The UK Immigrant Investor Program was created by the UK Government in 1994 to attract high net worth individuals and their families to immigrate by making a substantial investment in the UK. For many high net worth individuals, the “Investor” category is the option they decide to pursue.
As of April 2011, UK Border Agency introduced a three level tier investment option.
The different tier levels are designed to allow those applicants with higher financial resources to gain settlement in the UK faster by giving them the option to invest higher amounts than what was previously available.
To qualify for the United Kingdom Immigrant Investor Program you must satisfy one of the following prescribed investment levels:
UK Immigrant Investor Program
Net Personal Assets
£2,000,000
£10,000,000
£20,000,000
Full Investment
£1,000,000
£5,000,000
£10,000,000
The remaining criteria are:
- Being able to maintain and accommodate yourself and any dependents without taking employment (other than self employment or business).
- You must make the UK your main home. You do not need to spend all your time in the UK but you should spend at least 50% (6 out of 12 months) in order to maintain your visa status.
Investment Options
The investment options available to clients in order to qualify as an Investor in the UK, are the following:
- Full Investment: Applicant must invest no less than 75% of the specified investment amount of his capital in the UK by way of UK Government bonds, share capital or loan capital in active and trading UK registered companies. Remaining 25% balance of the specified invested amount in the UK by the purchase of assets or by maintaining the money deposited in a UK regulated financial institution.
- Financed Investment: Applicant’s assets may not be readily available as cash, or converting them to cash may not be the best financial decision at the moment. Arton Capital is able to help arrange a financing service through a major UK-based Investment Bank to help clients meet the investment requirements. Applicant choosing the financing option must invest the entire 100% in governmental bonds.
According to the list below, the higher the investment (thus the net personal assets required) the faster the client will obtain the ILR.
| Net Personal Assets | Full Investment | Financed Investment | Stay for settlement (ILR) |
| £2,000,000 | £1,000,000 | contact us for rates | 5 years |
| £10,000,000 | £5,000,000 | contact us for rates | 3 years |
| £20,000,000 | £10,000,000 | contact us for rates | 2 years |
Application Fees
The application fees associated with the program are £10 000. These non-refundable upfront fees include legal, and service fees related to the background verification and validation of source of funds but don’t include government application fees.
Citizenship Requirements
Persons who have lived in the UK for 5 years or more can be eligible to apply for citizenship, if they have met the strict residency requirements as follows:
- Absence of no more than 90 days (3 months) in the last 12 months before application. The total number of days absent from the UK for the entire 5 year qualifying period should not exceed 450 days. (Equals 15 months averaging 3 months out of every 12 months. i.e. 75% of your time.)
- Good character including no breech of immigration law.
- Demonstrate knowledge of life in UK and basic level of English, Welsh or Scottish Gaelic.
The Application Process
The below timeline and step-by-step process are based on the legalities that need to be followed for Tier 1 Investor category in United Kingdom, based on an applicant opting for the financed option for investment. Arton Capital has outlined the below timeline by combining current timelines of local government institutions as well as the actual process our clients have experienced.
The procedure can be broken down to 9 basic steps that the main applicant will have to go through. All of the steps are dependent on the successful completion of the previous step.