UK Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa

Holders of the Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa can:

• Set up or run two or more businesses in the UK;
• Take part in business activities, including self-employment.
• Bring their family and/or other dependants to the UK.

You can also form an entrepreneurial team and share the same investment funds with another Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa holder. Such funds cannot be included in another visa application with a different team.

To be eligible for the Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa, in addition to investing the above-mentioned amount in a UK business, the applicant must be a citizen of a country that is not in the European Economic Area or Switzerland.

The applicant must also have full access to at least 50000 to 200000 pounds available in investment funds allocated to a business in the UK.

If this is your first time travelling to the UK, you must book an appointment at the nearest application centre, British embassy or consulate in your country, where you will need to submit your biometric details and photograph.

Cases in which the application can be made  from inside the UK are when the person is already in the UK on a valid visa and wishes to do one of the following:

• Switch an existing visa to a Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa
• Extend a Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa

Switching to the UK Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa

If you are in the UK on the following visas, you can apply to switch to a Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa:

• Tier 1 Investor.
• Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur.
• Tier 2.
• A visitor permitted to take part in activities as a prospective entrepreneur.
• Tier 1 Post-Study Work.
• Tier 1 General.
• Tier 4 / student categories.

When switching visas to Tier 1 Entrepreneur, candidates must also provide their biometric information, such as a photograph and fingerprints, at authorised post offices, a service that costs 19.20 pounds. If the candidate is approved for the visa switch, they automatically receive a biometric residence permit, and you are permitted to stay in the UK while a decision on the application is being made.

There is a three-year limit on stay in the UK when switching to the UK Entrepreneur visa.

To apply to switch to the Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa, applicants must:

• Have at least 50000 pounds available.
• Be continuously engaged in business.
• Pay the immigration health surcharge.
• Register with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) as self-employed, or register with Companies House as the director of a business.

Extending the Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa

An extension application is made when the candidate is in the UK on a Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa and wishes to stay beyond the period of the existing visa. This application must be made before the existing visa period ends. The longest period granted on extension is two years.

Requirements of the UK Entrepreneur visa Tier 1

To have a successful visa application, you must:

• Meet the general requirements for applying for a UK visa.
• Have 75 points for attributes under Tier 1 Entrepreneur migrant.
• Have at least 10 points for English language ability: English language proficiency equivalent to level B1 or above of the Council of Europe's Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
• Have a business plan –  A business plan for the planned business project with all its sections, including investment, costs and the expected returns from business operations.
• Documents required to confirm investment and past business activity –  for candidates who have previously been active in business in the UK.
• Unconditional written consent of the sponsor.
• Be over 16 years of age.
• Letters from parents or legal guardian.
• Criminal record certificate.
• Provide tuberculosis test results if the candidate is from a country required to take this test.
• Must not use any kind of public funds.
• Must register with the police.
• You must not take up employment in the UK during the business activity.
• Have at least 10 points for the financial requirements.

Tier 1 Entrepreneur financial requirements

A candidate applying for the Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa must provide documents showing that they and their dependants have enough money to support themselves in the UK.

You cannot use any money intended for investment, or earned from work in the UK, as evidence of financial maintenance.

Attribute points for candidates of the Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa

When applying for the Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa, the candidate is assessed on the following points and must score at least 75 of them.

• 25 points if the candidate can provide the documents required to prove they have the following funds available, either:
  • At least 200000 pounds
  • At least 50000 pounds
• 25 more points if this money is held in one or more regulated financial institutions (anywhere in the world).
• 25 more points if this money is held in one or more regulated financial institutions (in the UK) because the applicant is applying for LR.
• 20 points if the candidate has invested on their own behalf in a UK business, or has at least 200000 pounds or 50000 pounds in cash up to the last visa.
• 20 points if the candidate has registered as self-employed (with HM Revenue and Customs), as the director of a new or existing business, or as a member of a new or existing limited liability partnership (with Companies House).
• If the candidate's last visa was a Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa or EC or LR, the candidate must register within six months of entering the UK or receiving the visa.
• 15 points if the candidate registered (with the above-mentioned bodies) at least three months before applying for the visa.
• 20 points if the candidate has set up a new business in the UK through which they have created at least two full-time jobs for settled workers in the UK, or has run or invested in a business through which they have created at least two full-time jobs. Jobs at the time for settled workers in the UK.

If the candidate's last visa was a Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa or EC or LR, the jobs must have existed for at least one year before the last visa.

To obtain the scores required for the EC or LR attributes, the candidate must provide the following:

• Any evidence showing readiness to start, join or run a business in the UK in the next six months.
• A genuine intention to invest the available funds in running a business.
• Show that the available money is genuinely available and will remain available to the candidate until it is spent on business operations.
• Evidence that all parts of the available funds have been properly spent on business operations (when the candidate has been involved in a previous investment and seeks to gain additional points this way).
• No intention of taking employment in the UK.

Points awarded when applying for ILR

When applying for ILR under the UK Entrepreneur visa Tier 1, the candidate can score the following points and must score all 75 points:

• 20 points if the candidate has invested on their own behalf in a UK business, or has at least 200000 pounds or 50000 pounds in cash up to the last visa.
• 20 points if, no earlier than three months from the time of the visa application, the candidate has registered either as self-employed (with HM Revenue and Customs), as the director of a new or existing business, or as a member of a new business or a new company. Existing limited liability partnership (with Companies House). If the candidate's last visa was a Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa or EC or LR, the candidate must register within six months of entering the UK, or receiving the visa;
• 20 points if the candidate has set up a new business in the UK through which they have created at least two full-time jobs for settled workers in the UK, or has run or invested in a business through which they have created at least two full-time jobs. Jobs at the time for settled workers in the UK. If the candidate's last visa was a Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa or EC or LR, the jobs must have existed for at least one year before the last visa.
• 15 points if the candidate has a continuous lawful period of residence in the UK holding a Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa, counting approved absences of up to 180 days in each calendar year.

When points are awarded for the ILR attributes, the candidate must provide the following:

• Evidence that they have established and run a business and have also explicitly managed it.
• Proof of appropriate investment of the available funds in the business.
• Showing a genuine intention to continue running the business in the future.

Steps for obtaining the UK Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa

Dear applicant, if you wish to obtain the UK Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa, please follow the steps below

Assessment form and consultation

First, by completing the free assessment form, you can send your initial circumstances and details for review by the lawyers. If your general circumstances are suitable, a call time will be scheduled for your consultation. It should be noted that this entire process is free of charge and is reviewed and assessed by specialists

Receiving the confirmation letter

After the consultation and completion of the immigration file process, a letter of approval or non-approval will be sent to you by the licensed lawyers. This letter specifies whether or not you are eligible to immigrate, the type of immigration visa, and the route and conditions through which you can immigrate.

Registration in Obtaining the visa Frequently asked questions some users have had about the UK Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa