How To Apply for a Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa from Egypt

The Egyptian national who is applying for a UK Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa who want to set up a new business or take control of an existing business in the UK must have access to at least £200,000 investment funds to apply for this Tier 1 visa, as well as meet the other eligibility criteria

Who can apply?

The Egyptian national applying for the Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa would be in a potential route to permanent settlement in the UK and can even be used for spouses and dependants accompanying the main applicant. Unmarried partners or any dependent children are also entitled to enter the UK and receive education, and healthcare, as well as seek employment within the UK. However, the main applicant i.e main Egyptian national is not allowed to take employment, and will have to be either a director of a business or self-employed in the UK.

Types of Entrepreneur Visas

1. The Egyptian national must have access to £200,000 – this money can be in your own account or any third party’s account in the UK (see below Third Party Funding)

There are certain other documnets needed in order to satisfy the requirements for applying under this category.

Please contact one of our advisers at Imperial Visas for further information on this category: +44 (0) 20 3627 4777.

Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa Mandatory Requirements:

English Language Proficiency – The Egyptian national t needs to show that he/she has met the English Language requirement at Level B1 of the CEFR in reading, speaking, listening and writing components. The English language requirement can also be met by other documents such as your degree from outside the UK. Please contact an adviser at Imperial Visas for further information: +44 (0)20 3627 4777

Maintenance Funds – All applicants are required to score the full 10 points in this section by providing evidence which confirms that they have sufficient money to properly look after themselves and any dependants whilst in the UK. It is necessary to provide evidence that a specific amount of money has been held for at least 3 months prior to the date of making the application (which may be an initial or extension application).

The Egyptian national must provide evidence that they have access to the following amounts of money to successfully apply for a Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa:

£3,310 for the Egyptian national as he is making an application for entry clearance from outside the UK
£1,890 for each family member

Please note that the applicant must hold these maintenance funds in addition to the £200,000 that is intended for investment purposes into the business.

Genuine Entrepreneur Test

The Egyptian national applying for a Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa needs to meet this requirement in order to show that they are a genuine entrepreneur. The ‘genuine entrepreneur’ test will be conducted by the caseworker at Home Office, taking into consideration the factors set out below when deciding whether the Egyptian national is a genuine entrepreneur:

the evidence theEgyptian national has submitted;
the viability and credibility of the source of the money referred to in Table 4 of Appendix A;
the viability and credibility of the Egyptian national’s business plan and market research into their chosen business sector (this is now a compulsory requirement);
the Egyptian national’s previous educational and business experience (or lack thereof);
the Egyptian national’s immigration history and previous activity in the UK; and
Any other relevant information.

Third party funding – when the funds are held by the someone else other than you the money i.e. £200,000 can still be shown. Thus, it is not necessary for the Egyptian national to show £200,000 of his own money to seek entry clearance or leave to remain in the UK under the Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) category. He can rely on third party funding for the required £200,000. The third parties may be one of the following:

Any corporate body (within the UK or overseas)
Any Family members (within the UK or overseas)
Any other investor (within the UK or overseas)

Please note that third party funding is only allowed to make up the £200,000 to invest in the UK business. The Egyptian national must have their own money to score points under the maintenance section. If the applicant is applying for leave to remain, these funds must be held in the UK.

Entrepreneurial teams

Egyptian national’s can also apply in an entrepreneurial team of two people, but each must have equal access to the investment funds they are planning to invest. They can apply at the same time for the Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa using the same level of funds (i.e. £200K funded by one of the above-mentioned establishments in the source of funds section). Each applicant will still need to pass the language and maintenance requirements individually in order to be successful.

Entrepreneur Extension

You will need to score a total of 95 points, which includes mandatory 10 points for English Language and 10 points for maintenance. The extension will be granted for a period of 2 years leading to indefinite leave to remain.

The points breakdown works as following:

20 points – You will receive 20 points by showing that you have invested £200,000 or £50,000 (depending under which category you made the initial application.)

20 Points – These points will be awarded to you on the basis that you have registered yourself as self-employed or a director of a business in the UK within 6 months from date of grant of your initial approval.

15 points – Will be awarded to you on the basis that you are registered as self-employed or a director of a company within the last 3 months from date of application

20 points – Are awarded to you if you have created 2 full-time jobs for persons settled in the UK. The employees need to be working for at least 30 hours each and must have been engaged in employment over the 3-year period of initial grant for a total of 1 year.

Additionally, you need to score 10 points for English and 10 points for Maintenance requirement.

Duration of Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) and settlement

First-time applicants will be given 3 years and 4 months’ stay whether they apply for entry clearance or switch from another immigration category inside the UK.

Those who are already on a Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa will be granted an extension for 2 years which enables them to complete five years’ residence in the UK; they will therefore be able to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain. All other applicants will be granted an extension of 3 years in the UK.

Tier 1 Entrepreneur migrants may also be eligible for the accelerated settlement route upon completion of 3 years’ time, provided they fulfil one of the following requirements:

Generate turnover of at least £5 million over a 3-year period; or
Create 10 full-time positions for UK-resident workers for a period of at least 12 months

The requirements relating to naturalisation applications have not been affected and even if an applicant obtains ILR upon completing three years’ residence, they would still be required to wait for another 2 years and comply with the residence and other requirements in order to make an application for naturalisation.

Settlement Prospects

Those who have completed a total of five years in a combination of a Business Person visa, an Innovator visa or a Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa will be able to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain 28 days before completing their five years.