Entrepreneur
Under the Entrepreneur category, you can establish or take over a business in the UK, but you will also need to be actively involved in the day-to-day management. This business venture must form your only employment and will require a minimum investment of £200,000.
The Tier 1 Entrepreneur enables you to live and work in the UK without the need for a UK sponsor or an arranged employment. Under this category you will have to show that you have access to funds of no less than £200,000 which are held in one or more regulated financial institutions and disposable in the United Kingdom.
Leave to enter/remain under the Tier 1 Entrepreneur category is normally granted for an initial period of three years. In the first three months, you must make the full investment which will lead to the employment of two settled individuals. As an added incentive, successful entrepreneurs who create 10 jobs for resident workers or have a turnover of £5 million will be able to qualify for settlement on completion of 3 years in the UK.
Finally, the UK Government recognises that business people and entrepreneurs might be discouraged by the strict residence criteria for settlement whereby migrants are expected to spend 9 out of 12 months in the UK. The rules will now be relaxed to allow maximum absences of up to 180 days per year.
From 6 April 2011, there will be a new visitor visa category, the "Prospective Entrepreneur", introduced to enable applicants to come to the UK to seek funding or to create a team for a business idea. The applicants will have to show that they have access to £50,000 and that a venture capitalist is committed to providing a further £50,000 for their proposed business.
Are you an entrepreneur looking to invest in the UK? Call us to discuss your circumstances.
