An Overview of Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) route

By Amar Ali, Immigration Solicitor

November 27, 2020

Are you business savvy? Do you have viable business idea? Were you always dreaming to establish a business abroad? Was living in the UK always amongst your top preferences? Do you have access to £200,000? Do you want to settle in the UK? If whilst reading this you have nod every time you have read a question, then Tier 1 Entrepreneur route is for you!

Tier 1 Entrepreneur route is aimed at non-EU nationals wishing to migrate to the UK in order to establish business and settle in the UK together with their family members. Applicants are required to score at least 95 points in total to be granted with entry clearance or leave to remain and can claim points in the following way:

Access to at least £200,000 or £50,000 - 25 points
The money is held in one or more regulated financial institutions - 25 points
The money is disposable in the UK - 25 points
English language - 10 points
Maintenance - 10 points

Business plan

As of April 2015, every applicant who is making initial Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa applicants must submit a business plan together with other supporting documents. The Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) will review the business plan with scrutiny including the assessment of viability and credibility of an applicant's business plan and market research into their chosen business sector. Be aware that it is usual practice for the Home Office/ ECO to invite you to attend an interview, very often questions asked by the ECO are based on your business plan and any market research to assess how much consideration you have put into starting your business. You should know your business plan from A to Z! Do not copy and paste information from the Internet, Home Office can easily detect it using special software. At the end of the day, it is your business and you should be passionate about it!

Source of the money

One of the main requirements of this route is access to at least £200,000. As of April 2015, where the applicant's funds have been held in their bank account for less than 90 days at the point of application, they must provide either evidence in the form of the third party declaration or source of the funds. You should be able to demonstrate the legitimate nature of the funds for the purpose of compliance with anti-money laundering procedures. If you cannot show sufficient evidence, your application without any doubt will be refused.

UK immigration history and previous activity in the UK

The ECO usually invite most applicants for an interview if they meet the mandatory points - which in summary are having access to funds of £50,000 - £200,000, meet English language standards and have the maintenance funds available for 90 days. The decision-maker might ask you about your previous immigration history and activity in the UK. Regardless of the application, you are applying for, make sure that you provide only correct information. It is important that you reveal previous refusals if you have any and the reasons for the same. Please note, if the Home Office caught you on using deception it will irretrievably affect your immigration history and you might be issued with 10 years ban.

Our immigration lawyers are expert on Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa solicitors with over 30 years combined experience in business immigration and have assisted numerous clients with Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa entry clearance and Tier 1 Entrepreneur extension visa applications.

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