There are a wide range of visas available for immigrants to the UK. The right one for you will depend on your qualifications, experience, finances, your family, and your plans for the future.

Each visa has a slightly different application process and eligibility criteria, but we understand that any application can be stressful. Depending on the visa, you may need to prove:

• Your date and place of birth
• Your education
• Your parents’ or grandparents’ nationalities
• That you have access to a certain amount of investment funds
• That you have a job offer in a particular role or industry
• That you have a viable and innovative business plan
• That you’ve been endorsed by an authorised UK organisation.

We’ll get to know you, advise which visas you are eligible for, and which visa is best to help you achieve you goals. You’ll have our support every step of the way through your application, and we’ll help you move to the UK as quickly as possible.

If you’re living in the UK temporarily and would like to stay longer, we may be able to help you extend or renew your visa.

You’ll have to meet certain requirements to extend your visa. We’ll advise whether or not you’re eligible and help you provide evidence for your application.

If you plan to extend your visa in the future, we can help you plan ahead to make sure you’re eligible when the time comes.

Many visas allow you to apply to permanently settle in the UK and then become eligible to apply to become a UK citizen after a certain amount of time.

The amount of time you need to wait before applying depends on which visa you have and sometimes other factors too. For example, if you have a Tier 1 (Investor) visa, the amount of time you have to wait depends on how much money you’ve invested.

There are also eligibility criteria that you have to meet, depending on which visa you currently have. You may need to prove that you’ve already made the UK your main home for a certain amount of time or that you meet certain financial requirements. In many cases you need to show that you have not spent too much time outside the UK

Our solicitors can help you with your application and proving your eligibility. If you’re not eligible right now, we can advise on what you need to do to apply in the future.

With a Tier 1 (Investor) visa, you can come to live in the UK if you invest at least £2 million here. You’ll also need to:

• Be over 18 years old
• Have opened an account with a UK regulated bank
• Be able to prove that you’ve controlled your investment funds for at least two years.

You’ll be able to live, work and study in the UK. You’ll also be allowed to bring dependants with you, including children under18 and your partner, whether you’re married or not.

As standard, the initial visa is valid for three years and four months. You can then apply to extend your visa for another two years. We can also help you apply to settle in the UK permanently once you’ve spent 2-5 years here, depending on how much you’ve invested.

Read more about Tier 1 (Investor) visas.

If you’d like to start a business in the UK, you’ll need a Tier 1 (Innovator) visa or a Start-Up visa. Applying for these visas is complicated and there are lots of terms that you’ll need to comply with while in the UK too.

For example, you must already have a viable and innovative business plan, and this plan must be endorsed by an approved UK organisation. For an innovator visa, you’ll also need to prove that you have access to at least £50,000 to invest in your business.

We can help you apply for these visas or switch to them from another visa if you’re already in the UK.

Read more about Innovator and Start-Up visas