Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) is a category for people who want to invest in the UK by setting up or being actively involved in the running of a business in the UK.
The category is part of the Points Based System and you must score 95 points to qualify.
THE CATEGORY IS NO LONGER OPEN TO NEW APPLICANTS.
The 2 areas that I find people struggle most with are:
1. Available funds.
2. The business plan.
Available funds:
In short, you need to have either £200,000 to invest, (or £50,000 if provided by a UK government department, UK entrepreneurial seed funding competition or a venture capital firm).
I find that prospective applicants find it difficult to figure out which funds can be used towards meeting the requirement of £200,000. They often assume they need to have this money already in their bank account.
However, the money can be either:
- Your own money; or
- Made available by a third party, e.g. a spouse, partner or investor; or
- In a joint account (only if the joint account holder is not applying for the visa also).
Investment can even be a previous investment made in the UK (if investment made in less than 12 months prior to the application).
By working with you, we can together understand your unique situation and how best to make use of the resources you have available in order to represent them strongly in your favour when preparing your application.
The Business Plan:
From 5th April 2015, it has become mandatory to provide a business plan with the initial application. Prospective clients often find it difficult to draw up a business plan and often ask if we can provide assistance with this.
There are many formats of business plans and even seasoned entrepreneurs can sometimes struggle with consolidating their enterprise into a format acceptable for the application process. Working with you I can help you draft a business plan in accordance with the expectations of the applications process.
You can view the full list of requirements here on the UKVI site.
If you prefer to have specialist personalised help with your application then contact me below for a no obligation chat and we can discuss how we can work together to complete your application.
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