How can I acquire UK permanent residence via investment?

The UK Investor Visa route summarised. For those who qualify, a Tier 1 (Investor) visa provides flexibility to live and work in the UK for an initial period of up to 3 years and 4 months and in more broadly, can provide a path to settlement in the UK i.e. Indefinite Leave to Remain (“ILR”).

Initial requirements:

In order to qualify for an initial Tier 1 (Investor) visa, you must:

1. Be 18 or over at the date of application;
2. Have personal access to funds of at least £2 million which are under your control and free to be invested in the UK in qualifying investments;
3. Have opened an account with a UK regulated financial institution for the purpose of investing a minimum of £2 million in the UK within 3 months of the grant of your visa/initial entry to the UK;
4. Be able to provide a recent criminal record certificate for all countries that you have resided in (besides the UK) for at least 12 months (consecutively or cumulatively) in the 10 years prior to application; and
5. Be able to provide a recent tuberculosis test certificate if you have been residing in a specified country in the 6 months prior to application.

As with any UK immigration application, general grounds for refusal apply and these include, but are not limited to, adverse immigration history, criminality and conduct, and associations.

Note regarding investments:

Certain types of UK investments are explicitly prohibited under the Investor route, for example, investments in companies mainly engaged in property sale, management or development and investments in UK government GILTS

Timeline for settlement in the UK:

1. After 2 years if you invest £10 million;
2. after 3 years if you invest £5 million; or
3. after 5 years if you invest £2 million.

However, it is important to note that in order to qualify for ILR in the UK as an Investor, you must meet a residence requirement. i.e. absences from the UK of no more than 180 days in any 12 month period throughout the overall qualifying period.

The Investor Visa and Brexit:

Following Brexit and EEA free movement no longer covering the UK, we may witness an increase in Tier 1 (Investor) applications from EU nationals.

In particular, there may be a number of EEA and Swiss nationals who are currently residing in the UK based on their Pre-Settled Status but are required to undertake frequent international travel.

These people may notice that the EU Settlement Scheme is only a short-term fix to their immigration status in the UK if they are unable to meet the stringent residence rules for Settled Status before the expiry of their Pre-Settled Status.

Although the residency requirements for Settled Status are similar to those on an Investor visa, unlike an Investor visa, Pre-Settled Status cannot be renewed in the majority of cases.

Due to the flexibility of the Investor visa, it may, therefore, become a popular option for EU and Swiss nationals now and in the future.

How Gherson can assist

Gherson has extensive experience with Investor visa applications. If you are interested in applying for this visa or switching to this category, please do not hesitate to contact us for advice, send us an e-mail, or alternatively, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn to stay-up-to-date.

The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please do not hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.

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