You can apply to extend your stay in the UK under a Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa for a further 2 years after the original visa duration of 3 years. Applications to extend visas must be made before the expiry of the current visa. Under this route, extension applications for Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa holders will remain open until 5th April 2023 and settlement applications until 5th April 2025.
In March 2019, the UK Government closed the Tier 1 Entrepreneur route and replaced it with the new Tier 1 Innovator visa category. This is being introduced to encourage the development of and investments in viable, innovative and scalable businesses in the United Kingdom and in order to drive economic growth.
As of 29th March 2019, the Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa is closed with the Transitional arrangements being applied to mitigate the impact of the changes. Extension applications for the Tier 1 Entrepreneur will remain open until 5th April 2023, and settlement applications until 5th April 2025.
Eligibility Criteria for Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa extension:
In order to extend this type of visa, an applicant will need to meet the following requirements:
- Be registered as a director of a new or existing UK company or as self-employed within 6 months of arriving in the UK;
- To be able to prove you’ve been self-employed, a member of a partnership, or working as a director of a business 3 months before you apply;
- Have genuinely invested at least £200,000 into one or more businesses in the UK to be spent for the purposes of that business or businesses (by way of a director’s loan, share capital or cash);
- Meet the job creation requirements;
- To be able to provide an overview of your business’s activity, details of your role within the business, and the job titles/descriptions for the settled worker employees for whom you are claiming points;
- Any dependents who are on your current visa must be included on your application to extend, including children who have turned 18 during your stay.
You can:
- Set up or take over the running of one business or more;
- Work for your business, including being self-employed, but you should check your work meets the conditions of being self-employed;
- Bring family members with you.
You can’t:
- Carry out any work outside your business, e.g. work where you’re employed by another business;
- Receive public funds or be absent from the UK in excess of 180 days in any 12-month period.
Processing time:
- You should apply before your current visa expires;
- Standard processing times for visa extension applications is currently approximately 8 weeks;
- You will be contacted if your application is complicated and can take longer if authorities want you to attend interview, verify your supporting documents, or due to personal circumstances e.g. criminal convictions;
- Once you’ve applied you can stay in the UK until you’ve been given a decision, as long as you applied before your last visa expired.
