Please note that this visa is no longer available for new applicants.
What is UK Investor visa?
UK Investor visa is a kind of UK Business visa available to eligible candidates looking to immigrate to the United Kingdom on the condition that they financially invest a minimum of £2,000,000 in the country. If you meet the financial and other eligibility requirements and your application for UK Investor visa is approved, you will be able to live, study, work, and remain in the country for up to three years with the possibility of extending that period, and even ultimately settling in the UK permanently.
Who is eligible for UK Investor visa?
In order to be eligible for UK Investor visa, you must:
Invest a minimum of £2,000,000, which:
Is located in at least one legitimate financial establishment
Belongs conclusively to you or your spouse (or unmarried partner)
Can be accessed/used in the country
Take out an account at a legitimate financial institution in the country
Be at least 18 years old
Please note that the foreign students who are the following are eligible to apply for the UK Investor visa:
Financially sponsored
Currently in the country
Obtain written consent from their sponsor to remain or return to the country (applies exclusively to students sponsored by agencies/governments who have scholarships covering both tuition and residency.
UK Investor Visa advantages
UK Investor visa holders can do the following:
Work
Study
Apply to extend their visa
Apply for permanent settlement
Unlike other UK Business visas (and many other visa categories) UK Investor visas have no English language requirement, meaning you can apply for one even if you do not speak English.
Length of stay
If you successfully receive a UK Investor visa, you will be able to remain in the country for up to three years and four months, with the possibility of extending that period for an additional two years, for a total of five years.
Please note that UK Investor visa holders who invest £10 million, £5 million, or £2 million can apply for permanent settlement after two, three, and five years (respectively) in the country.
How long does it take to get UK Investor visa?
The majority of applicants who apply for the UK Investor visa while abroad will receive their visa (or their rejection) in as few as three weeks.
Please note that Investor-visa processing time can potentially be expediated, in exchange for a fee.
When can you apply for UK Investor visa?
You should submit your application for your UK Investor visa no later than three weeks prior to your expected arrival date in the UK (and no earlier than three months prior).
UK Investor Visa fees
In addition to the minimum £2,000,000 you must spend as a condition of receiving your UK Investor visa, applicants are also subject to the basic application fee of £1,623.
Please note that this basic application cost does not reflect additional fees related to healthcare, which vary depending on the nature of your application (and other factors).
UK Investor visa restrictions
UK Investor visa holders are restricted from the following professions/activities:
Receiving UK welfare.
Working as a coach or pro athlete.
Working as a dentist.
Working as a doctor (Exceptions apply to 1) Visa-holders who previously were employed as dentists/doctors trainees on a previous UK visa, and 2). Certain graduates who have a minimum bachelor’s degree in dentistry/medicine who received degrees from certain British schools (located in the country).
Required Documents
Applicants for the UK Investor visa must submit the following required documents and materials:
Passport (valid, unexpired, with space for your Investor visa).
“Criminal record check” (i.e. a document reflecting your criminal (or lack thereof) history in the country (or countries) where you resided prior to coming to the UK (must be obtained from any place where you lived for a year or more, within the past 10 years of your application date).
Proof of negative tuberculosis results (applicable exclusively to applicants immigrating from certain countries).
Applicants must submit a written declaration as proof that they possess an account at a British bank, which:
Is written on the financial institution’s official stationery.
Contains both your name and the number of your bank account.
Attests to your having authorized the creation of an account, into which you intend to deposit the requisite £2,000,000 funds required for your Investor visa.
Declares that the “Financial Conduct Authority” regulates the financial institution in question.
Declares that the financial institution has undertaken due diligence to guard against money laundering.
Was sent no later than three months prior to when you submitted your application for your UK Investor visa.
Was sent by someone endowed with the authority to do so (such as a bank employee).
Applicants using personal funds must submit certain financial/legal materials which reveal the following:
The amount of money in your possession and where you are holding it (i.e. what financial institution/account).
The origins of any funds you are using (does not apply to funds that have been in your possession for more than two years).
Proof that you are capable of sending your funds to the UK (if they are in a currency other than GBP, you must demonstrate that they can be converted).
Applicants using funds not belonging to them (i.e. which belong to their spouse/partner) must submit certain financial/legal materials which reveal the following:
Proof of your legal relationship, in the form of a marriage certificate or civil partnership. Please note that you may use the funds of your partner even if you are not married to him/her, provided that you provide evidence of the enduring nature of your relationship (i.e. that you have been together for a minimum of two years).
(From the person whose funds you are using) A written declaration that they are granting you permission to invest this specific amount of money in the country.
