Residency

New Innovator Visa route announced by the government as a replacement of the Entrepreneur Visa as a residency programme to start a new business in the United Kingdom.

The Tier 1 Innovator visa is aimed at those who can demonstrate relevant experience in business. It requires an individual to set up a new business in the UK. The applicant must be at least 18 years of age and have a minimum of  GBP 50,000 in investment funds if they want to set up a new business. The funding can come from personal savings or gifted from family members.

To Apply for this Innovator visa you must have the relevant supporting documentation and a detailed business plan. The business idea needs approval by a Home-Office-approved endorsing body. They will assess the viability of the business and provide an endorsement letter to submit with the application.

Successful innovators are granted leave for three years at a time and can bring their family members to the UK. After three years, innovators can apply to extend their stay for a further three years or to settle permanently in the UK under indefinite leave to remain (ILR). For each of these three stages (initial application, extension, settlement) Aqua Investments will assist you through the process. To qualify for ILR under the Tier 1 Innovator visa category, applicants are required to meet certain criteria, detailed in the downloadable UK Innovator Program factsheet.

You can apply for a Tier 1 Innovator visa if:

• You want to set up or run a business in the UK. You need to have your business or business idea endorsed by an approved body.
• You are outside the European Economic Area and Switzerland
• You meet the other eligibility requirements (that is, are 18 years old, have sufficient personal savings, and speak the English language)

Aqua Investments will assist through the preparation and application process and then our lawyers in the UK will help with the extension at year 3 and the process for permanent residency in year 5.

Here at Aqua we understand the need of professional advice and guidance to explain the policies and guidelines to you. We are with you for the next 5 years or more if needed to make the citizenship process as easy and comfortable for you and your family.

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE NEW UK INNOVATOR VISA

The full details are not released. The government has specified certain requirements that they will look for. These are:

• Innovation – it is likely they will assess whether the business products, marketing or branding display any innovation. Here a focus on new methods, branding and perhaps most significantly new inventive products or services will be assessed.
• Viability – it will not be enough to simply be innovative, it is likely that the business will need show that it has thought about an made plans to be viable. Essentially this means careful assessment of whether the business will be able to provide the product or service in question, and whether it will be able to maintain cash flow until profitability. It is unlikely that the business plan that does not have a clear route to profitability will be accepted.
• Scalability – this is relevant to start-ups most of all – business plans will need to have clear goals to scale. This is relatively easy for tech companies who are built to scale up from the outset. However all is not lost for companies in other sectors or others who are experts in other forms of businesses. For example, someone who wants to commence a fast food business will clearly be at a disadvantage if there seek to set up a single store which relies on local foot traffic for business. But if the same business, instead sought to open a number of branches of a fast food outlet that had strong branding, had innovative ideas or menu products (ie a normal range of fast food products as well as some that were indigenous from their country) or a strong process in its kitchen, this would fulfil all the relevant criteria.
• Client’s thoughts and plans will need to be tweaked to encourage the 3 elements above in the business plan and in the execution of the business.

HOW TO GET ENDORSED FOR THE INNOVATOR VISA

The Innovator visa will require its applicants to submit a business plan and other supporting documents in order for them to be endorsed. The endorsement will be from a business sponsor and will be mandatory for all applicants. Unfortunately, there are no details on who the sponsors are and what additional criteria they will apply.

Foreign Nationals willing to open a branch office of an existing Company and looking to expand their business are eligible to apply for the Overseas Business representative Visa. A huge benefit of this programme is that there is no minimum investment required.

Once company and personal documents have been collected a detailed business plan needs to be prepared. Once this is done the client needs to prepare for interview and demonstrate a minimum level of English. Once submitted and after receiving the approval of this visa family members (spouse and children under 18 years old) are also eligible to be granted residency. The applicant must be 49% or less shareholder within the existing company or hold a senior position within the company. The company must have been actively trading for a minimum of 1 year to be eligible for this programme. The initial business representative visa is granted for 3 years and then extendable for a further 2 years. After successful completion of 5 years upon achieving the ILR (Indefinate leave to remain) the applicant can apply for British Citizenship.

Aqua Investments will assist through the preparation and application process and then our lawyers in the UK will help with the extension at year 3 and the process for permanent residency in year 5.

Here at Aqua we understand the need of professional advice and guidance to explain the policies and guidelines to you. We are with you for the next 5 years or more if needed to make the citizenship process as easy and comfortable for you and your family.

You can apply for a Sole Representative Business Visa if:

•  You want to set up a branch business of an existing business in the UK.
• You are outside the European Economic Area and Switzerland
• You meet the other eligibility requirements (that is, are 18 years old, have an existing company and speak a basic level of the English language)