Tier 1 (Investor) migrants
On 22 November 2012 the Government made changes to the Immigration Rules. This is the eighth amendment to the Immigration Rules in eleven months and the third since the Supreme Court ruling in R (Alvi) v Home Secretary. Members of Charles Russell's immigration team were the lead lawyers in Alvi. Amendments are made, amongst other things, to the Tier 1 (Investor) rules. The following is a summary of the main changes, the majority of which are due to come into effect from 13 December:
- Investments that have had loans taken out against them will no longer be accepted for Tier 1 (Investor) applications. Any existing borrowing or security arrangements over investments which are earmarked to satisfy Tier 1 (Investor) applications to the UK Border Agency will, therefore, need to be carefully examined, including the terms of any charge which may have been entered into between banks and Tier 1 (Investor) migrants. We recommend that all agreements which have created or will create a loan relationship between a financial institution and a Tier 1 (Investor) migrant should clearly be shown to limit any security interests in favour of the financial institution to non-UK assets.
- Investments held in offshore custody will no longer be accepted for Tier 1 (Investor) applications. We have always advised against such a practice and the UK Border Agency has now explicitly stated that offshore custody is unacceptable.
- Tier 1 (Investor) migrants will now have their leave curtailed (ie cut short or terminated) if the investor fails to maintain the required level of investment for the duration of his or her leave. Prior to the amendments the UK Border Agency would not penalise Tier 1 (Investor) migrants for a drop in investment funds below the threshold in a particular reporting period, provided the shortfall was made up before the end of the next reporting period. The negative consequence of a failure to make up such shortfall within the next reporting period was the possibility of an extension application (or settlement application) being refused. That is still the case, but there can now be an additional negative consequence: the UK Border Agency will be entitled to curtail a Tier 1 (Investor) migrant's visa if the failure to rectify the shortfall comes to their attention at any time during the course of a Tier 1 (Investor) migrant's leave.
- Tier 1 (Investor) migrants seeking accelerated settlement (indefinite leave to remain) as a result of investing either £5 million or £10 million (ie with the view to settling in the UK in 2 or 3 years, as opposed to the normal 5 years) must provide evidence of the source of their funds to invest or evidence that they have held the funds for three months in advance of the investment.
- The UK Border Agency will produce an exhaustive list of financial institutions which will not be accepted for the purpose of Tier 1 (Investor) applications due to them being "an institution with which the UK Border Agency is unable to make satisfactory verification checks".
- Tier 1 (Investor) migrants will no longer be able to work as professional sportspeople and will therefore have to comply with the Sports Governing Body Tier 2 and Tier 5 endorsement criteria.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
