Tier 1 Investor Visa

Tier 1 Investor VisaTier 1 Investor Visa - £2 Million Route

The Tier 1 Investor visa category is for non-EEA nationals who are able to make a substantial investment in the UK.  If you do not already hold a Tier 1 Investor visa granted before 6 November 2014, you will need to have access to £2 million and be willing to invest your funds in UK government bonds or actively trading UK companies.

What are the main eligibility requirements for a Tier 1 Investor visa?

In order to qualify for a Tier 1 Investor visa, you will need to satisfy UK Visas and Immigration that:

  • You have funds amounting to at least £2 million belonging to yourself, your partner or the two of you jointly;
  • The money is held in a regulated financial institution;
  • The money is freely transferable to the UK and able to be converted to pounds sterling;
  • You have opened an account with a UK regulated bank for the purpose of investing not less than £2 million in the UK.

If you have held your investment funds for less than 90 days then you will need to prove the source of your funds and, in every case, the Home Office will need to be satisfied as to the provenance of the funds.

If applying from overseas, you and any adult dependents will need to provide an overseas criminal record certificate for any country that you have lived in for at least 12 months in the last 10 years.

What else do I need to know about the Tier 1 Investor visa?

As a Tier 1 Investor visa applicant, you will not need to satisfy any English language and maintenance funds requirement.

Your initial Tier 1 Investor visa will be valid for either 3 years and 4 months (if applying from overseas) or 3 years (if applying from within the UK).

You will need to invest at least £2 million in UK government bonds or actively trading UK companies within 3 months of entering the category. You will then need to maintain your investment.

You will be able to extend your stay as a Tier 1 Investor for a further 2 years, before qualifying for indefinite leave to remain (settlement) after 5 years. There is also an accelerated route to settlement as a Tier 1 Investor after either 3 years if you invest at least £5 million or 2 years if you invest at least £10 million.

In order to settle in the UK as a Tier 1 Investor, you will need to spend not more than 180 days outside the UK in each consecutive 12-month period and, unless aged 65 or over, have sufficient knowledge of the English language and Life in the UK.   For settlement applications made from 11 January 2018, the Home Office will consider absences from the UK on a rolling basis, rather than in separate consecutive 12-month periods. If your qualifying period includes time before this date and you believe that this change would cause you exceptionally harsh consequences, you must set out the reasons.

Your partner and any children under the age of 18 may accompany or join you as the Family Members of a PBS migrant.



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