ILR As A Tier 1 Entrepreneur

• Page Contents
• Overview
• Specialist Tier 1 Entrepreneur
  Visa Solicitors
• Requirements For ILR
• ILR Accelerated Route
• Points Table For ILR
• Investment Of Funds
• Creation Of Jobs
• Genuine Entrepreneur Test
• Absences From The UK
• Knowledge of Life and Language For ILR
• How Can We Help?
• Our Fixed Fees

You can apply for ILR as a Tier 1 Entrepreneur either after 5 years residence in the UK or after 3 years residence under the accelerated route to settlement. You can apply for ILR as Tier 1 Entrepreneur by completing an online application form for ILR as Tier 1 Entrepreneur. Applicants who wish to apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) in the future under Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa category should ensure that they do not have excessive absences from the UK and can meet the specific Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) ILR requirements. An application for ILR as a Tier 1 Entrepreneur migrant can only be submitted through standard service as the Home Office UKVI do not offer Super Priority Service for ILR as a Tier 1 Entrepreneur migrant. An application submitted to the Home Office using standard service is normally decided by the Home Office UKVI within 3 to 6 months.

Existing Tier 1 Entrepreneur applicants can apply for ILR as Tier 1 Entrepreneur before 6 April 2025. However, Tier 1 Entrepreneur Migrant who switched from Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur can apply for ILR as Tier 1 Entrepreneur Migrant before 6 July 2027.

Specialist Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa Solicitors

We have specialist team of immigration solicitors to deal with Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa ILR applications. As specialist Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa solicitors, our immigration solicitors have wealth of knowledge and experience in dealing with application for ILR as a Tier 1 Entrepreneur migrant.  Our experienced and highly rated immigration solicitors can provide expert immigration advice and legal representations on fixed fee basis concerning your application for ILR as a Tier 1 Entrepreneur migrant. Our immigration solicitors can help application for ILR under standard route (5 years route) or ILR under accelerated route (3 years route).

Ask a question to our specialist team of work visa solicitors for free immigration advice online or book an appointment online for detailed immigration advice with our specialist work visa solicitors for your application for ILR as a Tier 1 Entrepreneur.

Requirements For ILR As A Tier 1 Entrepreneur Migrant

You can apply Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) as Tier 1 Entrepreneur Migrant if:

• You currently have a Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa
• You must have created 2 jobs during your last grant of leave (10 jobs if you are applying under the accelerated route to settlement)
• You must be a genuine entrepreneur
• you’ve been living in the UK for 5 years, (or 3 years if are applying under the accelerated route to settlement)
• You must not have been absent from the UK for more than 180 days in any 12 months
• You must have passed the Life in the UK test
• You must meet the English language requirement
• Your application must not fall for refusal under the general grounds for refusal
• You must mut not be in breach of UK immigration laws except where paragraph 39E of the Immigration Rules applies

ILR As Tier 1 Entrepreneur Under Accelerated Route

You can apply for ILR as Tier 1 Entrepreneur Migrant under the accelerated route after 3 years residence if you have either created 10 jobs for settled workers for 12 months or your buinsess turnover in 3 yeras is not less than £5 million. You can apply for ILR under the Accelerated Route up to 28 days before you complete 3 years residence in the UK as a Tier 1 Entrepreneur Migrant. Existing Tier 1 Entrepreneur applicants can apply for ILR as Tier 1 Entrepreneur before 6 April 2025. However, Tier 1 Entrepreneur Migrant who switched from Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur can apply for ILR as Tier 1 Entrepreneur Migrant before 6 July 2027. 

You cannot combine a Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) leave with leave in any other category to meet the continuous leave requirement. Your qualifying period can include time from the date when your initial application (for entry clearance or leave to remain) was approved.

You can apply Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) as Tier 1 Entrepreneur Migrant under accelerated route if:

• You currently have a Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa
• You must have You have created 10 jobs for settled workers for 12 consecutive months and invested £200,000 funds in your business; OR
• You have created two jobs for settled workers and invested £200,000 funds in the business and the turnover of the business in the last 3 years was not less than £5 millions;
• You must be a genuine entrepreneur
• you’ve been living in the UK for 3 years
• You must not have been absent from the UK for more than 180 days in any 12 months
• You must have passed the Life in the UK test
• You must meet the English language requirement
• Your application must not fall for refusal under the general grounds for refusal
• You must mut not be in breach of UK immigration laws except where paragraph 39E of the Immigration Rules applies

It is very common for applicants to apply for ILR under the accelerated route based on creating 10 jobs for settled workers and investing £200,000 funds in the business.

