Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent):
According to Home Office guidelines the following information should be consider to assess your case:-
You can apply for a Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) visa if you are outside the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland and you’ve been endorsed as an internationally recognised leader or emerging leader in one of the following category:-
- science
- engineering
- humanities
- medicine
- digital technology
- the arts
Your application for endorsement is considered by:
- Arts Council England
- British Academy
- Royal Academy of Engineering
- Royal Society
- Tech City UK
This Visa application has 2-stage application process to get this visa.
Stage 1-You first need to apply to the Home Office for endorsement as a leader or an emerging leader in your particular field.
Stage 2- once you have been endorsed, you can apply for the visa.
There are limited places available under this visa category, with 500 places released on both 6 April and 1 October each year.
Visa Duration
You can stay in the UK for up to:
- 5 years and 4 months if you apply outside the UK
- 5 years if you apply inside the UK
You can apply to extend this visa for another 5 years.
You can choose how long you want to apply for, up to the maximum time allowed. You only have to pay the healthcare surcharge for the amount of time you choose.
You can apply for your family members (dependants) with you on this category or they can join you if they are living outside the UK.
Tier 1 (General):
The Tier 1 General visa category was closed for extensions on 6th April 2015. However Dependants can still apply to join main applicant in the UK.
Home Office also closing ILR under Tier 1 General visa category it will no longer be possible to apply for ILR on or after 6 April 2018.
Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) visa:
According to Home Office guidelines the following information should be consider to assess your case:-
You can apply for a Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) visa if you are :-
- outside the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland
- are a graduate who has been officially endorsed as having a genuine and credible business idea.
- You also must meet the requirements for maintenance £945 in savings if applying from inside the UK, or £1,890 if applying from outside the UK and you must have had this in your bank account for 90 days before you apply
- to meet the English language requirement
- permission to remain in the UK from your financial sponsor if they’re a government or an international scholarship agency and have paid your course fees and living costs in the past 12 months
Getting endorsed
Endorsement by a UK higher education institution (HEI)
You need all of the following to be eligible:
- a UK-recognised bachelor’s degree, master’s degree or PhD awarded before your date of endorsement
- endorsement from an authorised UK higher education institution issued in the past 3 months
Endorsement by UK Trade and Investment (UKTI)
You need all of the following to be eligible:
- a degree qualification that’s recognised as being equal to a UK bachelor’s degree
- to meet the criteria set by UKTI
- endorsement from UKTI issued in the past 3 months
You don’t have to provide evidence that you have sufficient savings to support yourself if you have an endorsement from UKTI stating you’ve been awarded funding to cover your maintenance.
Tier 1 (Investor):
According to Home Office guidelines the following information should be consider to assess your case:-
You can apply for a Tier 1 (Investor) visa if:
- You are 18 or over
- Have £2,000,000 to invest in UK
- This money is held in 1 or more financial institutes
- If you are applying outside the UK this money is disposable (means you can transfer to UK)
- you want to invest £2,000,000 or more in the UK
- you’re from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland
- you meet the requirements of English Language and show that you can support yourself without Public Funds
- You’ll also have to pay the healthcare surcharge as part of your application.
Visa Duration:
Initially you will be granted visa for a maximum of 3 years and 4 months.
You can apply for extension visa for another 2 years if you’re already in this category and 3 years if you’re switching to it from another category.
You may be able to apply for settlement (ILR) after 2 years if you invest £10 million or after 3 years if you invest £5 million
You can apply for your family members ( dependants) with you on this category or they can join you if they are living outside the UK.
Tier 1 (Entrepreneur):
According to Home Office guidelines the following information should be consider to assess your case:-
You can apply for a Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa if:
- you want to set up or run a business in the UK
- you’re from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland
- you meet the requirements of English Language and show that you can support yourself without Public Funds
You must have access to at least £50,000 or £200,000 investment funds to apply.
Visa Duration
Initially you will be granted visa for a maximum of 3 years and 4 months.
You can apply for extension visa for another 2 years if you’re already in this category and 3 years if you’re switching to it from another category.
You may be able to apply for settlement (ILR) once you’ve been in the UK for 5 years.
Access to £50,000 investment funds
You can apply if you:
- have access to £50,000 in investment funds
- are in one of the following visa categories
Tier 1 (General) worker
Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur)
Tier 1 (Post-study worker)
Tier 1 (General)
Student
You can also apply if you’ve already invested £50,000 in a UK business. You must have invested the funds less than 12 months before you apply.
The funding sources you’re eligible to apply with depend on the visa you have.
As a former Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) you can rely on investments from up to 24 months before your Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) application.
For any other listed categories, you can rely on investments from up to 12 months before your Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) application.
You must Apply with an approved funding source.
You can apply if your investment funds come from one or more of the following:
- a venture capital firm registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
- a UK entrepreneurial seed funding competition endorsed by UKTI
- a UK government department making funds available for the purpose of setting up or expanding a UK business
Your investment funds can’t include your own money or money from any other third parties
Access to £200,000 investment funds
You can apply for a Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) if you have access to £200,000 in investment funds and you can prove that the money is either in your own or made available to you by third party
The funds must be held in the UK if you’re applying for leave to remain.
You can also apply if you’ve invested £200,000 in a UK business. You must have invested the funds less than 12 months before you apply.
You can apply for your family members (dependants) with you on this category or they can join you if they are living outside the UK
How We Can Help you!
If you are applying under the above category you must produce sufficient evidence to satisfy Entry Clearance Officer or Visa case worker in the UK. Our experiences Solicitors can guide you on each step of application and help you to understand Immigration Rules. We can help you to prepare application for both stages. So you apply with confidence and complete application.