Apply for a Tier 1 Investor Visa in the UK
Overview
You can apply for a Tier 1 Investor Visa if you can make a substantial financial investment in the UK. To qualify for a UK Investor Visa, you will need to invest at least £2 million in UK businesses and companies. As an investor visa holder, you are permitted to work, study and engage in business activities. You can also be accompanied or joined by your dependants.
Requirements
You need to satisfy the following requirements to qualify for a Tier 1 Investor visa in the UK:
- You have funds amounting to at least £2 million belonging to yourself, your partner or the two of you jointly;
- The money is held in a regulated financial institution;
- The money is freely transferable to the UK and able to be converted to pounds sterling;
- You have opened a bank account with the UK regulated bank to invest not less than £2 million in the UK.
How long it will take
The earliest you can apply is 3 months before you travel. You should get a decision on your visa within 3 weeks when you apply from outside the UK.
Costs of the application (UKVI fees)
You must pay £1,623 to apply for a Tier 1 (Investor) visa. The fee is the same if you’re extending or switching visas, or if you’re applying as a family member.
Healthcare surcharge
You’ll also have to pay the healthcare surcharge as part of your application. Check how much you’ll have to pay before you apply.
Get a faster decision on your application
If you’re applying to extend or switch in the UK you can pay an extra £500 for the priority service to get a decision within 5 working days.
What visa will I receive?
You can come to the UK with a Tier 1 (Investor) visa for a maximum of 3 years and 4 months. You can apply to extend this visa for another 2 years.
What you can and cannot do
You can:
- work or study
- apply to settle after 2 years if you invest £10 million
- apply to settle after 3 years if you invest £5 million
- apply to settle after 5 years if you invest £2 million
You cannot:
- work as a professional sportsperson or sports coach
- get public funds
You also cannot work as a doctor or dentist in training unless one of the following applies:
- you have a primary degree at bachelors level or above in medicine or dentistry from a UK institution that holds a Student sponsor licence or is a UK-recognised or listed body
- you worked as a doctor or dentist in training the last time you were in the UK
- neither of those conditions were part of the terms and conditions on a previous visa