UK Visas and British Citizenship

When it comes to the Job Creation rule for Entrepreneur visa migrants , these are 2 most common questions.  Question 1:  when is the deadline for creating 2 jobs and hiring the workers ?    The answer is there is no real deadline other than the visa expiry date minus 12 months, although it is very risky to leave it until that point! The rule is to create 2 full-time jobs for settled workers during the time of the initial visa with each job lasting 12 months. The 1st visa is for 3 years (plus 4 months if you applied outside the UK), so you have all that time.  You can create jobs in the 1st year or in the 2nd or - as often happens - in the 3rd year. As long as you can meet this rule. Each job doesn’t need to be for continuous 12 months , can be one person working for 6 months in year 2 and then replaced by another worker (in the same job) for the other 6 months during the year 3.  Same for the 2nd job.  The absolutely latest would be to wait for the last 12 months of your visa

A  Business plan is a compulsory requirement for initial Entrepreneur visa applications.   Over the past several years we’ve been dealing with the Entrepreneur visa applications for our clients. As a part of each application, we have to read client’s business plan, ask to make changes and generally, to include the information relevant to the Entrepreneur visa rules as well as based on the questions a client may be asked at an interview (from our experience of clients’ visa interviews). Our experience allowed us to develop an approach to creating the business plans from a Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa point of view. Instead of using standard templates, we focus on what the visa officers want to see, i.e. on what a migrant will be required to do while holding this visa: investment of £50,000 or £200,000 and what your client is going to spend it on. For example, paying yourself a salary is not counted, yet it is very common for clients to do this.    Another example will be including a plan o

A  Business plan is a compulsory requirement for initial Entrepreneur visa applications.   Over the past several years we’ve been dealing with the Entrepreneur visa applications for our clients. As a part of each application, we have to read client’s business plan, ask to make changes and generally, to include the information relevant to the Entrepreneur visa rules as well as based on the questions a client may be asked at an interview (from our experience of clients’ visa interviews). Our experience allowed us to develop an approach to creating the business plans from a Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa point of view. Instead of using standard templates, we focus on what the visa officers want to see, i.e. on what a migrant will be required to do while holding this visa: investment of £50,000 or £200,000 and what your client is going to spend it on. For example, paying yourself a salary is not counted, yet it is very common for clients to do this.    Another example will be including a plan o

A business plan is a compulsory visa requirement for an initial entrepreneur application. It is also a key to a successful application and meeting the Genuine Entrepreneur Test. A business plan is a CV (some say “Resume”) of your business. It is a description of your idea, the actions you plan to make it work. The steps you have already taken, such as the market research, approaching potential clients, learning about UK taxes. Plus the steps you are planning in the future, such as organising marketing and employing staff. Finally, a financial plan: how you spend your capital of GBP 200,000, how much sales your business could achieve and profit it would eventually make. Like with your CV, you would like to highlight your skills and experience for the “job” (the job of running your business in the UK), Like with a CV, you should NOT make the most common mistake of downloading a standard template from the internet. The problem with that is the same as with most CVs these days. T

A  Business plan is a compulsory requirement for initial Entrepreneur visa applications.   Over the past several years we’ve been dealing with the Entrepreneur visa applications for our clients. As a part of each application, we have to read client’s business plan, ask to make changes and generally, to include the information relevant to the Entrepreneur visa rules as well as based on the questions a client may be asked at an interview (from our experience of clients’ visa interviews). Our experience allowed us to develop an approach to creating the business plans from a Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa point of view. Instead of using standard templates, we focus on what the visa officers want to see, i.e. on what a migrant will be required to do while holding this visa: investment of £50,000 or £200,000 and what your client is going to spend it on. For example, paying yourself a salary is not counted, yet it is very common for clients to do this.    Another example will be including a plan o

