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What is the investor category?

The investor category is designed to allow high net worth individuals make a substantial financial investment in the United Kingdom.

Who can apply as an investor?

Unlike  work permit scheme, you do not need a job offer to apply under the investor category. When you apply you are awarded points based on your ability to invest £1,000,000 in the United Kingdom.

You can apply under the investor category now if you are:

• in the United Kingdom and want to make an initial application as an investor;
• already in the United Kingdom as a tier 1 investor or as an investor under the former category, and want to extend your permission to stay within the tier 1 investor category;
• applying for permission to enter the United Kingdom, under the investor category..

Eligibility

What points you have to score to apply as an investor

To apply under UKBA  points-based system and be accepted into the investor category, you must pass a points-based assessment.

You must score 75 points for access to £1,000,000 that is disposable and in a financial institution, or £2,000,000 in personal assets and £1,000,000 in a loan, which are known as attributes.

How the points different for first-time applications and extension applications

The requirements that you must meet in order to be awarded points differ depending on whether you are:

• applying to enter the investor category for the first time (initial applications) ; or
• applying to extend your existing permission to stay in this category (extension applications).

Points assessment for initial applications

How many points you must score to apply

Points are awarded for the following categories, which are known as attributes:

• you have £1,000,000 of money that is disposable and in a regulated financial institution; or
• you have £2,000,000 in personal  assets and have £1,000,000 that is in a loan from an authorised financial institution.

You will need a total of at least 75 points to be able to apply.

The points available are:

The table applies if you want:

• permission to enter the United Kingdom  in this category; and
• permission to stay in the United Kingdom in this category when your previous permission to stay was given under a category other than the tier 1 investor category or the former investor category.

Exemption from English language and maintenance requirements

You will not need to meet the separate English language requirement that applies to most other applicants under the points-based system. This is because, while you are allowed to work in the United Kingdom if you wish to, you should not need to work.

You will not need to meet the separate requirement for maintenance (funds) that applies to most other applicants under the points-based system. This is because you will have met the main requirements (attributes) for this category and shown your ability to support yourself in the United Kingdom without needing help from public money.

£1,000,000 in money that is disposable and in a regulated financial institution

You must show that you are able to make an investment of £1,000,000 or more in the United Kingdom. This money may be held overseas at the time of your application, or it may already be in the United Kingdom.

If the money is not held in pounds sterling, you must convert it into pounds sterling to show that you have the minimum investment required.UKBA will check this rate using the spot exchange rate on the OANDA website.

You may rely on money that you own jointly with your husband, wife, civil partner, unmarried or same-sex partner (known as partner). You may also rely on money that is owned solely by your partner. You must have unrestricted right to transfer and dispose of the money held jointly and solely by your partner and have permission from your partner to have control of this money in the United Kingdom.

The money must:

• be held in a regulated financial institution;
• be disposable in the United Kingdom; and
• amount to £1,000,000 or more.

£2,000,000 in personal assets and £1,000,000 that is in a loan from an authorised financial institution

An authorised financial institution is one that is regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

If you intend to borrow money from an authorised financial institution, and are pledging the investment as security, the level of personal net worth is £2,000,000.

You may borrow all of your £1,000,000 investment money.

Assets held by your husband, wife, civil partner, or unmarried or same-sex partner (known as partner), either jointly or in your partner's own name, can be taken into account when assessing your net worth.

You may not mix personal money and borrowed money in order to meet the total £1,000,000 investment required to score 75 points.

Points assessment for extension applications

How many points you must score to apply

Points are awarded for the following categories, which are known as attributes:

• have £1,000,000 in the United Kingdom;
• invested £750,000; and
• invested within three months.

You will need a total of 75 points to be able to apply.

The points available are:

Have £1,000,000 in the United Kingdom

You will score 30 points if you can show that you have £1,000,000 or more in the United Kingdom. This should consist of money invested here and any further money needed to bring the total money to at least £1,000,000.

This is a requirement if you have:

• borrowed your investment money;
• used your own money; or
• used joint money for the initial application.

Invested £750,000

There are restrictions on the type of investment we will consider as part of the qualifying sum of £1,000,000. This is so that money is invested in ways that help to stimulate growth in the United Kingdom as directly as possible.

