INVESTMENT VISAS

UK Investor Visa Extension 

Before your initial UK Investor visa expires, you may be eligible to apply to extend your stay as a UK Investor visa holder.  The requirements that you will need to satisfy in order to qualify for a UK Investor visa extension will depend upon whether your initial UK Investor visa was granted before 6 November 2014, between 6 November 2014 and 28 March 2019 or on or after 29 March 2019.  Applications for further leave to remain as a Tier 1 Investor can be made until 17 February 2026.

UK Investor Visa Extension: Initial UK Investor visa granted before 6 November 2014

If you successfully applied for your UK Investor visa before 6 November 2014 and wish to extend your stay as a UK Investor visa holder, you will need to satisfy UK Visas & Immigration that:

• You have money of your own, under your own control, in the UK amounting to not less than £1 million;
• You have invested not less than £750,000 of your capital in the UK by way of UK Government bonds, share capital or loan capital in active and trading UK registered companies other than those principally engaged in property investment; and have invested the remaining balance of £1 million in the UK by the purchase of assets or by maintaining the money on deposit in a UK regulated financial institution;
• You made the investment either (i) within 3 months of your entry into the UK, if you were granted entry clearance as a Tier 1 Investor and there is evidence to establish your date of arrival in the UK; (ii) within 3 months of the date of the grant of entry clearance or leave to remain as a Tier 1 Investor; or (iii) no earlier than 12 months before the date of the application which led to your first grant of leave as a Tier 1 Investor;
• You have maintained the level of investment for the whole of the remaining period of your leave.

You will need to submit your UK Investor visa extension application before 6 April 2020.

UK Investor Visa Extension: Initial UK Investor visa granted between 6 November 2014 and 28 March 2019

If you successfully applied for your UK Investor visa between 6 November 2014 and 28 March 2019, you will be able to extend your stay as a UK Investor visa holder if:

• You invested not less than £2 million in the UK by way of UK Government bonds, share capital or loan capital in active and trading UK registered companies;
• You made your investment either (i) within 3 months of your entry to the UK, if you were granted entry clearance as a Tier 1 Investor and there is evidence to establish your date of entry to the UK (unless there are exceptionally compelling reasons for the delay in investing); or (ii) within 3 months of the date of the grant of entry clearance or leave to remain as a Tier 1 Investor (unless there are exceptionally compelling reasons for the delay in investing); or (iii) no earlier than 12 months before the date of the application which led to the first grant of leave as a Tier 1 (Investor) Migrant;
• You have maintained the level of investment for the whole of the remaining period of your leave.

If you invested in UK Government bonds you will need to submit your Tier 1 Investor visa extension application before 6 April 2023.  You can apply for an extension after 6 April 2023 if you move your qualifying investments out of UK Government bonds.

UK Investor Visa Extension: Initial UK Investor visa granted on or after 29 March 2019

If you successfully applied for your UK Investor visa on or after 29 March 2019, you will need to satisfy the following requirements in order to qualify for an extension of stay:

• You must have invested not less than £2 million in the UK by way of UK share capital or loan capital in active and trading UK registered companies;
• You must have made your investment either (i) within 3 months of your entry to the UK, if you were granted entry clearance as a Tier 1 Investor and there is evidence to establish your date of entry to the UK (unless there are exceptionally compelling reasons for the delay in investing); or (ii) within 3 months of the date of the grant of entry clearance or leave to remain as a Tier 1 Investor (unless there are exceptionally compelling reasons for the delay in investing); or (iii) no earlier than 12 months before the date of the application which led to the first grant of leave as a Tier 1 Investor;
• You have maintained the level of investment for the whole of the remaining period of your leave.

Whichever route you apply under, the exact requirements you will need to satisfy will vary depending on your circumstances.

UK Investor Visa ILR

You may be eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain in the UK as a UK Investor visa holder or UK Investor visa ILR after spending 2, 3 or 5 years in the UK.  The requirements that you will need to satisfy in order to qualify for UK Investor visa ILR will depend upon when your initial Tier 1 Investor visa was granted and the amount of your investment. Applications for indefinite leave to remain as a Tier 1 Investor can be made until 17 February 2028.

