The Tier 1 (Investor) visa allows foreign nationals to have permission to live in the UK in return for an investment of £2 million in the British economy. The investment can be in shares or bonds issued by UK companies. The £2 million puts the investor on the road to settlement in the UK after five years. Accelerated settlement can be held by upping the investment amount: £5m gets settlement after three years, and £10m settlement after just two.

People negatively expect that the application of tier 1 investor route will decrease. As EU passport, offers will eventually no longer come with the right of free movement in the UK, more people will apply for an investment visa to the UK. That’s because many currently use the very liberal citizenship-by-investment rules of other European countries as a back door to the UK — something that won’t be possible in future.

The applicants should demonstrate their £2 million minimum cash asset to get investor visa. This visa route, however, does not require any English qualification and it does not limit them to stay outside the UK. Super rich applicants look to relocate to the UK which is politically and economically stable as they want to educate their children and subsequently work in the UK. The whole point of the UK as a place for high net worth investors to park their money and their family is its relative stability and respect for the rule of law.

The fund can be cash, gifted money, trust fund and money that needs to be resting in their account for two years before applying for investor visa. If the fund is not held for 2 years, you need to prove the source of fund.

Investment visa schemes have been criticised as a possible vehicle for money laundering. These concerns triggered anti money laundering checks and most applicant should clearly demonstrate that the money is not from the black money and it is legally from their labour, shares, trust or assets. For example, if the fund is coming from recent sale of property, the sale should constitute a valid source of funds for Tier 1 (Investor) purposes.

Tier 1 investor visa route is very attractive for super-rich people to come and go to the UK easily. Despite not being a requirement for the initial visa and an extension, passing an English language and staying more than 180 days in any 12- month period is required to settle down in the UK.

By the time their children have studied five years at private school, their kids often speak perfect English but parents can quite often still be struggling. If there have been no improvement in English or was outside of the country for too long, they will have to start their whole clock ticking again from start.