Investors
Foreign investors willing to invest large sums of money will be given an accelerated right to settlement.
Those who invest £5 million will be allowed to settle in the UK after 3 years, while those with £10 million or more will be allowed to settle after 2 years. Contrast this with the 5-year waiting time for those who invest £1 million.
The UK Government realises that it is in a global marketplace to attract foreign capital, so as well as relaxing the rules for obtaining residency for investing larger sums of money, it has also addressed a longstanding bone of contention for investors. Namely, wealthier investors will be allowed to spend more time outside the UK – up to 180 days a year, rather than 90 presently, before they lose their right to settlement.
Any existing investor with these larger qualifying sums already invested in the UK will also be able to claim the accelerated route to settlement.
A visa for 3 years and 4 months will be issued and a 2-year extension will be available if required. Investors will be able to bring dependants to the UK as before.
Entrepreneurs
Changes to the entrepreneurs’ visa are designed to allow an entrepreneur the flexibility to work with a business partner on a single project, to invest smaller sums in innovative start-ups and give them more time to register their businesses.
Entrepreneurs, like investors, will now enjoy an accelerated route to settlement and greater flexibility to spend time outside the UK.
So, someone creating 10 sustainable jobs or generating a £5 million turnover over a 3-year period will be able to apply for settlement after 3 years rather than after 5 years.
The changes will also apply to entrepreneurs already in the UK before 6th April 2011 and who meet the accelerated settlement criteria.
To qualify for an entrepreneur’s visa, an entrepreneur must have access to at least £200K held in a regulated financial institution or have access to £50K held in a regulated financial institution which has been funded by:
- An FSA registered Venture Capital firm;
- A UK Government Department; or
- An entrepreneurial seeding competition recognised by UK Trade and Investment.
An entrepreneur must meet English language and maintenance requirements.
A pair of entrepreneurs working together will be able to access the route without the need for increased levels of funding.
An entrepreneur’s visa will normally be grated for 3 years and 4 months with a 2-year extension available if required.
Prospective Entrepreneur
The UK Government has recognised that entrepreneurs need to spend time in the UK securing financial backing and making business arrangements before they would be able to qualify for a Tier 1 entrepreneur visa.
The new visa category which is outside the points-based system is a welcome addition and also allows those who secure financial backing to switch to a Tier 1 visa without leaving the UK.
A prospective entrepreneur visa, which may have previously been available only as a business visitor visa, allows individuals to come to the UK to secure funding to set up or run a business. A visa in this category will be issued for 6 months and, if the prospective entrepreneur meets the criteria for a Tier 1 entrepreneur within 6 months, they can switch to the latter category.
The prospective entrepreneur must provide an original, signed letter on headed notepaper supporting the application from one or more FSA registered venture capitalists, one or more Governments Departments or one or more UKTI endorsed entrepreneurial seed funding competitions.
A prospective entrepreneur must not intend to take employment.
Exceptional Talent
The Government, whilst closing the Tier 1 (General) category on 6th April 2011, has created a new route for a limited number (1,000) places in the first year of operation to exceptionally talented migrants in the fields of science, arts and humanities who wish to work and eventually settle in the UK. This category is not designed for the wealthy foreign business person but rather is designed to plug the gap created when the Government closed the Tier 1 (General) category because of what it perceived to be wide scale abuse by foreign applicants. Tier 1 (General) had replaced the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP).
Although the “sting in the tale” in the recent announcements is that the UK Government remains firmly committed to reducing net immigration over the coming years, the changes outlined above are to be warmly welcomed and undoubtedly, they are designed to encourage wealthy foreign investors and entrepreneurs to move to the UK. The Government has declared that “the UK remains open for business” and that it wants “those who have the most to offer to come and settle here”. Time will tell.