UK Investor visa ILR: Initial UK Investor visa granted before 6 November 2014

If you successfully applied for your Tier 1 Investor visa before 6 November 2014 and wish to apply for indefinite leave to remain as a Tier 1 Investor, you will need to satisfy UK Visas & Immigration that:

• You have money of your own, under your own control, in the UK amounting to not less than £1 million;
• You have invested not less than 75% of your capital in the UK by way of UK Government bonds, share capital or loan capital in active and trading UK registered companies; and have invested the remaining balance by the purchase of assets or by maintaining the money on deposit in a UK regulated financial institution;
• The investment was made no earlier than 12 months before the date of the application which led to the first grant of leave as a Tier 1 Investor Migrant;
• You have maintained the level of investment for the whole of the remaining period of your leave;
• You have spent a continuous period of either 2 years (if you have maintained an investment of at least £10 million), 3 years (if you have maintained an investment of at least £5 million) or 5 years (if you have maintained an investment of at least £1 million) lawfully in the UK as a Tier 1 Investor, with absences from the UK of no more than 180 days in any 12 months during the period;
• Unless you are aged 65 or over, you have sufficient knowledge of the English language and Life in the UK.

You will need to submit your Tier 1 Investor ILR application before 6 April 2022.  If you apply for indefinite leave to remain on or after 6 April 2022 but before 6 April 2025, you will need to have invested at least £2 million for 5 years by way of share capital or loan capital in active and trading UK registered companies or UK Government bonds. You will only be able to include time from when your investment was increased to £2 million towards your continuous period.  If you apply for ILR on or after 6 April 2025, you will need to have invested at least £2 million for 5 years by way of share capital or loan capital in active and trading UK registered companies or UK Government bonds.  However, any investment must be moved out of UK Government bonds and into other qualifying investments before 6 April 2025.

UK Investor visa ILR: Initial UK Investor visa granted between 6 November 2014 and 28 March 2019

If you successfully applied for your UK Investor visa between 6 November 2014 and 28 March 2019, you will be able to apply for Tier 1 Investor ILR if:

• You have money of your own, under your own control, in the UK amounting to not less than £2 million;
• You have invested your capital in the UK by way of UK Government bonds, share capital or loan capital in active and trading UK registered companies;
• The investment was made no earlier than 12 months before the date of the application which led to the first grant of leave as a Tier 1 Investor Migrant;
• You have maintained the level of investment for the whole of the remaining period of your leave;
• You have spent a continuous period of either 2 years (if you have maintained an investment of at least £10 million), 3 years (if you have maintained an investment of at least £5 million) or 5 years (if you have maintained an investment of at least £2 million) lawfully in the UK as a Tier 1 Investor, with absences from the UK of no more than 180 days in any 12 months during the period;
• Unless you are aged 65 or over, you have sufficient knowledge of the English language and Life in the UK.

If you invested in UK Government bonds you will need to submit your Tier 1 Investor visa ILR application before 6 April 2025.  You can apply for ILR after 6 April 2025 if you move your qualifying investments out of UK Government bonds and into other qualifying investments before 6 April 2025.

UK Investor visa ILR: Initial UK Investor visa granted on or after 29 March 2019

If you successfully applied for your UK Investor visa on or after 29 March 2019, you will need to satisfy the following requirements in order to qualify for UK Investor visa ILR:

• You have money of your own, under your own control, in the UK amounting to not less than £2 million;
• You have invested your capital in the UK by way of share capital or loan capital in active and trading UK registered companies;
• The investment was made no earlier than 12 months before the date of the application which led to the first grant of leave as a Tier 1 Investor Migrant;
• You have maintained the level of investment for the whole of the remaining period of your leave;
• You have spent a continuous period of either 2 years (if you have maintained an investment of at least £10 million), 3 years (if you have maintained an investment of at least £5 million) or 5 years (if you have maintained an investment of at least £2 million) lawfully in the UK as a Tier 1 Investor, with absences from the UK of no more than 180 days in any 12 months during the period;
• Unless you are aged 65 or over, you have sufficient knowledge of the English language and Life in the UK.

Whichever route you apply under, the exact requirements you will need to satisfy will vary depending on your circumstances.