UK Investment Visa

Overview of UK Investment Visa

 

The UK investment visa comes under a tier 1 visa. Such a visa type is offered to wealthy applicants willing to invest around £2 million in the United Kingdom. It is essential to know that the higher the investment amount, the quicker one can apply for British citizenship and settlement.

UK Investment Conditions

The UK Investment visa does not allow you to apply for the citizenship-by-investment program directly, as you may have seen in several other countries. This simply implies that you have to live in the region’s demographics before applying to become a UK citizen.

UK Investment Visa

UK Investment Visa Eligibility & Requirements

An applicant applying for such a visa should have £2,000,000 funds for a Tier 1 Investor visa. Some of the eligibility criteria are given below:

  • Must be 18 or over 
  • Must be able to prove the ownership of the money, be it against your wife, husband, same-sex or unmarried partner
  • Must have an account at a UK bank

Meanwhile, one’s funds must be:

  • Held in 1 or more financial institutions
  • Free to spend in the UK

Financial Sponsorship For Students

The applicant can apply for a tier 1 investor visa if he or she is already living in the UK. This is the same for student visa holders as well. As an applicant, you should have a written unconditional agreement from the financial sponsor to stay or re-enter the UK.

Documents Required

When you apply for the UK investment visa, you will have to provide the following.

  • Your current passport or various other valid travel identification
  • Tuberculosis test results
  • Criminal record certificate for countries you have lived in for a year or more in the last decade
  • Blank pages in your passport 
Uk Investment Visa Consultants

Evidence of having a UK bank account

You have to provide a letter stating that you have an active bank account at a UK-regulated bank. The letter should fulfil the following:

  • Issued by authorised officials
  • Dated within three months of the application
  • It needs to be on the bank’s official letterhead
  • States your account number and name
  • Confirms that your account began to invest £2,000,000

UK Investor Visa Benefits

Acquiring a UK investment visa is one of the easiest ways to get into the region’s demographics. Moreover, there are many benefits to this:

  • The entire process – from submitting the application to obtaining a visa does not go more than three months.
  • Your unmarried partner, or spouse along with minors can be made a part of the visa application.
  • You do not have to submit your work experience, proof of education, and take an English test.
  • You, along with your family, can do business, work, study or do absolutely nothing in the UK. It is your investment that will buy you access to high healthcare standards, security, and education.
  • You will get to invest in UK companies’ shares. Furthermore, you have the authority to make an investment decision and stay in control of them. Post your visa expiry or getting an indefinite leave to remain, you have the option of selling shares and getting every penny back.
  • Know that the UK investment visa runs for three years and four months in case you apply outside the region and three years if you apply within the country. Besides, you can also gain an extension for another two years. You can also apply for settlements, depending on the amount you have invested.
  • If you have invested around or more than £5,000,000, you have the option to apply for citizenship after five years of residing in Great Britain.

FAQs

The applicant needs to invest a minimum of £2 million in loan capital or share capital in trading and the active UK registered companies.

It is essential to know that since March 2019, UK government bonds have not been a part of the Tier 1 qualifying investment. However, the Tier 1 visa Investors can invest in the government bonds of the United Kingdom. But, such investment can only be made if you are not a part of the Tier 1 Investor visa programme.

One should know that the UK Immigration Tier 1 rules for Investors include several restrictions on some permitted investments. For instance, assets in offshore trusts or companies, companies primarily engaged in property investment, open-ended investment organisations and property development or property management are prohibited.

One has to invest a minimum of £2 million in trading UK organisations within three months of entering the Tier 1 Investor programme.

Remember, the home office has the authority to waive your ninety-day requirement where there are several reasons for a specific delay in investing the amount. These reasons can be outside of your control, unforeseeable, and where possible, such steps should be taken to mitigate these delays. Moreover, delays promoted by failing to make timely actions won’t be accepted by any means.

This does not affect your investment. The home office will determine if you maintain the value of your invested assets throughout the period of leave. Market fluctuations in investments occur, but they are not the enacting reason that can hinder your application process. 

This can be a little complex to understand. Where any of the qualifying investments are sold for gain or loss, during your period of leave under the Tier 1 Investor programme, you will have to invest the gross proceeds in qualifying investments before the end of the next reporting period. This also needs to be done within half a year of the sale’s completion date, whichever comes sooner.

Tier 1 holders can withdraw dividends declared and interest accrued after the specific date on which the holders bought their qualifying investments.

Fees, for instance, charged by authoritative institutions for administering a Tier 1 Investor portfolio, tax and transaction costs incurred through the process of selling and buying investments cannot be paid.

If an applicant invests a minimum of £2 million and maintains their investment, they can be eligible and qualify for the UK settlement or UK passport through the Tier 1 Investor programme once. This can also be done if you have lived in the UK as one of the Tier 1 Investors for a recurring period of five years. 

The answer is No. Dependants should reside in the United Kingdom for a continuous period of five years to qualify for the ILR.

Your civil partner, spouse, the same-sex or unmarried partner must satisfy the 180-day residence need to qualify for the ILR. Children who are below 18 years of age don’t need to be eligible through such a requirement.

There is no such requirement for an extension Tier 1 Investor. However, there are specific requirements. And, that is, unless an applicant is aged 65 or over, they may have to demonstrate in the English language and secure a score of a minimum of CEFR Level B1 before applying for the UK settlement. One also has to take an exam in life in the UK and pass it. Such a test will be in English.

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