Investment in the UK won't guarantee citizenship for individuals from outside of the EU/EEA, but depending on the amount you invest, it can significantly reduce the time it takes to secure permanent residency. The Tier 1 (Investor) visa route is designed for this precise purpose and enables holders to settle in the UK after only two years. The UK government want to encourage investors to the UK to contribute to the economy and have made the Tier 1 investor route as straightforward and fast as possible.
This depends on the amount being invested. Under the current immigration rules, Tier 1 investor visa holders can apply to settle (i.e. live permanently without immigration or any other restrictions) after the following period of continuous residence:
Continuous residence is defined as being out of the UK for no longer than 180 days in any 12-month period. After meeting the required period of continuous residence, you can then apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR).
This depends on the amount you have invested. Tier 1 (Investor) visas are granted for a maximum initial period of three years and four months. This means that if you have invested £5 million or £10 million, you may already be eligible to apply for ILR. If you have invested £2 million, if you wish to continue to work towards residency, you can apply to extend your visa for a further two years, at which point you can then submit an application for ILR.
For those who applied for an investor visa before 6th November 2014, to be eligible for an extension, you will need to prove you have:
You will need to provide investment portfolio reports to show your investments were made within the time permitted and this remained in place for the duration of the visa.
If you applied for your investor visa on or after 6th November 2014, in order to extend your visa, you will need to prove you have:
If you applied before 29th March 2019, you can also apply for an extension to your investment visa if you invested your funds into UK government bonds.
To apply to become a British/UK citizen, you will need to wait for a further 12 months after the point you have been living in the UK for five years.
To be eligible to apply for British citizenship, you must:
As part of your application, the Home Office will check how many days you have spent in total outside of the UK to verify you have not:
You will also be able to apply for UK citizenship for your children at the same time, however, each person will require a separate application form to be completed. This is assuming they were born outside the UK or in the UK but before you were granted ILR.
Once approved (which may take around six months), you will be required to attend a UK citizenship ceremony and you will be given a formal certificate of British citizenship. Under the government rules, it is then required that you destroy your biometric residence permit (BRP) when you receive your certificate and return it to the Home Office within five days, otherwise, you may be fined £1,000. At this point, you will also be eligible for a British passport.
If at any point your application is refused by the Home Office, whether when applying for your initial Tier 1 investor visa, a subsequent extension, or for ILR, it is imperative you seek legal advice from specialist immigration Solicitors. They will assess the details of your case to determine the underlying reason for the refusal and how best to proceed. In some cases, it may be faster and preferable to submit a fresh application. In other circumstances, it may be possible to bring an appeal on human rights grounds.
If there is clear evidence of an administrative error on behalf of the Home Office (i.e. if they made a mistake when interpreting the immigration rules), an Administrative Review may be sought. And finally, a Judicial review may be possible if it is clear that the decision made was unlawful.
As stated at the outset, the UK government are keen to encourage high-net-worth investors to come to the UK to contribute to the economy. It is for this reason they have enabled the fast-tracking of ILR for individuals investing £5 million or more. If you are keen to invest your capital and bring your family to the UK to settle, you will find the business and immigration system will be open and welcoming. We wish you well in your new venture in the UK.
It's a shame that you dont have an 'Excellent' star rating on here, as my experience with Reiss Edwards is nothing short of an excellent rating. They handled my application for an Indefinite Leave to remain in April 2014 and did my husband's one very recently including my daughter. Every time i have approached them, they have continued to treat me with courtesy, respect and patience. Amar was indeed a very thorough and professional gentleman. He is very knowledgeable, corporative and engaging. He responded to my emails, calls and enquiries promptly. He was always reassuring. I could not have asked for a better Immigration service. I would recommend them over and over again for anyone looking for an immigration advice. They gave me a free immigration advice when i called them, and the quality of the advice was something other charge thousands for. If you need a particular, name, Amar would be it. He exemplifies, for me, the true, professional gentleman. He is a valuable asset to Reiss Edwards.
