UK IMMIGRATION RULES
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In sum, the rules as applied to a business investor work as follows
(extracts from the rules and associated documents are attached):-
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Initial application for entry clearance should be made to the
immigration department in Hong Kong, the agents of the Home Office.
Those eligible to apply should be prepared to establish a new
business in UK and be able to show that they have at least £150,000
of personal funds to commit to the business which must itself employ
numbers of UK residents. In theory, they should also be occupied
full-time in the business which should have a genuine need for their
services. A full business plan should be provided to the Home Office to demonstrate viability.
Once entry clearance has been granted the applicant (and his wife
and children under 18 years) will, on arrival in UK, be granted a business visa valid for 12 months, which is normally renewable if the conditions under which the applicant was granted entry clearance
are essentially unchanged.
If an applicant then maintains his entry status for a 4-year period
from the original date of entry, he can then apply for settlement
(residence) status in UK. Commitment to the UK as a residential
base will be considered a strong factor by the Home Office.
One year after an applicant has been accepted for settlement, he can
apply for UK citizenship but this will be delayed if the investor has spent more than 360 days outside the UK during the original 4-year period or more than 90 days during the one-year period after
acceptance for settlement.