Tier 1 Investor Visa

You can apply for a Tier 1 (Investor) Visa if you:

• Intend to invest £2,000,000 or more in the UK
• Have access to at least £2,000,000 in investment funds
• Are from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland
• Meet all the eligibility requirements

To be eligible for a Tier 1 (Investor) Visa, you must:

• Be over the age of 18
• Be able to prove that your funds belong either to you or your partner
• Have opened an account at a UK regulated bank
• Have held your funds in one or more regulated financial institutions
• Have access to funds which are free to spend in the UK

You must apply for a Tier 1 (Investor) Visa online. If your application is successful, you will need to have your biometrics (which is your fingerprints and photographs) taken at a visa application centre.

Your biometric residence permit must be collected within 10 days of when you intend to enter the UK.

It costs £1,623 to have investor visa holders apply for a Tier 1 (Investor) Visa.

The fee is the same if you wish to extend or switch the residency requirements of your immigration status, or if you are applying as a dependent family member.

Besides, you will also have to pay the healthcare surcharge as part of your application, depending on your personal circumstances.

You can apply to renew your visa if you:

• Have access to at least £1,000,000
• Have invested at least £750,000 (or 75%) of your capital funds in UK government bonds, share capital or loan capital in active UK companies
• Have invested this sum within 3 months of your “investor start date”

You can include your dependants who are on your current Tier 1 Investors Visa so they can extend their permit even if they have turned 18 during their stay in the UK.

It costs £1,623 to extend your Tier 1 Investor Visa, and you will get your response from the Home Office within 8 weeks.

Along with your application forms, you must provide a bundle of supporting documents, which should include the following:

• A current passport or other valid travel identification
• Your criminal record certificate from any country you have stayed for a total of 12 months or more, over the last 10 years
• Your tuberculosis test results (if applicable)
• Evidence showing that you have access to the required investment funds
• A certificate of marriage or civil partnership (if you are applying with your partner’s money)
• A letter from a UK regulated bank which confirms that you have a valid account and you can use your funds

Yes, you can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain after a certain amount of time spent in the country on an Investment Visa UK. This depends on the capital you invested in the UK, and it applies as it follows:

• You can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain after 2 years if you invest £10 million
• You can apply to settle after 3 years if you invest £5 million
• You can apply to settle after 5 years if you invest £2 million

You can apply to switch to a Tier 1 Investor Visa if you meet the eligibility requirements and if you hold one of the following permits:

• Tier 1 (General)
• Tier 1 (Entrepreneur)
• Any Tier 2 Visa category
• Student Visa

If you are in a different category, you must leave the UK and submit your application from abroad. To get your new immigration status, you must apply before your current visa expires.

A Tier 1 (Investor) Visa is valid for a maximum of 3 years and 4 months. Nevertheless, you can apply to extend your authorised stay for another 2 years if you still meet the eligibility requirements.

The earliest you can submit your application is 3 months before the date you intend to enter the UK. If your application is successful, you will receive a response from the Home Office within 3 weeks (if you submitted your forms from abroad). You can apply for the Home Office’s Priority or Super Priority services if you wish to get a faster decision.