set up a UK business
OTS Solicitors do not just provide business immigration services for business visas. We can also help you with:
- Corporate law advice – on whether to set up your business as a company, partnership, or sole trader
- Property and lease advice
- Employment advice if you are taking on employees
- Sponsor licence advice if you need a sponsor licence to recruit workers from overseas on skilled worker visas
- Sponsor licence management services
- Dependant visa advice for family members wanting to accompany you to the UK
- Switch visa applications
- Business visa extension applications
- Indefinite leave to remain applications
- British citizenship applications
UK Online and London-Based Immigration Solicitors and Business Visa Lawyers
For business visa advice call OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
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