Tier 1 Investor Immigrant Program
*** Tier 1 Investor changes effective from November 6, 2014 ***
The Tier 1 (Investor) category was recently reviewed by the Migration Advisory Committee and the following changes are being made to this category, partially in response to that report:
The current £ 1 million minimum investment threshold is being raised to£ 2 million.
A change is being made to require the full investment sum to be invested in prescribed forms of investments (share or loan capital in active and trading UK companies, or UK Government bonds), rather than the present 75% of the sum).
The current requirement that the migrant’s investment must be “topped up” if its market value falls is being removed; instead Tier 1 (Investor) migrants will only need to purchase new qualifying investments if they sell part of their portfolios and need to replace them in order to maintain the investment threshold.
The existing provision under which the required investment sum can be sourced as a loan is being removed.
Transitional arrangements are being applied, so that Tier 1 (Investor) migrants who have already entered the route before these changes were introduced will not be subjected to these changes when they apply for extensions or for indefinite leave to remain.
Entry clearance officers and UK visas & immigration caseworkers are being empowered to refuse a Tier 1 (Investor) application if they have reasonable grounds to believe that:
·the applicant is not in control of the investment funds;
·the funds were obtained unlawfully (or by unlawful means within the UK);
·approving the application is not conducive to the public good.
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The United Kingdom is one of the most attractive countries for people who wish to live a stable life, work in a multicultural environment, study in the most respected educational institutions or do business internationally.
Some of the competitive advantages of the UK over other countries include:
- London being one of the most cosmopolitan cities and important financial centers of the World; the perfect location for professional or international business people
- Stable economic and political environment with long-lasting traditions of democratic life
- London being the gateway to the globalized world, providing convenient mobility and ease for traveling
- Most respected educational institutions with academic excellence from pre-school to post graduate education
- Excellent free health services and health care facilities for its residents
- Fair tax practices for its residents and benefits for high net worth non-domicile residents
Residency & Immigration by Investment
Investment immigration category (Tier 1), governed by the Immigration Act of the UK, allow wealthy individuals to make a substantial financial investment in the UK and settle in this country with their families.
Compared to other Investor Immigration programs applied in other countries, UK program offers the major advantages below for Investor clients:
- no business experience requirement
- no English skills evaluation
- no interview process
- no medical assessment
- Minimal residency requirements (50% of the time needs to be spent in the UK by the principal applicant)
Qualification of Investor Immigrant
To be considered as an investor immigrant, the client should meet one of the criteria below:
- have money of their own under their control in the UK-regulated bank amounting to no less than £ 2 million;
Type of Investment and the Commitment of the Client
The client must invest a minimum of £ 2,000,000 of the capital for 5 years in UK government bonds, share capital or loan capital in active and trading registered companies other than those principally engaged in property investment
The Pathway to Indefinite Leave to Remain
Qualified client and his family receive Tier 1 Investor visa initially for 40 months
Client makes required investment of £ 2 Million within 3 months of entry to UK
Client applies for a 2-year extension at the end of the initial 40 months
Client maintains investment amount and meets residency requirements within the 5-year period
Client writes the Life in the UK test and applies for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) (Permanent Resident) status in the UK.
Accelerated Route to Indefinite Leave to Remain
With the accelerated route, an investment amount of £ 10 million will provide for settlement after 2 years and an investment of £ 5 million or more will provide for settlement after 3 years, instead of the current 5 years.
Obtaining UK Citizenship
In order to qualify for citizenship, the Investor client must first obtain the ILR status, then will be eligible to apply for Citizenship within 1 year provided that his family satisfies the residence requirements of;
· not having spent more than 450 days outside the UK in the previous 5 years;
· not having spent more than 90 days outside the UK in the year immediately preceding the application.
Once citizenship with a UK passport has been granted, there is no restriction on the time that must be spent in the UK.
Please contact us for private consultation