I am glad that i instructed Reiss Edwards on my visa matter. It started with a 20 minutes free immigration advice. I met with Amar to discuss my ILR refusal. He gave me a great deal of quality advice and decided to take on my messy case. I had doubts on the merits of my case by he was relatively convinced he could win it. That made me quite secure. To be honest, things did not start as quick as I would have wanted, but they kept on communicating the process and state of things to me.A big thank you to Verusha and Foram. They were also very helpful. Brilliant and informative. Their fee was fair and reasonable, especially if you compare them to other law firms and immigration law firms in London; some of whom even told me that i would not be able to get an indefinte leave to remain in this country. The process was long but was worth it. In the end, a big thank you to Reiss Edwards.
Investing over 2 million pounds is defintely not a routine decision. We had to make sure that the Tier 1 investor immigration lawyers that we'd be picking has to be one of the best within the Tier 1 investor category. We contacted Reiss Edwards and they were able to get us not only the Tier 1 investor visa but also suggested profitable investment portfolios in addition to what we already had in mind.
TI have just had British Citizenship application approved. Prior to making the application, i was not sure which law firm i should hire to facilitate the paperwork. After a few hours of research, i decided to go with Reiss Edwards and i must confess that i wasnt disappointed. The immigration lawyers at Reiss Edwards handled my case well and they really knew what they were doing. They were fully aware of what documents I needed and it was easy for them to tell if my case was going to be easy or not. At the end of the day, I have not received my British citizenship within 3 months. If anyone is looking for a good immigration lawyer to handle thier case, contact Reiss Edwards.
Fantastic Solicitors!!!
My wife's spouse visa extension application was refused by the Home Office and they gave her 14 days to leave the country. We contacted Reiss Edwards and they said "OK don't worry we will sort this out". They put together the list of documents for me to obtain and they prepared a bundle which was as thick as the printer it came out from.We followed everything they asked us to do and in the end we won our appeal and got our spouse visa. We can't recommend them enough and we have promised ourselves never to make any more UK visa applications without them.
The team of lawyers at Reiss Edwards are very professional and friendly people. Their experience in and around UK immigration law is quite extensive; be sure that you application is in safe and competent hands. My immigration matter was an indefinite leave to remain application based on Tier 1 on a self-employment basis. The immigration lawyers at Reiss Edwards made sure that the application was perfect and ready to be accepted. I got a positive decision and I recommend them highly for anyone who needs a UK immigration help.
I contacted Reiss Edwards to help me with my wife's UK settlement visa. They acted with utmost professionalism throughout the entire application. I spoke with Joe Dinh, he is an immigration solicitor and he is one of the best solicitors out there. He ensured that there was little to no room for error. At some point I thought he was over cautious. He remained calmed and continued to assure us on our immigration matter. Most people in his position would have panicked but he was calmed and continued to assure us. We received out positive outcome very quickly.
I have been using Reiss Edwards for three years now for my family's immigration application. Both for my initial application and extension. They are really affordable. The team of solicitors at this firm are probably one of the most efficient and economical in terms of cost. They offered free advice over the phone and spent good time with us before inviting us for consultation.
Reiss Edwards is a top notch immigration service company. The way they handled our documentation and also the list of documents they sent was efficient and top quality. They helped us professionally throughout the process. We are very happy with the immigration advice we received from the team. We highly recommend them.
I used Reiss Edwards immigration lawyers to assist with my immigration matter and that of my family. It was an EX1 application. They dealt with the matter properly and even when complications were coming up from the Home Office, they helped resolve the issue properly. They are very professional and are very popular in London. I am happy to have worked with them.
This is the only firm that i spoke with that didn't ask for money before listening to me, will be using them again.
I used Reiss Edwards for my Tier 2 visa application and it was successful. The team was ever present and happy to answer my question. The caseworker that dealing with my case went on holiday yet by case did not suffer one bit. Another lawyer stepped and took over the case without any hassle.
My Tier 1 Investor Visa was dealt with quickly and without issue. Would recommend Reiss Edwards as an Immigration law firm in London. Thank you to the team.
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