On 07.03.2019, the “Statement of Changes to Immigration Rules” was presented to Parliament & ordered to be printed by the House of Commons. The changes have been brought forward to achieve the dual objective of attracting leading talent & cracking down on abuse. The said changes shall take effect at 0700 on 30th March, 2019.

The key changes are as follows :

1. 1. Some significant procedural changes have been introduced in the UK Tier 1 Investor Visa, which will prevent it being misused by applicants having access to illegally obtained funds. One of the changes is that applicants will now be required to prove that they have had control of the required £ 2 million for at least 2 years, rather than the 90 days previously. However, care has been taken to see these changes do not have an adverse impact on investors who have applied before 29th March, 2019.
   2. The Tier 1 – Entrepreneur & Tier 1 – Graduate Entrepreneur visa categories are being replaced by two new categories :
      (a) Start-up Visa UK : It is for those wanting to start a new business for the first time in the UK. Applicants need not be graduates & are not required to secure initial funding. Successful applicants will get a 2-year temporary visa, but can progress to the Innovator visa UK category after expiry of the UK startup visa.
      (b) Innovator Visa UK : This is for more experienced business people who have funds to invest in their business. However, this funding requirement will be waived for those switching from the Start Up Visa Program UK.
   3. The list of countries now able to benefit from streamlined processing will be expanded to include Brazil, Kazakhstan, Mauritius, Oman, Peru & Tunisia, thus benefiting students from these countries.

Contact Us to understand the new changes in UK Immigration Rules & how they might impact your chances of migrating to the United Kingdom.