How many people?  2 visa applicants can form a team and share the funds, usually GBP 200 000. Both will be "main" applicants. What about family members? Each main applicant can include their respective families as dependants. When is it useful? When you have to combine the funds available to you with someone else's to make the total amount. For example, with a friend or a business partner. Not to be confused with the "Third Party" funds' provider, who is not applying for a visa. Also, this can be used by family members teaming up when they cannot be included as dependants. For example, a real case from our practice: a brother and a sister applying as a team and sharing GBP 200 000, then each including their families as dependants. Same can be done by a parent and an adult child. Do the team members need to equally contribute to GBP 200 000? No, but both need access to it. This is a very technical subject, and one that leads to many visa re

A  Business plan is a compulsory requirement for initial Entrepreneur visa applications.   Over the past several years we’ve been dealing with the Entrepreneur visa applications for our clients. As a part of each application, we have to read client’s business plan, ask to make changes and generally, to include the information relevant to the Entrepreneur visa rules as well as based on the questions a client may be asked at an interview (from our experience of clients’ visa interviews). Our experience allowed us to develop an approach to creating the business plans from a Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa point of view. Instead of using standard templates, we focus on what the visa officers want to see, i.e. on what a migrant will be required to do while holding this visa: investment of £50,000 or £200,000 and what your client is going to spend it on. For example, paying yourself a salary is not counted, yet it is very common for clients to do this.    Another example will be including a plan o

In  Week 1 post we mentioned the importance of the Entrepreneur visa applicant to have relevant skills and experience in the chosen industry. If not their own - then experience of their families or business partners. Here we consider what kinds of business ideas work and don't work, based on our practice. A business idea shouldn’t be too generic. For example, another restaurant or a shop is unlikely to work, there is no shortage of them! Importing consumer goods to the UK could be difficult too (mobile phones, clothes etc) unless these particular goods are in great demand. You have more chance to succeed with a specialist type of skills/services, as long as it is in demand by the economy. Property-related activities are excluded by the Rules (although nothing is stopping you from doing it as a secondary activity, separate from your business for the visa purpose ). Examples of business ideas that are likely to be successful: IT services, particularly very specialist ones

A  Business plan is a compulsory requirement for initial Entrepreneur visa applications.   Over the past several years we’ve been dealing with the Entrepreneur visa applications for our clients. As a part of each application, we have to read client’s business plan, ask to make changes and generally, to include the information relevant to the Entrepreneur visa rules as well as based on the questions a client may be asked at an interview (from our experience of clients’ visa interviews). Our experience allowed us to develop an approach to creating the business plans from a Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa point of view. Instead of using standard templates, we focus on what the visa officers want to see, i.e. on what a migrant will be required to do while holding this visa: investment of £50,000 or £200,000 and what your client is going to spend it on. For example, paying yourself a salary is not counted, yet it is very common for clients to do this.    Another example will be including a plan o

Another day, another request for advice from a client to extend his Entrepreneur visa but ... “there is no money”.  This is a typical scenario – and a cry for help -  we see, which is rapidly becoming very common. A migrant had an initial Entrepreneur visa issued 3 years ago, having provided evidence of £200,000 (often borrowed from their families). Now, 3 years later, his visa is about to expire and he needs to apply for extension. One of the conditions, however, is that this money had been invested in a UK business. In a typical scenario, we see investment of only a quarter of that amount. The rest of the money isn’t there and often was returned to the family. Although this concerns a visa extension stage, we would strongly advise to think about this during the initial application. On one hand, it is a part of the Genuine Entrepreneur Test that the funds are “genuinely” available and will continue to be available. The visa officers will be using the balance of probabilities pri

Why do we say “genuine” so many times? It is from the Immigration Rules – Genuine Entrepreneur Test and it is the main reason for refusals in this visa category. Evidence of funds – can be arranged; evidence of English – same; evidence of being “genuine” – now it gets tricky (for you) and makes it easier for the government to refuse your application. Our advice – be a genuine applicant! May sound obvious but this is the most important thing in the whole application! You have to be a genuine entrepreneur and genuinely intending to come to the UK to run your own business or to join an existing one. Do not use this category “just to come to the UK”, it is fairly obvious to professionals like us (and the Government officers!) when someone is trying to do so. When we work on an Entrepreneur visa application, we look at least at one of the following (better both): 1)       Does the migrant have past experience of running his/her own business? If the answer is No, maybe

