In contrast to the UK Tier 2 visa, the UK Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa category is reserved for non-UK citizens who have the intention of coming to the UK in order to start a new business, join an existing business as an investor, or both.
In the Entrepreneur category, the entrepreneur visa applicant’s immediate family members are permitted to join them in the United Kingdom.
This includes the partner of the primary applicant as well as any children under the age of 18. The fact that the applicant’s children will have the opportunity to pursue their education in the United Kingdom is one of the many benefits offered by this category.
You have the ability to apply for permanent residency and citizenship in the United Kingdom if you are granted this kind of visa.
This post will educate you on all you need to know about the UK Tier-1 Entrepreneur Visa, from the prerequisites to the application processes. The article’s goal is to provide you with as much information as possible. Let’s plunge in!
An Outline of the Tier-1 Entrepreneur Visa for the United Kingdom
The Tier-1 Entrepreneur visa is a business visa under the British Points Based System that is reserved for individuals from other countries who have the intention of investing between £50,000 and £200,000 in the United Kingdom. Users have the option of launching a whole new company or becoming business partners with an existing organisation. Visas for Tier 1 Entrepreneurs are typically valid for three years and four months at a time.
Those who hold a Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa are permitted to undertake the following:
• Initiate or direct the launch of one or more businesses.
• Participate in a wide range of commercial endeavours, one of which should be independent employment.
• You should bring any dependents that you have with you to the United Kingdom, including your family.
By putting together an entrepreneurial team, you and another person who holds a Tier-1 Entrepreneur Visa could split the same amount of investment capital. These monies are ineligible for inclusion in any other visa applications that include any other teams.
As was mentioned previously, the Tier-1 Entrepreneur Visa category enables businesspeople with the financial means to invest between £50,000 and £200,000 to enter the UK with the intention of starting or taking over a business there, either on their own or in collaboration with other individuals.
The funds have to be held by a licenced institution, such as a bank or a venture capital firm, and they can’t be tied down in any way, such as by stocks, shares, or other similar arrangements. Instead, they have to be freely available for expenditure.
In addition to this, you need to create two additional jobs for permanent staff members. Included in this group are people with British nationality, as well as EEA and EU citizens, their dependents, and those who have been granted indefinite permission to reside in the UK. When making a request for an extension, the jobs in question must have been held for a minimum of one year.
Please keep in mind that candidates hailing from countries other than the UK will almost probably be required to shell up £200,000. You are need to have backing from a UK venture capital company or some sort of support from the UK government in order to invest the lower figure of £50,000. For further details, kindly check the table that may be seen below.
The following documents are required in order to apply for a Tier-1 Entrepreneur Visa in the UK:
Candidates for the Tier-1 Entrepreneur position are required to submit the following documentation along with their application:
• Your passport and any other papers you need for travel must be up to date.
• They must provide an additional passport photo to prove that they have between £50,000 and £200,000 in available investment capital.
• The approach they take to their business.
• Bank statements, for instance, are evidence that they are able to financially support themselves throughout the entirety of their stay.
• Documentation showing that the applicant satisfies the requirements for Tier 2 English Language, such as originating from a nation where the majority of the population speaks English, holding a degree that was taught in English, or passing an English language exam at the B1 level.
• A clean tuberculosis (TB) test result letter can be found here if the applicant is from one of the countries that is on the TB testing list for the Home Office (link)
• A proof of a clean criminal record from each country in which the individual has resided for more than a year in the preceding ten years.
Qualifications Need to Apply for a Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa in the UK
The following requirements need to be satisfied in order to be eligible for the Tier-1 Entrepreneur visa for the United Kingdom:
#1. Real Entrepreneurship Test.
This is an essential part of the application that must be completed. In addition to this, the applicant needs to provide information and evidence to support their claim that they have the necessary experience and capabilities to successfully operate a company, as well as a straightforward business plan.
The applicant needs to be able to provide an explanation about how and where the money was obtained. In addition to that, providing academic credentials is beneficial. Regrettably, a large number of applications are rejected due to the candidate’s poor performance on the test.
#2. Ability to speak in English.
If the candidate does not have a degree that was taught in English and does not come from a country where the majority of the population speaks English, then the candidate is required to pass an English language exam with a score of B1 or above.
If you are obliged to take an English language test, you must do so at the B1 level. This need could be for academic instruction or general skills training. Reading, writing, public speaking, and listening are the four parts of an assessment that need to be done correctly.
#3. Certificates of Criminal Record
You are need to provide a criminal record certificate for each and every country in which you have spent at least a year’s worth of time in the preceding ten years. This is required not only for the spouse or partner, but also for any dependents over the age of eighteen who are living in the household.
