The UK Investor Visa
It has been a very busy and successful few months on the Investor Visa front at OTS Solicitors. In March 2019, the Home Office released new guidance on applications for UK Tier 1 (investor) Visas. The top London immigration solicitors studied the Home Office Investor Visa guidance rapidly as some investor client applications for Investor Visas were awaiting approval from the Home Office and others were awaiting submission.
The key consideration in each individual Investor Visa application for the best London immigration solicitors was whether it was in the Investor Visa client’s best interests to submit their application under the old or the new Home Office Investor Visa rules.
The Investor Visa rule changes have certainly caused some confusion for high net worth individuals and their families looking to settle in the UK. After all, it was only in December 2018 that the government announced that it would be scrapping the Investor Visa route to settlement in the UK. Within days, that announcement was overturned but there were promises of wide sweeping reforms to the Investor Visa application criteria and due diligence requirements.
Fast forward to March 2019, and with the announced new Investor Visa scheme rules, the best London immigration solicitors were pleasantly surprised that whilst the new Investor Visa rules are cumbersome and complex, they do still offer a good route to early settlement in the UK. The Immigration team at OTS Solicitors would like to think that their participation in an extensive survey on the proposed changes to the Investor Visa, and the impact of the planned Immigration Rule changes on investors and the UK economy, might have played some small part in the Home Office decisions on changes to the Investor Visa.
The best London immigration solicitors say that with a top London Immigration solicitor on your side, an Investor Visa application can still be the most efficient and effective way to achieve UK settlement.
How can OTS Solicitors help?
London based OTS Solicitors specialise in securing all types of business visas and have a streamlined Investor Visa process for high net worth individuals or their families who want to quickly and discreetly secure an Investor Visa.
The leading law directory, The Legal 500, ranks OTS Solicitors for business immigration services. In addition, OTS Solicitors have Law Society accredited solicitors’ status as trusted specialists in Immigration law.
For information on applying for an Investor Visas or any other aspect of personal or business immigration law, please call us on 0203 959 9123 to arrange an appointment to speak to one of our experienced London immigration solicitors.
OTS Solicitors Investor Visa success stories
When top London immigration solicitors are consulted about Investor Visa applications, it is always thought that an Investor Visa application will involve a lot of time, hassle and paperwork production by either the individual applicant or his team of accountants, financial advisors or personal assistants. However, that does not have to be the case.
Here are two recent case examples of Investor Visa applications submitted by solicitor, Hans Sok Appadu to the Home Office
Case study 1 – the student investor
A student was studying at a London university. The student knew that he wanted to continue his studies and get his degree qualification and that ultimately his life plan was to settle in the UK.
The student was already finding Home Office Immigration Rules and restrictions on what he could or could not do under a UK student visa irksome. He could foresee years of applications to renew Student Visas and then yet more visa applications to eventually secure settlement in the UK. Initially the thought of applying for an Investor Visa had not occurred to him; after all, he was a student not an investor.
After the best London immigration solicitors mooted the idea of an Investor Visa application, the student was initially a bit dubious. His first thoughts were that making an application for an Investor Visa would involve a lot of paperwork and hassle that he did not want when he was trying to focus on his degree studies. However, after all the visa options had been considered, and the potential years of visa applications and Home Office restrictions, the student concluded that the short term hassle of applying for an Investor Visa under the pre March 2019 rules was worth the effort for the long term benefits.
With £2 million of investment monies available, and the necessary provenance checks carried out, the student elected to use the Home Office super premium service. That meant a Home Office official attended OTS Solicitors offices in London to carry out the necessary biometric tests and to check the investment paperwork and trail of documents. Within the afternoon, solicitor Hans Sok Appadu had a happy and relieved student who was the proud owner of an Investor Visa.
The top London immigration solicitors say that getting an Investor Visa within an afternoon all comes down to the preparation work, a thorough understanding of the Investor Visa Immigration Rules, meticulous attention to detail and a good working relationship with the Home Office.
The student’s story will not end there. In order to secure settlement in the UK he will have to comply with the Home Office Investor Visa rules and regulations on what the investment funds can be invested in. With the help of a Financial Conduct Authority, approved financial advisor to guide him on appropriate Home Office approved investments; the student can now passively or actively play a role in his Investor Visa investments and not face the irksome restrictions of a student visa.
Case study 2 – two-year investment history or proof of source of funds
With the March 2019 changes to Tier 1 (investor) Visa applications, many Investor Visa applicants were put off from applying for an Investor Visa because of the misconception that an Investor Visa applicant had to have held the investments for two years rather than 90 days under the pre March 2019 Investor Visa rules.
This was the case with one investor client. He wanted to secure an Investor Visa so that he and his family could settle in the UK. Speed was important because the family did not want to start enrolling their children at UK public schools until they were assured that the family would pass the new Investor Visa criteria and due diligence checks.
The best London immigration solicitors advise that the new Investor Visa rules say that an investor has to:
• Disclose the source of the investment funds where the funds have been held for less than two years prior to the date of the visa application (an increase from the previous 90 days rule), ¬or the applicant has to be able to demonstrate that the investment funds have been held by him or her for two years or more; and
• Get a UK bank or FCA approved institution to confirm that they have carried out due diligence checks and “Know Your Customer” enquiries prior to the applicant opening a UK bank account.
The Investor Visa applicant was dubious about submitting themselves to extensive paperwork enquiries and worried about how long the paperwork trail would take to complete. Hans Sok Appadu of OTS Solicitors was delighted to be able to provide a solution, namely a joined up service of Immigration law expertise working with an FCA regulated institution.
What that meant for the Investor Visa client was that the bank sent a representative from the UK to the investor’s country of origin to certify the length of time the individual had held the investment funds and, if less than two years, to check the documents relating to the source of the funds. The representative was also able to carry out the Home Office required due diligence checks and, as a FCA approved institution, produce a letter that satisfied the Home Office enhanced due diligence and anti-money laundering checks.
The package of:
• Flexibility and convenience of a bank representative sorting out the paperwork without the investor needing to travel to the UK; and
• Assurances by top London immigration solicitors that the source of fund information was only required if the investments had been held for less than two years and the meticulous Investor Visa application preparation
Gave the Investor Visa applicant the confidence to proceed with his Investor Visa application.
How can OTS Solicitors help?
OTS Solicitors specialise in securing Investor Visas for high net worth individuals looking to settle in the UK.
London based OTS Solicitors have substantial expertise in successfully securing Tier 1 (investor) Visas. The Legal 500 directory ranks OTS Solicitors for business immigration services. In addition, OTS Solicitors have Law Society accredited solicitors status as trusted specialists in Immigration law.
For more information on Tier 1 (investor) visas and for advice on making an application or any other aspect of personal or business immigration law, please call us on 0203 959 9123 to speak to one of our experienced London immigration solicitors who will be happy to help.