You will score 30 points if you can show you have invested not less than £750,000 of your capital in the United Kingdom in United Kingdom Government bonds, share capital or loan capital in active and trading companies that are registered in the United Kingdom.

The £750,000 must not be invested in companies mainly engaged in property investment, property management or property development.

Investment in share or loan capital in active and trading companies that are registered in the United Kingdom can include investment held in foreign currencies.

Invested within three months

You will score 15 points if you can show that you invested at least the required £750,000 within three months (13 weeks) of your 'investor start date'. The investor start date is:

• your date of entry to the United Kingdom (if you were granted entry clearance as a Tier 1 Investor and there is evidence to establish your date of entry to the United Kingdom); or
• the date when you were granted entry clearance as a Tier 1 Investor (if there is no evidence to establish your date of entry to the United Kingdom); or
• the date when you were first granted leave to remain as a Tier 1 Investor (in any other case).

If you did not make the investment within three months, you will not score any points and any remaining leave may be curtailed.

UKBA will also accept investments made in the 12 months before your first date of application for permission to stay as a Tier 1 Investor. If you first applied from within the United Kingdom, your date of application was the date when you posted the application form or (if you sent it by courier) the date when it was delivered to the UK Border Agency. If you applied from outside the UK, your date of application was the date when you paid your application fee and your biometric details were taken.

You must also show that the minimum investment of £750,000 was maintained at that level throughout the period of your permission to stay (from the date that you made the investment). You do not have to have kept the same investment(s) that you made when you entered this category, but you must have kept the same level of investment.

If the value of any investment in stocks or shareholdings is reduced by changes in share prices, it must be corrected by the next reporting period, so that the overall value of these investments has been maintained throughout your permission to stay.

The requirement to have made the investment within three months does not apply if your previous permission to stay was granted under the former Investor category. As long as you have made the investment before applying to extend your permission to stay, you will score the 15 points.

When and how to apply

For applications made inside the United Kingdom

If you are already in the United Kingdom, you should apply to stay as soon as possible and before your current leave runs out. We encourage you to apply one month before your leave runs out.

Application date by post

The date of postage is used as the date of application.

The date of an application made by post is decided by the postmark. The payment handling service attaches the original envelope with all postal applications. If the envelope in which the application was posted is missing, or if the postmark is illegible, the date of postage is taken as at least one day before its receipt. The day of receipt is normally the date the payment handling service processed the fee. If there is any uncertainty, you will be given the benefit of the doubt.

Application date by courier

If you send your application by courier, the date it is received at the payment handling service is used as the date of application.

The payment handling service attaches the original envelope with all postal applications. The payment handling service includes the date of delivery for all applications by courier.

Application in person

UKBA do not currently offer this service. If you would like to apply under the investor category, you must complete the application form and send it by post. The service for applying in person may be available in the future.

For applications made outside the United Kingdom

The date of the application is the date that the fee associated with the application is paid. This means the date shown on your payment receipt, which depends on how you paid for your visa application, for example, at British Diplomatic Post, visa application centre or online..

How to apply if you are already in the United Kingdom

The process for applying is:

Step 1: complete a self-assessment online using our points-based calculator to find out if you are likely to score enough points.

Step 2: fill in the investor application form.

Step 3: send it to us with your fee and supporting evidence.

UKBA strongly advise you to send all supporting documents with your application. They will not consider any evidence sent in after they  have made a decision.

If you are sending any dependant applications at the same time as your own application, UKBA encourage you to send your application and dependant applications in the same envelope.

The immigration categories from which you can switch into the investor category

If you are in the United Kingdom and wish to stay as an investor, you will need to be sure that you can switch into this category.

Switching into this category is allowed if you currently hold leave in the following categories:

• a skilled worker (tier 2 General);
• an intra-company transferee (tier 2);
• a minister of religion (tier 2);
• a sportsperson (tier 2);
• a highly skilled migrant;
• a highly skilled worker (tier 1);
• an entrepreneur (tier 1);
• a post-study worker (tier 1);
• a business person;
• an innovator;
• a student;
• a student nurse;
• a student re-sitting an examination;
• a student writing up a thesis;
• a work permit holder;
• a writer, composer or artist;
• an investor.