A  Business plan is a compulsory requirement for initial Entrepreneur visa applications.   Over the past several years we’ve been dealing with the Entrepreneur visa applications for our clients. As a part of each application, we have to read client’s business plan, ask to make changes and generally, to include the information relevant to the Entrepreneur visa rules as well as based on the questions a client may be asked at an interview (from our experience of clients’ visa interviews). Our experience allowed us to develop an approach to creating the business plans from a Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa point of view. Instead of using standard templates, we focus on what the visa officers want to see, i.e. on what a migrant will be required to do while holding this visa: investment of £50,000 or £200,000 and what your client is going to spend it on. For example, paying yourself a salary is not counted, yet it is very common for clients to do this.    Another example will be including a plan o

The main amount is 200 000 British Pounds. The 50 000 applications are only allowed if you have funds from specified sources, and there is an exhaustive list in the Rules and can be found here:  https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-a-attributes    For example, from a UK Government department or UK-regulated venture capital fund. There are fewer sources for students to “encourage” them to apply from outside the UK. In addition to the main amount of GBP 200 000, you also need further funds under the Maintenance requirement, which is separate. You can’t use the same money for both.  Next week - be a "genuine" applicant!  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 addr

A  Business plan is a compulsory requirement for initial Entrepreneur visa applications.   Over the past several years we’ve been dealing with the Entrepreneur visa applications for our clients. As a part of each application, we have to read client’s business plan, ask to make changes and generally, to include the information relevant to the Entrepreneur visa rules as well as based on the questions a client may be asked at an interview (from our experience of clients’ visa interviews). Our experience allowed us to develop an approach to creating the business plans from a Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa point of view. Instead of using standard templates, we focus on what the visa officers want to see, i.e. on what a migrant will be required to do while holding this visa: investment of £50,000 or £200,000 and what your client is going to spend it on. For example, paying yourself a salary is not counted, yet it is very common for clients to do this.    Another example will be including a plan o

A  Business plan is a compulsory requirement for initial Entrepreneur visa applications.   Over the past several years we’ve been dealing with the Entrepreneur visa applications for our clients. As a part of each application, we have to read client’s business plan, ask to make changes and generally, to include the information relevant to the Entrepreneur visa rules as well as based on the questions a client may be asked at a interview (from our experience of clients’ visa interviews). Our experience allowed us to develop an approach to creating the business plans from a Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa point of view. Instead of using standard templates, we focus on what the visa officers want to see, i.e. on what a migrant will be required to do while holding this visa: investment of £50,000 or £200,000 and what your client is going to spend it on. For example, paying yourself a salary is not counted, yet it is very common for clients to do this.    Another example will be including a plan of

A  Business plan is a compulsory requirement for initial Entrepreneur visa applications.   Over the past several years we’ve been dealing with the Entrepreneur visa applications for our clients. As a part of each application, we have to read client’s business plan, ask to make changes and generally, to include the information relevant to the Entrepreneur visa rules as well as based on the questions a client may be asked at a interview (from our experience of clients’ visa interviews). Our experience allowed us to develop an approach to creating the business plans from a Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa point of view. Instead of using standard templates, we focus on what the visa officers want to see, i.e. on what a migrant will be required to do while holding this visa: investment of £50,000 or £200,000 and what your client is going to spend it on. For example, paying yourself a salary is not counted, yet it is very common for clients to do this.    Another example will be including a plan of

A Business plan is a compulsory requirement for initial Entrepreneur visa applications.   Over the past several years we’ve been dealing with the Entrepreneur visa applications for our clients. As a part of each application, we have to read client’s business plan, ask to make changes and generally, to include the information relevant to the Entrepreneur visa rules as well as based on the questions a client may be asked at a interview (from our experience of clients’ visa interviews). Our experience allowed us to develop an approach to creating the business plans from a Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa point of view. Instead of using standard templates, we focus on what the visa officers want to see, i.e. on what a migrant will be required to do while holding this visa: investment of £50,000 or £200,000 and what your client is going to spend it on. For example, paying yourself a salary is not counted, yet it is very common for clients to do this.    Another example will be including a plan