Tier 1 (Investor) of the Points Based System
The government has “Rolled “a Red Carpet treatment for investors in order to allow high-net-worth individuals make a substantial financial investment in the UK.
Who can apply?
Anyone can apply under this category and applicants do not need a job offer to apply under the investor category. All applicants need to show that they have the ability to invest £1,000,000 in the UK.
Requirements:
- If applicant is in in UK they can switch to this category
- Extension of former 'investor' category
Points Required:
For the application to be successful, the applicant needs at least a total of 75 points to be able to apply. To obtain points, the applicant must be able to show that:
- They have £1,000,000 of money that is disposable and in a regulated financial institution;
- The applicant must show that they are able to make an investment of £1,000,000 or more in the United Kingdom. This money may be held overseas at the time of their application, or it may already be in the United Kingdom.
- If the money is not held in pounds sterling, they must convert it into pounds sterling to show that they have the minimum investment required
- Additionally, applicants may rely on money that they own jointly with their husband, wife, civil partner, unmarried or same-sex partner (known as partner). They may also rely on money that is owned solely by their partner. They must have unrestricted right to transfer and dispose of the money held jointly and solely by their partner and have permission from their partner to have control of this money in the United Kingdom.
- They have £2,000,000 in personal assets and have £1,000,000 that is in a loan from an authorised financial institution.
- An authorised financial institution is one that is regulated by the Financial Services Authority.
- If an applicant intends to borrow money from an authorised financial institution, and is pledging the investment as security, the level of personal net worth is £2,000,000.
- The applicant may borrow all of their £1,000,000 investment money.
- Additionally assets held by their husband, wife, civil partner, or unmarried or same-sex partner (known as partner), either jointly or in their partner's own name, can be taken into account when assessing their net worth.
- The applicant may not mix personal money and borrowed money in order to meet the total £1,000,000 investment required to score 75 points.
English language and maintenance requirements
Applicants in this category are exempted from meeting the English and maintenance requirements. They will not need to meet the separate English language requirement that applies to most other applicants under the points-based system.
Settlement
Applicants under this category can apply for permission to settle in the UK (also known as 'indefinite leave to remain').
Applications for settlement depend on the applicants’ level of investment in the UK. The applicant must complete a continuous residence period of 2, 3 or 5 years in UK before they can apply for settlement.
During the continuous residence period, the applicant cannot be outside the UK for more than 180 days in any 12 calendar months.
Application for settlement after 2 years continuous residence period:
- The applicant must have had money of his own under their control in the UK amounting to at least £10 million; or
- They own personal assets with a value (once any liabilities are taken into account) of at least £20 million, and have at least £10 million under their control and disposable in the UK which has been loaned to them by a UK regulated financial institution.
Application for settlement after 3 years continuous residence period:
- The applicant must have money of his own under his control in the UK amounting to at least £5 million; or
- The applicant must own personal assets with a value (once any liabilities are taken into account) of at least £10 million, and he has at least £5 million under his control and disposable in the UK which has been loaned to him by a UK regulated financial institution.
Application for settlement after 5 years continuous residence period:
- The applicant must have money of his own under his control in the UK amounting to at least £1 million; or
- His own personal assets with a value (once any liabilities are taken into account) of at least £2 million, and has at least £1 million under his control and disposable in the UK which has been loaned to him by a UK regulated financial institution.
Former investor category
If the applicant has been in the former investor category throughout his permission to remain in the UK, they must show that they have maintained their investments throughout the investment period, with the exception of the period before the investments were made.
Dependents
The applicant’s partner can apply for settlement at the same time as the investor, if they have lived together in the UK for at least 2 years before applying for settlement. The children on the other hand can apply for settlement at the same time as the applicant.