Points Table For ILR As Tier 1 Entrepreneur?

Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa is a Points Based visa category and points can be awarded for the Attributes Section for the grant of ILR to the Tier 1 Entrepreneur Migrant. A Tier 1 Entrepreneur migrant should score 75 points in total from Attributes Section to qualify for ILR as a Tier 1 Entrepreneur migrant. The breakdown of the required points for ILR as a Tier 1 Entrepreneur migrant is given in the points table below:

Investment Of Funds In The UK Business

Unless the applicant is apply for ILR under the Accelerated route, the requirement of investment of required funds into the business would have been met in the Tier 1 Entrepreneur extension application stage and the applicant does not need to provide any evidence at ILR stage to satisfy the investment of funds requirement.

Creation Of Jobs For ILR Application

A person applying for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) as Tier 1 Entrepreneur must create jobs in his/her UK business. If the applicant established a new business or businesses or invested in an existing
business, they must have created the equivalent of 2 extra full-time paid jobs for at least 2 people who meet the definition of settled workers in the Immigration Rules at the time their employment starts. Each job must have existed for at least 12 months.

The Home Office defines full-time as a 30-hour working week.

If they are self-employed, they must employ the workers directly. If they are a director of a company or member of a partnership, they must have created 2 new posts. Both team members of an entrepreneurial team can use the same evidence for creating employment.

Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) migrants who invest in the same business and are not part of an entrepreneurial team may not use the same evidence of job creation. If the applicant is not the sole partner or director of the business or businesses, they must confirm:

• the dates that any other Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) migrants became a director of the company/member of the partnership
• whether the applicant and the other Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) migrant are team members who will be sharing evidence of job creation

A single job need not consist of 12 consecutive months (for example it could exist for 6 months in one year and 6 months the following year), providing it is the same job (different jobs that have existed for less than 12 months cannot be combined together to make up a 12 month period). The jobs need not exist at the date of application, provided they have existed for 12 months. The jobs must comply with the UK regulations, including the working time directive. Self-employed contractors who are working for the business do not count when awarding points.

Job Creation: Settlement applications where applicant’s last extension was granted under the concession for businesses impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic

In respect of an applicant who was granted a Covid related extension of leave, to qualify for settlement, applicants will be required to demonstrate that they have created 2 full time jobs for the 12 month period in addition to the existing job creation requirement for settlement. For example where they are relying on having created 2 full time jobs for settled workers that existed in 12 months during their most recent grant of leave, they will also be required to show that 2 full time jobs existed for an additional 12 months, these can be the same jobs, providing they meet the requirement of existing for at least a further 12 months.

Job Creation: Accelerated Route To ILR

If an applicant makes an application for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) through the accelerated route and rely on creation of jobs criteria, they must create at least 10 jobs for settled workers during their last grant of leave as Tier 1 Entrepreneur.

Genuine Entrepreneur Test

Migrants making an application for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) are subject to a genuine entrepreneur test.

To meet the requirements of genuine entrepreneur test, the Home Office UKVI must be satisfied that the migrant:

• has established, taken over or become a director of one or more genuine businesses in the UK, and has genuinely operated that business or businesses while they had leave as a Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) Migrant
• has genuinely invested the money referred to in table 6 of appendix A into one or more businesses in the UK to be spent for the purpose of that business or businesses
• genuinely intends to continue operating one or more businesses in the UK

In assessing the genuineness, the Home Office UKVI may take into account the following:

• the evidence that the applicant submits in support of the ILR application
• the viability and credibility of the source of the money referred to in table 5 of appendix A of the Immigration Rules
• the credibility of the financial accounts of applicant's business or businesses
• the credibility of the applicant's business activity in the UK
• the credibility of the job creation which the applicant is claiming points for
• if the nature of the business requires mandatory accreditation, registration and/or insurance, whether that accreditation, registration and/or insurance has been obtained
• any other relevant information

The Home Office UKVI may request additional information to support the assessment of the ILR application and can refuse the ILR application if the evidence is not provided. Any requested documents must be received by the Home Office UKVI within 28 calendar days of the date of request. Also, the applicant must comply with any request made by the Home Office UKVI to attend an interview, unless a reasonable explanation is provided as to why the applicant cannot comply.

