How To Get Entrepreneur Visa In Uk

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Thanks to a entrepreneur visa UK, business-minded people can come to the United Kingdom and invest in start-up companies over here. Up until last few years, business-minded persons from outside of the European Union (EU) found it hard to bring their investments into this country.

An entrepreneur visa is a category of visa used by foreign nationals to undertake business related activities in the United Kingdom.

The Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur Visa is a business visa issued for one year to residents of overseas countries who are graduates that have been officially endorsed as having a credible and genuine business idea to come to the UK to live and establish their business. To apply for this visa, the following criteria must be met:

How To Get Entrepreneur Visa In Uk

• Do not take any of public funds;
• Be registered with the police;
• Do not get a job in the UK as a doctor or dentist in training;
• Do not get a job in the UK as a professional sportsperson
• Meet the condition to hold an Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) clearance certificate – For candidates aged 18-over when given a visa, or, who will become 18 before the termination of the visa period.

In this article we have explained in details what one should do in order to obtain this visa, the requirements, criteria, application process and other.

Who needs a Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur Visa?

This visa is for foreign UK graduates who are endorsed for entrepreneurial skills combined with genuine and brilliant business ideas, and for foreign UK graduates recognized as elite global entrepreneurs, who want to open a business in the UK. They must not be nationals of any of the the European Economic Area (EEA) member states or Switzerland.

Foreign persons who can apply for this visa type, must fulfill the following criteria:

• They must seek to start a business in the UK within the within the following areas:
  • Sole ownership;
  • Partnership;
  • In a business that is registered in the UK.
• Must not come from the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland;

How to apply for Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur?

Third country nationals will have to go through a certain process in order to be able to obtain the visa. However, though the application process does not change a lot, it still depends on the situation of the visa applicant. A foreigner can obtain the Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur visa in three different ways:

By applying for a Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur visa

This application is done when the candidate is out of the UK and wants to enter the country. In such case, they need to apply for an Entry Clearance or visa to enter in Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur.

By switching into Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur

This application is done when the candidate is within the UK with another temporary visa (known as Leave to Remain) and wants to switch into Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur from such a visa;

By extending their Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur

This application is done when the candidate is within the UK with a Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur and wants to stay even longer. The application to extend the stay in the UK should be done right before the end of the existing visa period, not after the expiration of such visa.

Keep in mind that there is no possibility to get an Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) – to settle in the UK with this visa type.

Application Process for Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur Visa

This visa type is somewhat more specific because it has 2 stages of the visa application, as below:

• The Endorsement (validation) – Where one of the following authorized bodies makes the endorsement:
  • Higher Education Institution (HEI) that is listed as an authorized endorsing body;
  • The Department for International Trade (DIT) as part of The Elite Global Graduate Entrepreneur Programme (Sirius)
• The Visa Application for Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur)

Stage 1 – The Endorsement

A foreign graduate cannot be known for having a genuine and brilliant business idea, or as an elite global entrepreneur, if the aforementioned competent authorities do not endorse them first.

The endorsement letter is not a visa-alike formal application, but is a document, which shows that the education, capabilities, ideas, creativity and entrepreneurial skills of the candidate are evaluated by competent establishments (UK HEI or DIT).

Conditions to get the Endorsement Letter from a UK Authorized HEI

An authorized UK HEI will issue the endorsement letter, if a foreign UK graduate has: