If you genuinely intend to carry out entrepreneurial activities in the UK. The Home Office will ask you to demonstrate that you have access to at least £200,000 or £50,000 (from a registered venture capital firm, one or more UK entrepreneurial seed funding competitions or one or more UK Government Departments specifically for this purpose).

You may apply as an entrepreneurial team of up to two people, and share the amount of investment funds required – we have assisted a large number of entrepreneurial teams into the UK, so please let us know if this is an option open to you.

This money must be held in one or more regulated institutions and disposable in the UK.

Entrepreneurs must also meet the Maintenance and English language requirements.

You can apply from inside the UK (if you have a visa that permits this application to be made) or from outside the UK.

We recommend that you consult us at least 4 months before your proposed start date in the UK as a Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) so we can start work on appointment booking and gathering documents for you.

Yes, if you meet the stringent Home Office extension requirements. We offer a dedicated and regulated service to those in the UK with Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) permission.

Please contact us for more information on how we can assist you with an extension application.

If you are a frequent traveller, and/or have family members, we recommend applying via the premium service. This takes approximately 2 weeks from start to finish as long as appointments are available. If you wish, we can also accompany you to the appointment and support you throughout the appointment process.

If you will be unable to surrender your passport for 2 weeks, we suggest use the super premium service. This costs more but it gives you an earlier appointment and reduces the processing time to 3-4 working days from the date of the appointment.

The postal application route would take between 10-12 weeks to process.

Do note that processing times are subject to change, and may depend on Home Office workload.

We recommend that you get in touch with us at least 4 months before your current visa expires to discuss your options and how we can best assist you

IMIN4U are experts in advising and consulting with you on the best way to extend your stay. We are the best placed to assess your individual needs and work with you on the best way to move ahead with your Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) extension.

Generally, yes. However, you must note that any investment in property management or property development will be excluded from the types of investment that can be used. Please contact us if you have any concerns about the type(s) of business that you plan to carry out in the UK.

As part of our initial Entrepreneur consultation, we discuss your proposed business intentions in the UK to ensure that they comply with Home Office regulations. So we do recommend that you book a complimentary consultation to discuss your intentions before you apply.

For initial applications, no – as the money must be available to you, held in a regulated financial institution, and disposable in the UK.

For extension applications, as evidence that the funds have been invested into the UK, you can only rely on funds in the form of a loan if it is a director’s loan, unsecured, and subordinated in favour of third party creditors.

Potentially, yes. The Home Office does try and encourage investment and growth in UK business, so if you have invested part, or all of the money required for an initial application into a UK business, we would need to review the level of investment, the dates of investment and the type of business invested in.

To rely on this provision, you must invest the money while you are in the UK in an eligible immigration category, and make the investment within the last 12 months before the date of application.

Please speak with Imin4U if you wish to rely on this provision as we must check that it meets all Home Office requirements before it can be used.

You can work in another job, but the main purpose of your employment and activities in the UK must be related to the entrepreneurial activities for which you have been granted leave to remain.

Spouses, civil partners, unmarried partners and children under 18 years old may apply for permission to enter or remain in the UK as your dependants. Once in the UK your children may remain your dependants, even over the age of 18 years, provided they remain part of the family unit and have not formed an independent life.

Your dependant family may continue to be treated in line with you, and should be eligible for extension applications at the same time as yours. However, it is important to note, following the regulatory changes to family immigration law on 9 July 2012, the duration of time your partner is required to live with you in the UK to qualify for settlement has increased from 2 years to 5 years.

Where possible we suggest that your family applies for their initial visa or an extension of their stay at the same time as you! If your family cannot apply at the same time as you, additional documents may be required. Please call us on 020 337 11033 to discuss your options.

Yes! There are a number of steps that you must take on arrival to the UK or on grant of leave as a Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) to ensure that you continue to meet the requirements of being a Tier 1 (Entrepreneur).

The Home Office reserves the right to cancel Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) status if the conditions of stay are not met. For example, one time-critical requirement is that applicants must register as either:

• Self-employed with HMRC (The UK Tax Department); or
• A director of a new business; or
• A director of an existing business

You must register within 6 months of entry to the UK as a Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) migrant, or from being granted leave to remain as a Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) migrant.

There are additional requirements that Entrepreneurs must meet – we strongly recommend that you take advantage of our complimentary Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) consultation to show you what you need to do to comply with Home Office regulations.

Yes, if you have created a new business, then at the time of extension you will need to prove that you have employed at least two full time settled workers for at least 12 months.

If you have taken over an existing business, you must be able to demonstrate that your investment has resulted in at least two extra full time jobs of settled workers in the UK and their jobs should have existed for at least 12 months.