Turkish nationals, who have been granted 12 months leave to enter or to remain under the Ankara Agreement, are entitled to apply in country for further leave to remain, which\u00a0should be normally granted for a period of 3 years. However, if their business has experienced difficulties during the initial 12 months of operation, an extension of stay might be granted for an initial 12 months rather than the full 3 years period. The applicant would then be required to apply again for further extension at the end of that period.<\/p>\n
When preparing an application, it is important to ascertain that the money has been invested or spent in the business within the initial 12 months period rather than just transferred to their business bank account.<\/p>\n
Therefore, an applicant needs to provide sufficient evidence to show that the business was set up within a reasonable time frame such as proof of registration with Companies House, company’s financial accounts, registration with HMRC as well as relevant insurance documents etc. The application should be supported by documents to evidence that the applicant has been able to cover his\/her living cost. Many applications tend to fail as the applicant is deemed to be in disguised employment rather than self-employment. However, there is no specific financial or maintenance requirements to be satisfied unlike applications made under the Points Based Scheme.<\/p>\n
Family members applying for further leave to remain will also need to do so at the same time as the Turkish ECAA businessperson and must be able to show that there has been no recourse to public funds.<\/p>\n
A migrant will be eligible to apply for settlement having spent lawfully 4 years in the UK as a Turkish Businessperson,\u00a0subject of meeting the requirements.<\/p>\n