Entrepreneur Visa

Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa

 

The Tier 1 Entrepreneur category is designed for candidates to apply for immigration to the UK on the grounds that they have a substantial investment or by starting or gaining control of UK based business.

  Similar to the other subdivisions of the Tier 1 visa system a candidate applying for the Tier 1 

Entrepreneur visa application does not require any sponsors and is solely dependent on the applicant successfully meeting the minimum points threshold of 75 based on the general Tier 1 requirements and more specific requirements.

Eligibility

Tier one visas are set apart from the other four tiers by the fact that applicants do not need to receive a certificate of sponsorship from a UK business, college or another qualifying establishment.

 Tier one visas directly replace the previous Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP) and allow successful candidates to live and work in the UK without a sponsor. However Tier 1 is designed to attract the most talented and highly skilled non-EEA citizens to benefit the UK economy, therefore certain prerequisites are put in place.

General Requirements

English Language Ability

 Aside from the Investor visa category of the Tier 1, English proficiency is essential. 

 The language requirement gains the applicant ten points and they must be able to show one of the following:

 1) Candidates must have successfully completed an English language test which conforms to or exceeds level C1 as defined by the Council of Europe's  2) Common European Framework for Language learning or:

 3) Candidates must come from a country in which English is the majority language or:

 4) Candidates must have studied and successfully completed a degree course, which was taught in English 

Maintenance

 The maintenance requirement applies to every division of the Tier 1 visa. A candidate intending to immigrate to the UK must be able to support themselves and any dependents

 The total amount that they must show to satisfy this requirement is £2800 for the main applicant. The first dependent would then require 2/3rds of £2800 and any further dependents would require 1/3rd of £2800.

 Specific Requirements

 One of the main requirements that needs to be fulfilled to obtain an Entrepreneur visa is that the candidate will be assuming control of a UK based business.

 As with other Tier 1 divisions the pass mark required is 75 or above.

Candidates must be able to satisfy the following criteria:

 1. They must have access to £200,000 = 25 points

 2. This sum must be held in a regulated bank account = 25 points

 3. The money must be disposable in the UK = 25 points 

 Applicants are eligible to join an existing business, start their own or take over an established UK enterprise, however it is important to remember that the individual may not seek employment in the manner of a Tier 1 General visa holder.

 Applicants may start their own business, join an existing one or take over an established UK enterprise, however they may not seek employment in the manner of a general category Tier 1 visa holder.

Extending a Tier 1 Visa

A Tier 1 visa can be extended in all categories except for the Post Study Work category. What makes the Post Study Work category different from the others is that it's designed as a temporary bridge between study and employment and is only granted for the initial two years and has no option to extend.

 Tier 1 visas in the General, Investor and Entrepreneur category are all issued for an initial three years, which can be extended to a further two years as long as you meet the rules of your current visa.

 Applicants must have invested, or had invested on their behalf a minimum of £200,000 in a UK business. This investment cannot include the value of residential property, and cannot be a director's loan.

 Applicants must within three months have registered with HMRC as a self-employed person, registered a new UK business with the applicant as a director, or registered as a director of an existing UK enterprise.

 At the time of the extension application, the candidate must be engaged in activity within this business.

 Employment Requirements

 An important part of the entrepreneur visa is extension is that the applicant needs to be able to demonstrate positions of employment which have been created for individuals with settled status in the UK .

 When looking at an applicant who has a new business, an aggregate of 2 positions, full time or equivalent must have been created whilst also lasting for at least one year. In a situation where the applicant has taken control of a UK based business, their investment and presence in the company should have created 2 positions similar to those mentioned previously.

 Switching To a Tier 1 Visa

 Tier 1 visa holders can switch to another category such as General, Investor or Entrepreneur if they meet the requirements laid out by that particular visa. Candidates who are already in possession of a highly skilled migrant tier visa in any sub category may switch to any other sub category apart from the Post Study Work category. 

Those in possession of Tier 1 visas in the post-study work category may switch to any other Tier 1 category and will be able to switch to a Tier 2 visa, or Tier 4 visa once these aspects of the PBS are in place.