UK Business Visa

Business in UK is possible through a number of immigration services which allow people to migrate to the UK in order to start a business, invest in a business, become self employed, or pursue an innovative idea in UK.

Additionally, foreign companies with no presence in the United Kingdom may send a sole representative to the country in order to establish a British branch or subsidiary.

The sections in this page of the site will discuss in detail the various UK business visas.

Tier 1 - Entrepreneur

The Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa is for foreign nationals applying to immigrate to the UK based on a substantial investment, by starting or assuming control of a UK business without having the need for a sponsor. However, applicants still need to reach a specified points limit based on both general Tier 1 visa requirements and more specific criteria.

Criterion

25 Points: Applicant has at least £200,000
25 Points: Funds are held in a regulated financial institution
25 Points: Funds are disposable in the United Kingdom

English Language Ability

Applicants must show that they are profficient in English by proving one of the following:

• They have passed a test in English equivalent to level C1 of the Council of Europe's Common European Framework for Language Learning (equivalent to a grade C or better at GCSE)
• Come from a country where English is the majority language spoken
• Have taken a degree taught in English (this is verified by using the National Academic Recognition Information Centre data)

Successful proof of one of these criteria will earn the required 10 points for the English language requirement.


Maintenance

Applicants from outside the country will be required to score ten points by proving they can support themselves and any dependants.

Startup Costs £400
Funds £2,400
Total £2,800

2/3 of the £2,400 is required for first dependent of the main applicant, and 1/3 for each subsequent dependant.

Tier 1 - Investor

The Tier 1 Investor visa is designed for those who intend to make a substantial investment in the UK.

Although this is also a requirement of the entrepreneur category, the investment sum for those in this category is much larger and no requirements to engage in business activities are in place.

Investor Criteria

75 points is needed to satisfy the requirements for the specific criteria under the Investors sub-category.

Applicants have at least £1,000,000 of their own money in a regulated financial institution in the UK, or

A) Own personal assets which exceed £2,000,000 in value, provided they are not subject to any liabilities; and

B) Have money under their control held in a regulated financial institution and disposable in the UK of at least £1,000,000, which may include money loaned to them provided it was loaned by a financial institution regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

English Language Ability

Because potential migrants applying under the Investor sub-category are not expected to need to work, the English language requirement is waived.

Maintenance

By definition, potential migrants applying under the Investor category are extremely wealthy and do not need to prove an ability to support themselves and their dependants. Therefore, this requirement has been waived for the Investor sub-category.