Tier 1 Investor – a Route to a British Passport

The Tier 1 Investor visa is an immigration route available to individuals who have a minimum of £2 million to invest in the UK. If granted, the visa will allow the individual to come to the UK with their spouse and children (under the age of 18).

As a Tier 1 Investor you can study, work and live in the UK. The visa is initially granted for three years but can be extended. Each time your visa is extended, you will receive an additional two years to remain in the UK.

Your funds will need to be invested in permitted investments in line with the rules. They are complex and you should seek expert advice to confirm that your proposed investments comply with the rules. Essentially, the funds should be invested in share or loan capital in active and trading UK companies. You are not permitted to invest in property or government bonds. There are further rules which are applicable and seeking expert advice is highly recommended.

To qualify to naturalise as a British citizen and apply for a British passport, you first need to obtain indefinite leave to remain and hold that status for one further year.

Depending on the level of investment, you may qualify for indefinite leave to remain after two, three or five years, as follows: 

Level of investment	Indefinite leave to remain
£2 million	5 years
£5 million	3 years
£10 million	2 years

 
To qualify for indefinite leave to remain, you will need to meet a number of requirements. One of these requirements is that you should not have been absent from the UK for more than 180 days in any 12-month period during the qualifying period.

Please note, however, that your dependent spouse will only qualify after five years of residence, irrespective of your level of investment, and your children will only qualify once both parents hold or are applying for indefinite leave to remain.

If you do not qualify for indefinite leave to remain, you can extend your visa instead and wait until you meet the requirements.

Once you have been granted indefinite leave to remain (depending on your level of investment, as above)you may be eligible to apply to naturalise as a British citizen after one further year of residence in the UK. In order to qualify for British citizenship you will need to have resided in the UK for five years and held indefinite leave to remain for one year (unless you are married to a British citizen).Therefore, depending on your level of investment, the earliest you can apply to naturalise is as follows:

Level of investment	Naturalisation possible after
£2 million	6 years
£5 million	5 years
£10 million	5 years

If your application for naturalisation is successful, you will then be eligible to apply for your first British passport.





The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please don’t hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.