Tier 1 (Investor)
This category is for high net worth individuals making a substantial investment in the UK. The investment must be at least £2 million in the UK by way of UK Government bonds, share capital or Loan capital in active and trading UK registered companies.
You will be able to bring your spouse and children to the UK and you may eventually have the right to reside in the UK permanently and ultimately qualify for British Citizenship.
Immigration to the UK is arguably more difficult than ever. The requirements are tough, the law is complex and the rules and policies frequently change. On top of this UK Visas & Immigration has strict rules on the documentation needed to support applications. If the correct documents are not submitted in precisely the format required, the application will fail.
Despite this, at Lupins we continue to have a successful track record for our clients.
The following is a basic overview. Please remember there is no substitute for seeking advice directly from one of our experts as every case is different and the law is constantly changing.
Requirements
You must score 75 points for what are known as attributes as follows
Have money of your own, under your control, held in a regulated financial institution and disposable in the UK amounting to no less than £2 million and
Have opened an account with a UK regulated bank for the purposes of investing not less than £2 million in the UK.
In this category, there is no requirement for you to have qualifications in English language.
You must make the investment of £2 million within 3 months, of what is known as the “specified date”. This will be the date you were granted entry clearance as a Tier 1 Investor or the date of entry to the UK. If you were granted Leave to Remain as a Tier 1 Investor, this will be the date you were granted leave to remain as shown on your approval letter.
If you have held the funds for less than 3 months you will need to provide evidence of their source. Types of evidence for the source of the funds can include:
Divorce settlement
Evidence form a business
Award of winnings
A gift
Deeds of sale
A will
The Entry Clearance Officer must not have reasonable grounds to believe you are not in control of the funds and at liberty to freely invest the money or that the money was obtained unlawfully.
Overseas Criminal Record Certificate
You will need to provide an overseas criminal record certificate for any country you have resided in continuously for 12 months or more in the 10 years prior to your application since aged 18 years old issued by the overseas authority. This must be an original certificate and with a certified translation. The Certificate must have been issued within 6 months of the application or within the expressed validity period of the document, whichever is the shorter.
Length of stay
If successful, your visa will be valid for 3 years and 4 months, or 3 years if you are already in the UK and switching from another category.
Extensions of stay
(for those who initially applied prior to 6th November 2014).
In this category, you can extend your stay if you have maintained your investment of not less than £750,000 of your capital in the UK by way of UK Government bonds, share capital or loan capital in trading UK registered companies other than those principally engaged in property investments, and have invested the remaining balance of the £1m in the UK for the purchase of assets or by maintaining the money on deposit in a UK regulated financial institution.
Extension of Stay
(for those who initially applied after 6th November 2014).
In order to extend your leave as a Tier 1 (Investor), you must show that you have continuously invested not less than £2 million in the UK by way of UK Government bonds, share capital or Loan capital in active and trading UK registered companies.
Settlement – Indefinite Leave to Remain
You may qualify for settlement when you have remained in the UK for 5 years. This can be accelerated to 3 years if you have maintained your investment in the UK of £5m or 2 years where you have maintained an investment of £10m or more.
You must maintain the required level of investment for the continuous period since making the initial investment.
Continuous Residence:
You can now spend up to 180 days (6 months) a year outside the UK and still qualify for settlement/indefinite leave to remain.
British Citizenship
Our overriding aim, is to not only ensure that you obtain your visa to enter the UK, but also to make sure that you are in the best possible position to make a successful application for your extension of stay and ultimately settlement. Once you have been settled in the UK for 12 Months, you may be eligible to apply for Naturalisation as a British Citizen should you so wish. At LUPINS, we can also help you with your applications for British Nationality.
Additional Services
- Family members
We will advise your family members so that they can join you when making the application or if necessary join you in the UK at a later stage. - Investments, Education, Property and Tax
We can put you in touch with experts in these areas making your relocation to the UK as stress free as possible.
LUPINS support you all the way:
We will ensure that you have the documentation that proves you qualify for these points.
We will advise and assist you in completing the application forms.
We will hold your hands throughout the application process, liaising with the British Consulate and their appointed overseas agents.
We will make detailed representations in support of the application setting out clearly why the application should succeed, highlighting the documentation we are submitting and how this proves you have sufficient points.
Put simply, our immigration solicitors will hold your hands throughout the process,
liaising with all relevant government bodies, including UK Visas and Immigration,
British Consulate, overseas agents and where necessary the courts.