(From a lawyer) written declaration that the above letter is authentic.
Please note that the above documents must be written in either English or Welsh (or be accompanied by official translations into one of those two languages).
Finally, please note that the above list is not exhaustive. The UK government reserves the right to request additional documents and materials as needed. Failure to produce any supplemental documents could jeopardize your application.
How to apply for an Investor visa
The Investor-visa application process is almost entirely online
After filling out an online application form, submitting their required documents, and paying their visa fees, applicants will submit their photo and fingerprints (biometric information) at a visa application center.
If you are applying from within the country, you are presumably in the UK on another visa, in which case you will be applying to either switch into the Investor visa category or extend an original Investor visa. In this sense, you cannot apply for UK Investor visa from within the UK—you can only apply to extend a current Investor visa or to switch into the UK Investor visa category.
How to extend your Investor visa
Applicants should apply extend their Investor visa before their previous visa expires. Applying within their current visa validity period will enable them to remain in the country pending the outcome of their application. In this crucial sense, applicants can apply to extend their investor visa while they remain in the country (i.e. they do not have to exit the UK to apply).
The extension requirements are different depending on whether you submitted your initial UK investor visa before or after November 6th, 2014.
If you applied before November 6th, 2014, you may extend your visa so long as you meet the following requirements:
Possess a minimum of £1,000,000, which you have the authority to manage.
Of that £1,000,000 75% of it (£750,000) should be invested in loan capital (in currently operating businesses based in the country) share capital or official government bonds. In summary, the £1,000,000 must be inclusive of your minimum investment (£750,000) and the remainder (£250,000, which can simply exist in the UK bank). Additionally, this money must be:
Your personal funds (or those of your spouse/partner)
On loan from a British bank (conditional on your possession of personal wealth amounting to a minimum of £2,000,000).
(Please note that the above funds cannot be combined)
That you made that investment no later than three months after your ‘Investor start date,’ which must one of the following:
When you arrived in the country (if you know—and can provide evidence—exactly when you arrived)
When you received an acceptance on your initial Investor visa application (specific date)
When you received an acceptance on your switch into the UK Investor visa category (specific date)
You submit a number of portfolio reports on your investment that are prepared by a financial entity that is regulated within the country as evidence of the above requirements (specifically, that you made a minimum investment of £750,000 in loan capital (in currently operating businesses based in the country) share capital or official government bonds no more than three months after your start date, and that this investment remains current and reflective of the original amount.
If you applied after (or on) November 6th, 2014, you may extend your visa so long as you meet the following requirements:
Possess a minimum of £2,000,000, which you have the authority to manage (this money must be your personal funds, or those of your spouse/partner).
Invested the above minimum amount in share or loan capital (in currently operating businesses based in the country).
Made that investment no later than three months after your ‘Investor start date,’ which must one of the following:
When you arrived in the country (if you know—and can provide evidence—exactly when you arrived). .
When you received an acceptance on your initial Investor visa application (specific date).
When you received an acceptance on your switch into the UK Investor visa category (specific date).
You submit a number of ‘investment portfolio reports’ prepared by a financial entity that is regulated within the country as evidence of the above requirements (specifically, that you made a minimum investment of £2,000,000 in share or loan capital (in currently operating businesses based in the country), and that this investment remains current and reflective of the original amount).
Those who meet the above requirements can begin the process of extending their Investor visa in a process that is almost entirely online. After filling out an online application form, submitting their required documents (either online, via uploads, or in person at the UKVCAS), and paying for their visa (£1,623 for the basic application, not inclusive of other fees, such as health surcharge), applicants will submit their photo and fingerprints (biometric information, which costs £19.20) at a UK Citizenship Application Services center.
Please note that applicants who are applying to extend their Investor visa from within Britain should not go abroad while their application is pending (however journeys from the UK to both the Isle of Man and Ireland are allowed).
The processing time for applications to extend an Investor visa is usually eight weeks, however it may take longer depending on the nature of your application (i.e. whether your supporting documents require additional reviewing, you are asked to interview, or you have been previously convicted of a crime). Those who select the £500 expediated service option should receive their acceptance (or rejection) in as few as five working days after submitting their biometric information at UKVCAS. Within 10 working days of receiving notification of your acceptance, you should receive your biometric residence permit, which will enable you to remain in the UK.
Switch to UK investor visa
Applicants who invest a minimum of £2,000,000 in the UK and fulfill the other eligibility requirements can switch into the Investor visa category. Once they have switched, they can remain in the country for up to three years, with the possibility of extending this period.
