Tier One Investor Visa

Further detail

Detailed information about our Investor Visa service

As specialists in the UK Investor Visa and Westkin are able to manage the process of finding a replacement for new applicants.

Our team of dedicated business visa and settlement lawyers are known for their expertise in this area. They provide training to private banks, financial institutions and embassies, as well as training other lawyers on how investor visas work.

We have a number of languages spoken, including Russian, Chinese, Arabic, Farsi, Hindi and others.

If needed we can arrange introductions to Private Banks and Tax Advisors at the first appointment to ensure seamless advice to you.

We advise that serious businesspeople looking to invest in the UK follow one of the current alternatives until such a time as the route would reopen:

• Innovator
  

  The UK Innovator Visa allows experienced business people to move to the UK for the purpose of setting up innovative and unique businesses.

  Individuals applying for the Innovator Visa must have a unique business idea and a fully considered business plan which has been endorsed by an approved body. Once you have gained an Innovator Visa, you can stay in the UK for up to three years before extending or switching.

• Global Mobility
  

  The new Global Business Mobility visa is specifically aimed at accommodating those who wish to come to the UK to grow their businesses and employ people.

  This visa category visa has been designed to help UK businesses with their business immigration needs, and overseas workers with their individual immigration needs, through permitting the transfer* of staff to the UK under the points-based immigration system. The five categories are:

  • Senior or Specialist Workers required to work at a UK office of an overseas business;
  • Graduate Trainees undertaking a UK placement as part of a structured training programme;
  • Service Suppliers travelling to the UK to deliver a service in line with a UK trade commitment (e.g. GATS)
  • Secondment Workers on secondment to a UK business for a specific purpose (e.g. to transfer knowledge related to a high value import or export and,
  • UK Expansion Workers who will be specialist or senior employees who are on assignment as part of the UK expansion of the overseas business.

• Start Up
  

  The UK Start-Up Visa is open to applicants who are looking to establish a business in the UK for the first time.

  The UK Start-up visa allows international entrepreneurs to come to the UK to start up a new business. Unlike the Innovator visa, the Start-up visa is specifically for those seeking to “establish a business in the UK for the first time”. The Start-up visa is the ideal business visa option for those who don’t have a huge amount of business experience, but want to begin working in the UK for their own company.

• High Potential
  

  The High Potential visa is open to those who have ‘graduated from a top global university’ although the criteria for this has still to be properly defined. In the interest of attracting diverse global talent there are hopes that this will not be limited to list of top academic institutions and that government will follow up on its commitment to consider expanding eligibility criteria to include other characteristics of high potential e.g. high salary, post-graduate qualifications, age, or STEM degree.

  Institutions which rank highly on QS World University Rankings, Times Higher Education World University Rankings and Round University Rankings are likely to be accepted as top global Our specialist legal team has a strong understanding of the requirements of different scientific endorsing bodies, and has worked with a wide range of clients to get their applications approved. We will work tirelessly to tailor your application to meet these demands and get your High Potential Visa granted.

• Expansion Worker
  

  The expansion worker visa replaced the Overseas/Sole Representative Visa. This status is designed to allow for senior employees and others to come to and live in the United Kingdom in order to establish a UK branch of a company.

  This status is designed to allow for senior employees and others to come to and live in the United Kingdom in order to establish a UK branch of a company. The worker must have been employed for 12 months by the overseas company. There is an exception to this, if they are a High Earner, they do not need to have spent a minimum period working for the company.

• Scale-Up
  

  The UK Scale Up Visa is aimed at “opening [the UK’s] borders to top talent”. The route will be open to people who have a job offer from a company considered to meet the criteria of the scale-up route.

  For a London or wider UK company to be considered a ‘scale-up’ and therefore able to sponsor individuals on this route, it must have experienced annual average growth of over 20% in either revenue or employment over a three-year period and have had a minimum of 10 employees at the start of the period. Provided a company meets these criteria they will be able to apply through a fast track verification process to use the route.

  Contact Westkin Associates for a confidential and no obligation consultation. The Business and Investor Visa team will develop an action plan for you.