Closure of Tier 1 (Investor) Route, with immediate effect

On 17 February 2022, the Home Office closed the Tier 1 (Investor) route with immediate effect. The main impetus behind this decision follows Home Office concerns about security, specifically, whether those applying had obtained their wealth lawfully and legitimately and / or whether they had association with corruption, such that genuine investments weren’t being made in the UK. The Home Office’s view is that the economic benefit to the UK of the Investor route didn’t outweigh these concerns.

As an alternative to the Investor route, the Home Office are going to review other existing routes to encourage legitimate investment in the UK; a prime candidate for expansion would be the Innovator route. However, we’re unlikely to see any changes until at least Autumn 2022.

Applications via the Investor route, that were submitted prior to 17 February 2022, are not affected by the change and will be decided upon in accordance with the rules in place on 16 February 2022.

Individuals that are already in the UK will still be able to extend their stay and settle in the UK, however all extension applications will need to be made by 17 February 2026 and applications for settlement will need to be made by 17 February 2028. After that, the route will be shut down entirely and individuals who don’t meet the criteria for settlement will need to either leave the UK or apply for leave under a different immigration route.

Come and join us at our FREE virtual coffee morning on 15 March 2022, where we’ll be discussing business immigration and how you can lawfully engage non-UK individuals. More details can be found here