If you are currently residing in the UK and hold an Investor visa, you may be wondering how to extend it now that this route has been closed.
The Tier 1 Investor visa route allowed individuals to relocate to the UK with a minimum investment of £2 million in qualifying UK entities as designated by the Home Office. Usually this meant investing in share or loan capital of active UK companies.
Although this category was closed in February 2022, you may be able to extend your Investor visa for a further 2 years if you already hold one. The application must be made before 17th February 2026.
Applications for settlement (indefinite leave to remain) must be made before 17th February 2028.
Qualifying investments
Your eligibility for an extension will depend on when you made your initial Investor visa application.
Over the years the UK authorities have amended which investments are permitted under the Investor visa. In the beginning it was acceptable to invest in government bonds, later this requirement changed to investing in active UK companies.
The required investment amount also increased from £1m to £2m.
It is therefore very important to look at the correct section of the UK Immigration Rules when making an extension or settlement application under the Investor route as different rules apply to different time periods.
Application process
If you looking to make an application you can do so online, whether you are applying from the UK or overseas. The usual timeframe for this type of application is 8 weeks from the date of your online application, if you are using the standard service. However, if you are looking to get a decision sooner you can use the priority service, which usually guarantees a decision within 5 working days of your biometrics appointment.
How can we help?
Gherson’s Immigration Team are experienced in all of the above business visa applications. 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 don’t 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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