The certifications should have been obtained no more than half a year before the application for a visa to the United Kingdom was submitted.
#4. Money for upkeep.
Candidates for Tier-1 Entrepreneur must demonstrate that they have adequate financial resources to support themselves throughout their stay. The required amount of dollars for maintenance changes depending on whether the applicant is requesting a first visa or a renewal of an existing visa.
Those who are applying for an initial visa must have a minimum cash deposit of £3,310, while those who are wanting to extend their visa must have a cash deposit of at least £945.
Every candidate needs to have maintained possession of this sum consistently for a minimum of ninety days.
#5: Duration of the stay that has been approved.
The applicant is only allowed to submit a request for an initial term that is no more than three years and four months, with a maximum combined length of six years and four months.
The applicant’s current visa status will determine how long the visa extension will be valid for. For instance, individuals who switch from one category to the Tier-1 Entrepreneurs category are eligible to have their visas renewed for an additional three years. The extend period for anything else is capped at two years.
6. Permission to Stay indefinitely
This particular category of “permanent residency” is also referred to as established status. You have 28 days to submit your application for this before the conclusion of your five-year stay in the UK as an Entrepreneur on a Tier-1 Visa.
provided that you have spent a total of no more than 180 days outside of the UK throughout that period of time. It’s possible to get out of having to stay in the UK for the required amount of time if you meet certain requirements.
If you have created ten jobs or started a firm with a gross income of £5 million in three years, or if you have taken over an existing business with a gross income of £5 million in three years, the three-year criterion for indefinite leave to remain is reduced to three years. In addition, if you have taken over an existing business with a gross income of £5 million in three years, the criterion for indefinite leave to remain is reduced to three years (minus 28 days). You will still be required to satisfy the other requirements for residency that were outlined earlier.
Instructions for Applying for a Tier-1 Entrepreneur Visa in the UK
You are required to submit an application for a Tier-1 Entrepreneur Visa from a location outside the UK, namely from your home country, three months prior to the date that you plan to leave the country.
You are also necessary to submit your application online through the official website of the government of the United Kingdom. There, you will be asked to supply some fundamental information about yourself as well as the reason you intend to visit the United Kingdom.
Imagine that you are going to the United Kingdom for the very first time. If this is the case, you will need to schedule an appointment at the application centre, British embassy or British consulate that is located closest to you in your native country. During this appointment, you will be needed to present your biometric information as well as a photograph.
If a person already resides in the UK on a valid visa and intends to carry out any one of the following activities, they will need to apply for a change of status.
• If you already hold a visa, you should switch to a Tier-1 Entrepreneur visa as soon as possible.
• Raise the limit on the number of visas available for Tier-1 Entrepreneurs.
Questions That Are Typically Asked (FAQs)
Who should apply for an Entrepreneur Visa in Tier 1?
In order to be eligible for a Tier-1 Entrepreneur visa, the applicant must be a citizen of a country that is not a part of the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland, and they must also have the intention of investing the aforementioned amount of money in a company located in the United Kingdom.
In addition, the applicant needs to have complete access to an investment capital pool that ranges from a minimum of 50,000 pounds sterling up to a maximum of 200,000 pounds sterling and is assigned to a company located in the United Kingdom.
Can a Tier-1 Entrepreneur’s visa be revoked?
It is possible for the applicant’s Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa to be cancelled if they fail to comply with the following requirements:
• HM Revenue & Customs in the UK did not have me categorised as a person who was engaged in self-employment;
• Has not established a new company or participated in the formation of a joint venture in which they were a partner or director;
• Did not hold a position as a director or a partner in any active business or publicly traded company;
• Did not invest the entire sum of money in a prudent manner.
How long is an Entrepreneur visa valid?
A visa for entrepreneurs can be valid for up to three years and four months at a time. On the other hand, if particular requirements are met, this provision can be extended for an additional two years.
What kinds of job are permitted for someone who holds an Entrepreneur visa?
Entrepreneur visa holders are not permitted to seek or accept paid employment in the United Kingdom unless that employment is offered by a company or companies that the entrepreneur visa holder has created, joined, or taken over.
Conclusion
If a candidate intends to prolong their stay while in the UK on a Tier-1 Entrepreneur visa, they are required to submit an application for an extension of their stay. This application needs to be sent in far before the current visa’s validity period runs out. A request for an extension may be considered for a period of up to two more years.
We hope that this post, which contains all of the information that was provided above, goes a long way towards helping you with all of the things that you need to do and all of the information that you need to know regarding the UK Tier-1 Entrepreneur Visa.
