10 weeks of Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa tips – Week 10 – Frequently Asked Questions and Compliance.

This is the last post in these popular series, and we will be also posting a summary of all posts later.   

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

How much money do I need, GBP 200 000 or 50 000?

The main amount is 200 000 British Pounds. The 50 000 applications are only allowed if you have funds from specified sources. For example, from a UK Government department or UK-regulated venture capital fund. There are strict rules on this. We will be able to advise you in your individual case during advice session.

Can I apply in the UK or do I have to apply in my country?

You can only apply in the UK if you currently have a UK visa that allows to change your status while on the UK. If you don't, you have to apply from your country. Having said that , we can prepare your application In advance, so you would only need to leave the UK to submit your paperwork abroad and to wait for a decision, thus reducing your time abroad to the minimum possible. 

What is meant by "my own funds"?
Money that is held on a bank account in your own name. 

What if the money is on a bank account in my company's name in ... (country other than the UK, including an offshore jurisdiction)? 

This will be funds from the "third party ". Your company and you are separate legal entities, even if it is only you in that company. 

What if the money is on a bank account in my company's name and the company is in the UK?

Here it depends whether you are planning to invest the funds into this company or not (or to another UK company). If you are planning to use this company for your future UK business (that is the business used for the visa purpose), then this would be considered as money already invested. In plain language it means you won't be able to just provide bank statements showing the funds sat in your company's account.

What if the funds are in my parents' or another family member's name?

This will be considered as third party's funds. 

Can the third party just transfer the money to my account?

Yes, they can. You usually need to wait 90 days before applying for your visa - or still submit documents form the third party. 

Important ! In some cases it is beneficial to submit evidence of the source of funds anyway, even after 9 days. This falls under the Genuine Entrepreneur Test. We will advise you in your individual case based on our extensive and successful experience.

What if I haven't invested the money (usually GBP 200 000) and my visa expires soon?

You can still apply for extension as long as you invest the remaining amount before that. There is no time limit on when to invest the funds, as long as you invest it within the duration of your initial visa. For example, there is no rule to invest at equal intervals , such as X amount each year. On the other hand, it again comes down to the Genuine Entrepreneur Test, so the more "genuine" it looks like the better. We will be able to advise you in your individual case based on our extensive and successful experience.

What if I can't meet the extension requirements? Can I apply for another initial visa and start again?

Yes, you can, but only after being out of the country for 12 months, which means staring all over again "your" 5-year qualifying period for permanent residency. 

As always, the official Rules are here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-part-6a-the-points-based-system 

COMPLIANCE:

This is the service our company, 1^st 4Immigration, offers to all Tier 1 clients, both Entrepreneurs and Investors. It includes guidance with all the hard work you have to do during the term of your visa. For example, during the 3 years between your initial application and extension; or between extension and ILR (or between further extensions). The purpose is to prevent you facing a problem at the end of your visa, ie when it’s time to apply for extension, but some of the conditions have not been met.

A common example would be not creating 2 jobs that lasted 12 months (often the jobs in question turn out to be for self-employed contractors or even for the fellow migrants). Yet the most common example is when a migrant has not invested the full GBP 200000 (or invested by attracting the capital from investors by offering them shares in the company). A client who uses our Compliance service would not have to face this in the last month or week of their visa – they would have the whole year!

To read more about our Compliance Service: http://www.1st4immigration.com/compliance-services-for-entrepreneurs-investors.php 

PS: Just thought it would be good to make a separate post on Most Common Mistakes that Entrepreneur migrants cannot resist to make. Follow our blog and we will add it in the New Year of 2018!

For individual advice or to make an application please contact us info@1st4immigration.com or visit http://www.1st4immigration.com/index.php  We respond emails on the same working day!

1st 4Immigration Ltd, authorised by the OISC, ref 200800152. we operate at the highest Level 3 of expertise. Office address: 68 King William Street, City of London, London, EC4M 7DZ.