You can apply to switch to an Investor visa from within the country provided you are on one of these visas:
General (Tier 1)
Entrepreneur (Tier 1)
Any Tier 2 category
Student
Applicants should apply to switch to the Investor visa before their previous visa expires. Applying within their current visa validity period will enable them to remain in the country pending the outcome of their application. In this crucial sense, applicants can apply to switch to the Investor visa while they remain in the country (i.e. they do not have to exit the UK to apply to switch). However, applicants seeking to switch to the Investor from a visa category not on the above list are required to apply from abroad (which can necessitate exiting the country).
The process for switching to the Investor visa is almost entirely online. After filling out an online application form, submitting their required documents (either online, via uploads, or in person at the UKVCAS), and paying for their visa (£1,623 for the basic application, not inclusive of other fees, such as health surcharge), applicants will submit their photo and fingerprints (biometric information, which costs £19.20) at a UK Citizenship Application Services center.
Please note that applicants who are applying to switch to the Investor visa from within Britain should not go abroad while their application is pending (however journeys from the UK to both the Isle of Man and Ireland are allowed).
The processing time for applications to switch into the Investor visa category is usually eight weeks, however it may take longer depending on the nature of your application (i.e. whether your supporting documents require additional reviewing, you are asked to interview, or you have been previously convicted of a crime). Those who select the £500 expediated service option should receive their acceptance (or rejection) in as few as five working days after submitting their biometric information at UKVCAS. Within 10 working days of receiving notification of your acceptance, you should receive your biometric residence permit, which will enable you to enter and remain in the UK.
Family Members
Once you obtain your Investor visa, you may bring eligible family members with you (provided they apply for and receive visas as your dependents).
Please note that only certain family members are eligible to be classified as dependents (and therefore apply as dependents of an Investor visa holder). Family members who are eligible to apply as your family members include:
Spouse or partner of the visa holder.
Child (less than 18 years old).
Child (18+ years old, provided that they are still in the UK when they apply).
Each relative who wants to apply as your dependent on your Investor visa must submit their own application, for their own visa. The application process is different for those applying from abroad versus from within the country.
After filling out an online application form, submitting their required documents (either online, via uploads, or in person at the UKVCAS), and paying for their visa (£1,623 for the basic application, not inclusive of other fees, such as health surcharge), applicants will submit their photo and fingerprints (biometric information, which costs £19.20) at a UK Citizenship Application Services center.
Please note that children who are older than 18 are ineligible to apply as dependents of Investor visa holders if they seek to do so from outside the country. What this means is that if you are older than 18 and you wish to apply as a dependent of an Investor visa holder, you must apply from within the country (and you are only eligible to do so if you came to the country as their dependent to begin with).
If you are planning on switching to or extending an Investor visa, you may find it convenient to switch/extend the visas of your eligible family members at the same time (i.e. within your own application). Alternatively, they can apply to do either at a later date.
Please note that any would-be dependents who hold visitors visas are ineligible to apply as your dependents from within the country.
Applicants who are applying as your dependents on a new Investor visa application (or to switch to your Investor visa as dependents or extend their dependent Investor visa) from within the Britain should apply before their previous visa expires. Applying within their current visa validity period will enable them to remain in the country pending the outcome of their application.
Applicants who are applying as your dependents should also not go abroad while their application is pending (however journeys from the UK to both the Isle of Man and Ireland are allowed).
The processing time for applications for Investor dependents is usually eight weeks, however it may take longer depending on the nature of your application (i.e. whether your supporting documents require additional reviewing, you are asked to interview, or you have been previously convicted of a crime).
Those who select the £800 expediated service option should receive their acceptance (or rejection) by the day’s end of the day after they submit their biometric information at UKVCAS (in the event that their appointment was on a weekday) or in as few as two working days (assuming their appointment was on a weekend). Please note that in the UK, a “working days” include Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday (non-working days include Saturday and Sunday, and all bank holidays).
If you are applying from outside of the country: Once your application is accepted, you will be contacted with that news, and with further information about when you should receive your biometric residence permit, which will enable you to remain in the UK (please note, you must indicate a date when you intend to arrive in the country, and pick up your permit no more than 10 days later of that date (this condition also applies to applicants who arrive on a date later than the one they originally indicated as their arrival).
Please note that children who are born to Investor visa holders who are in the country are not automatically considered dependents (meaning that Investor visa holders should apply to add any UK born children to their Investor visa, in order to be allowed to enter and exit country with their child). Please note that the process of adding a UK born infant as a dependent on an Investor visa requires the submission of that child’s birth certificate (complete with his or her parent’s names).
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