Absences From The UK

You cannot have had more than 180 days’ absence from the United Kingdom during any consecutive 12 months of the qualifying period. You will need to list details of your absences from the United Kingdom, including the reasons for those absences, on the ILR application form but you will not need to provide any specified evidence to support this.

Whatever the reason for absences from the United Kingdom, they will still be counted towards the maximum 180 days. This includes any absences for work reasons, or serious and compelling reasons. The only exception is where you have been absent from the United Kingdom assisting with a national or international humanitarian or environmental crisis overseas, such as the Ebola crisis which began in West Africa in 2014 and you can provide evidence that this was the purpose of the absence.

You can include the time between your entry clearance being granted and you entering the United Kingdom as part of your continuous period. Absences between the date entry clearance being granted and you entering the United Kingdom are treated as an absence from the United Kingdom and will form part of the 180 days allowed within a continuous 12 month period.
For example, if you entered the United Kingdom 100 days after you obtained entry clearance and have a further 81 days absence during the remainder of the continuous 12 month period, you will have exceed the number of absences permitted from the United Kingdom. You would therefore not qualify for settlement 5 years or 3 years (as appropriate) after the date you obtained entry clearance. You would need to wait until a date where none of the qualifying period included absences of more than 180 days in any consecutive 12 month period, before you could qualify for ILR as Tier 1 Entrepreneur.

If you have been outside of the United Kingdom for more than 180 days in any consecutive 12 month period, this will break the continuous period and you will need to start the qualifying period for settlement again. If this happens you may need to obtain a further extension of Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa to reach your continuous period in the United Kingdom.

For ILR applications made from 11 January 2018, Home Office UKVI will consider absences from the UK on a rolling basis, rather than in separate consecutive 12-month periods. If your qualifying period includes leave granted before this date any absences during that leave will be considered under the previous rules – in separate 12-month periods, ending on the same date as you make your ILR application. For example:

You apply for ILR as Tier 1 Eentrepreneur on 30 June 2020. Your continuous period includes the following grants of leave:

• One grant of leave from 1 July 2015 to 28 July 2018 – Any absences during this grant of leave will be considered in separate 12 month periods, ending on 30 June each year.
• One grant of leave from 29 July 2018 to 30 June 2020 – Any absences during this grant of leave will be considered on a rolling basis. Home Office UKVI will not include any absences from the previous grant of leave when they assess this.

Knowledge of Life and Language For ILR As Tier 1 Entrepreneur

When you apply for ILR as Tier 1 Entrepreneur, you are required to show that you have knowledge of life and language in the United Kingdom before you can be granted ILR (unless you fall under an exemption). You can demonstrate the knowledge of Life and Language by passing both the Life in the UK Test and holding an English speaking and listening qualification at level B1 or above.

How Can We Help?

Our expert team of Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa solicitors can provide immigration advice and legal representations for your application for ILR as Tier 1 Entrepreneur and carry out all the work on your ILR application until a decision is made by the Home Office on your ILR application. The work to  be carried out by our Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa solicitors on your ILR application will entail the following:

• Our work visa solicitors will assess your eligibility for ILR as Tier 1 Entrepreneur by considering all the relevant information;
• Our work visa solicitors will advise you on the relevant requirements, documents, procedures and costs involved in your ILR application;
• Our work visa solicitors will assess the documents provided by you to be submitted in support of your ILR application and advise you on the same;
• Our work visa solicitors will provide you with the templates of the appropriate documents to be submitted in support of the application e.g. letter from the Accountant etc.
• Our work visa solicitors will complete the online application and submit your ILR application online;
• Our work visa solicitors will book your appointment with the UKVCAS Sopra Steria Centre for verification of documents and enrolment of your biometrics;
• Our work visa solicitors will prepare a detailed cover letter in support of your ILR application explaining how the relevant legal requirements are being satisfied in the light of the documents being submitted with the ILR application;
• Our work visa solicitors will upload all the supporting documents to the UKVCAS online portal in support of your ILR application;
• Our work visa solicitors will deal with any enquiries received from the Home Office UKVI while the ILR application is pending with the Home Office UKVI;
• Our work visa solicitors will carry out all the follow-up work on the ILR application until decision on your ILR application is received from the Home Office UKVI.

Our Fixed Fees For Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa Applications