If you are given leave to remain (permission to stay) as an investor, you will be able to live and work in the United Kingdom for a maximum period of three years. When the end of this period approaches you will need to apply to extend your stay as an investor.

The conditions you must meet to extend your stay if you apply and are already in the United Kingdom

Leave to remain (permission to stay) is subject to the following conditions:

• you must have no recourse to public funds, which means you will not be able to claim most benefits paid by the state; 
• you must register with the police if this is needed by paragraph 326 in part 10 of the immigration rules; and
• you may not be not employed as a doctor in training.

If you are currently here with permission to stay under the former investor category (the one that was available before we introduced the tier 1 investor category), you are excluded from getting work in the United Kingdom. This is unless you can make a successful application under the tier 1 investor category and are given permission to extend your stay by moving into this category.

If you are already in the United Kingdom and are sending any dependant applications at the same time as your own application, we encourage you to send your application and dependant applications in the same envelope.

How to apply if you are in the Channel Islands or Isle of Man

The Channel Islands (Jersey, Guernsey, Herm, Sark, and Alderney) and the Isle of Man have their own immigration laws and policies, separate to those of the United Kingdom. For immigration control, UKBA treat these islands as outside the United Kingdom.

If you are living within the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man, and have been granted permission to stay (leave to remain) there by one of the island authorities, you will not be able to make an application for leave to remain in the United Kingdom as an investor directly from the islands.

In these circumstances, you can apply under Tier 1 (Investor) in two ways. These are:

• by returning to the country where you are normally resident (your home country) and applying for permission come to the United Kingdom (entry clearance) from there; or
• if your permission to stay on one of the islands is still current, you can come directly to the United Kingdom. Once you are in the United Kingdom, you may apply to switch into Tier 1 (Investor) provided the immigration category under which you were given permission to stay on the islands is one from which United Kingdom immigration law allows you to switch into Tier 1 (Investor). This is because, once you have travelled to the United Kingdom, UKBA  are able to treat the leave given to you under the island laws as if it had been granted by the United Kingdom authorities.

The immigration categories from which you can switch are listed in the section above. You must make your application to switch into Tier 1 (Investor) before your current leave to remain in the islands expires.

In certain circumstances, overseas nationals living on the islands must obtain a visa (entry clearance) before travelling to the United Kingdom.

How to apply if you are outside the United Kingdom

The process for applying if you are outside the United Kingdom is:

Step 1: complete a self-assessment online using our points-based calculator to find out if you are likely to score enough points.

Step 2: go to the visa services website, which you can find on the right of this page, to find out if you must submit any personal details in the country you are applying from and to find the application form.

Step 3: take or send your form(s), fee and supporting evidence to the visa application centre. You must also arrange to give your biometrics, which are usually taken at the visa application centre.

UKBA strongly advise you to bring all supporting documents with your application. We will not consider any evidence provided after we have made a decision.

If you are granted entry clearance as an investor from outside of the United Kingdom, you will be able to live and work in the United Kingdom for a maximum period of three years. When the end of this period approaches you will need to apply to extend your stay as an investor.

The conditions you must meet if you apply from outside the United Kingdom

Leave to remain (permission to stay) is subject to the following conditions:

• you may have no recourse to public funds, which means you will be unable to claim most benefits paid by the state; and
• you must register with the police if this is needed by paragraph 326 of the immigration rules;
• you may not be employed as a doctor in training.

What information you will need for an initial application

To fill in the tool, you will need information about your:

• £1,000,000 in money that is disposable in the United Kingdom and in a regulated financial institution, or
• £2,000,000 in personal assets and £1,000,000 that is in a loan from an authorsied financial institution (one regulated by the Financial Services Authority).

What information you will need for an extension application

To fill in the tool, you will need information about your:

• £1,000,000; and
• investment of £750,000; and
• investment within three months of entering the category or you were under the previous investor category.

Once you have filled in all the questions, your points are calculated. You must score a total of 75 points.

The UK Border Agency and UK NARIC now recognise the INSEAD MBA at Master's degree level and award points at that level.