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 Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa Guidance

The Tier 1 UK Entrepreneur Visa is aimed at applicants who have a minimum of £50,000 to £200,000 to establish a business in the UK, or join and invest into an existing business. This depends on the visa status of the applicant and the type of investment to be made.

In order to make a successful application, the applicant will need to meet with the following criteria:

  • The applicant has access to a minimum of £200,000 to either establish or join an existing business in the UK; or
  • The applicant has access to not less than £50,000 from one of the following:
  • One or more registered venture capitalist firms regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority;
  • One or more UK Entrepreneurial seed funding competitions which is listed as endorsed on the UK Trade & Investment website, or
  • One or more UK Government Departments or Devolved Government Departments in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, and made available by the Department(s) for the specific purpose of establishing or expanding a UK business, or
  • The applicant was last granted leave to remain as a Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) and has access to not less than £50,000,or
  • The applicant was last granted leave to remain as a Tier 1 (Post Study Work) Migrant and has access to not less than £50,000. You will also need to demonstrate that three months prior to the date of application;
  • The applicant was registered with HM revenue and Customs as self-employed or
  • The applicant registered a new business in which he or she was a director or
  • The applicant registered as a director of an existing business,
  • The applicant is working in an occupation which appears on the list of occupations skilled to the National Qualifications Framework Level 4 or above;
  • The sum to be invested must be held in a regulated financial institution
  • The money must be disposable in the UK;
  • The applicant must intent to either establish, take over or become a director of one or more businesses in the UK within a period of six months;
  • The applicant will need to meet with the English language requirement;
  • The applicant is only able to work in the course of the business he or she is looking to establish or join
  • The applicant will need to meet with the maintenance requirementIn order to apply for an extension of the Tier 1 entrepreneur visa, the applicant will need to have continued to invest, or had invested on his behalf, not less than £200,000 (or £50,000 if, in his last grant of leave, he was awarded points for funds of £50,000 ) in cash directly into one or more businesses in the UK. Within six months of being issued with the Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa the applicant must do the following:• Registered a new business in which he is a director; or
  •  Registered as a director of an existing business; and
  •  Registered with HM revenue and Customs as self-employed.

Key criteria for a Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa extension

In order to apply for an extension of the Tier 1 entrepreneur visa, the applicant will need to have continued to invest, or had invested on his behalf, not less than £200,000 (or £50,000 if, in his last grant of leave, he was awarded points for funds of £50,000 ) in cash directly into one or more businesses in the UK. Within six months of being issued with the Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa the applicant must do the following:

  • Registered with HM revenue and Customs as self-employed; or
  • Registered a new business in which he is a director; or
  • Registered as a director of an existing business.

Additional Criteria

The applicant will need to demonstrate that the funds shown to have been invested in the UK remain available to him beyond the date of his or her application. The funds must continue to the applicant and be available to you until they are spent by the business or businesses.

Advantages of Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa

  • The applicant will only need to invest the money in the UK after the approval of the initial Tier 1 Entrepreneur application;
  • Applicants can rely on funding from third parties (this includes funds held by family members, as well as by other investors and corporate bodies);
  • Two applicants can share the burden of the initial investment of either £200,000 or £50,000 (this can mean as little as £25,000 per applicant);
  • Funds may be held in more than one institution and in more than one country;
  • Entrepreneurs may bring their dependent family members to the UK and their family members are permitted to take employment and/or study at a state or private educational establishment during their stay in the United Kingdom;
  • Depending on the level of investment in the UK, indefinite leave to remain (settlement) can be obtained in as little as three years.
  • The potential disadvantages of this visa category are that you can only take up employment in the course of the business you are looking to establish or join and therefore cannot pursue alternative employment. The procedural requirements for applying for an extension and indefinite leave to remain are quite onerous in comparison to the Tier 1 Investor Visa where the requirements remain the same throughout the application process, namely the availability of funds.

