Are You A Tier 1 Entrepreneur Or A Tier 1 Investor?

There are two versions of the Tier 1 visa: Entrepreneur and Investor. You will need to produce specific documentation depending on which of the two routes you select. In this article, we examine what documentary evidence you need for your application.

Tier 1 entrepreneur

As a prospective Tier 1 entrepreneur, you must provide evidence of the viability of the business idea that you propose. The most important aspect of this is the business plan. The plan will show how the business will work and show that there is a market for it.

There are also other documents required as laid out below:

• A current passport

• Evidence of available funds

• A business plan

• Evidence that you can support yourself (£3,310 required if applying from outside of the UK, or £945 if you're already here)

• Proof of English language skill

• A criminal record certificate from any country that you have lived in for more than 12 months or more in the last 12 years.

These elements prove that you are a legitimate entrepreneur and are eligible to apply. Due to the nature of the visa, it is highly-prized and there will be many who attempt to trick the system to get in.

Tier 1 investor

The Tier 1 investor visa requires you to have £2,000,000 or more available to invest in the UK. You will need to prove that you have access to these funds to apply. It is important that these funds are available as once you demonstrated this for visa eligibility you can live and work in the UK. This fact makes it a very attractive visa and again one that will be a target for fraudsters.

For those with a high net worth, there are possibilities to apply for permanent residence after 2 years (if you invest £10 million) or 3 years (if you invest £5 million), providing an excellent option if you have this level of investment capability.

The documents required for the Tier 1 investor are:

• A current passport

• A TB (tuberculosis) test (depending on country of origin)

• A criminal record certificate from any country that you have lived in for more than 12 months in the last 10 years

• You will also need to prove the funds for investment.

For those with the available funds, the Tier 1 investor visa is an excellent option and one of the easier visas to obtain.

How we can help

If you are looking at either of these visas and have a query then please get in touch. Our immigration solicitors can help you every step of the way. We provide bespoke services that let you sit back and relax. We can take care of the whole process for you.

Even if you have already had an application rejected for a visa we can still help you. We can help lodge an appeal on your behalf and give you an excellent chance of success on the second attempt.