Key criteria for obtaining Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) for an Entrepreneur Visa

The applicant has continued to invest, or had invested on his behalf, not less than £200,000 (or £50,000 if, in his last grant of leave he was awarded points for funds of £50,000) in cash directly into one or more businesses in the UK:

  • On a date no earlier than three months prior to the date of application, the applicant was:
  • Registered with HM Revenue and Customs as self-employed, or
  • Registered a new business in which he is a director, or
  • Registered as a director of an existing business; and
  • The applicant has established a new business or business, or taken over or invested in an existing business that has created at least two full time jobs for persons settled in the UK for a minimum of 12 months of the period for which the previous leave was granted;
  • The applicant has spent the specified continuous period lawfully in the UK, with absences from the UK of no more than 180 days in any 12 calendar months during that period.

There is also an accelerated path to obtaining indefinite leave to remain (ILR) providing a Tier 1 Entrepreneur migrant can show that he has create 10 jobs in the UK or turn over £5 Million in a three year period.

Switching to a Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa

The following Applicants will be able to switch into the Tier 1(Entrepreneur) category:

  • A highly skilled migrant
  • A Tier 1 (General) migrant
  • A Tier 1 (Investor) migrant
  • A Tier 1 (Post-Study work) migrant
  • A Tier1 (Graduate/Entrepreneur) migrant
  • A Tier 2 migrant
  • A prospective entrepreneur
  • A business person
  • An innovator
  • A student (only if they can show £50,000 investment from a specified source)
  • A student nurse (only if they can show £50,000 investment from a specified source)
  • A student re-sitting an examination (only if they can show £50,000 investment from a specified source)
  • A student writing up a thesis (only if they can show £50,000 investment from a specified source)
  • A work permit holder
  • A postgraduate doctor or dentist
  • A self-employed lawyer
  • A writer, composer or artist

How long is the Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa valid for?

The initial visa will be granted for 3 years and 4 months and thereafter, upon successfully meeting with the criteria for a Tier 1 extension, the visa will be granted for a further 2 years. After the applicant has completed a continuous period of five years in this visa category can he/she apply for indefinite leave to remain.

There is also an accelerated path to obtaining indefinite leave to remain (ILR) providing a Tier 1 Entrepreneur migrant can show that he has created 10 jobs in the UK or turnover of £5 million in a three year period.

Tier 1 Team Entrepreneur Visa Application

This category allows two applicants, to form a team and apply jointly for the Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa. They can thereby share the burden of the investment between them, i.e. they either need to show they have access to requisite £200,000 or £50,000 (depending on their last visa status). The qualifying criteria for this visa category are as follows;

  • That both team members have equal access to the investment funds
  • That both team members meet with the relevant maintenance requirements
  • That both team members meet with the relevant English Language requirement
  • That both team members are working in an occupation which appears on the list of occupations skilled to National Qualifications Framework at level 4 or above
  • The sum must be held in a regulated financial institution
  • The money must be disposable in the UK
  • That both team members intent to either establish, take over or become a director of one or more businesses in the UK within a period of six months
  • That both team members are only able to work in the course of the business they are looking to establish or join

Why use Vincent Solicitors to apply for a Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa?

After we have established the most suitable visa for you we will devise a specific action plan to facilitate your move to the UK. At Vincent Solicitors we have extensive experience in advising clients on High Net Worth Immigration matters and pride ourselves on providing a consultative approach tailored towards the needs of our clients.

  • We will ensure that you meet with all of the UK requirements and that we prepare your application to the highest standards including all the relevant documentary evidence thereby leading to a successful application and avoiding unnecessary expense of re submitting your application to the Home Office.
  • Our team of immigration lawyers have a proven track record of success in advising high net worth clients and testimony to this is the fact that 90% of our work comes from referrals.
  • Our immigration specialists remain up-to-date with the changes to the UK immigration rules and policy guidance.
Vincent Solicitors and SRA Compliance

We are a firm of solicitors that is authorised and regulated by the SRA to provide immigration advice. Your matter will be dealt with by qualified immigration solicitors from instruction through to completion of your immigration matter.

Legal Consultation

If you have any queries on the above information or would like some general immigration advise on the Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa, Tier 1 Investor Visa or any other High Net Worth Immigration matter, then please get in touch or complete the form below and one of our solicitors will give you a call to discuss the matter further with you.