SETTLEMENT BY INVESTMENT

The UK no longer offers an immigration route under which a new applicant can obtain residence simply by investing a specified sum of money. The former Tier 1 Investor and Tier 1 Entrepreneur routes are closed to new applicants.

However, limited transitional provisions remain available to some people who previously entered these routes. Existing Tier 1 Investors may still be able to qualify for indefinite leave to remain, also known as settlement or ILR, provided they meet the relevant requirements and apply before the final settlement deadline. A much narrower group of former Tier 1 Entrepreneurs can also still qualify for settlement.

The remaining deadlines are important. A Tier 1 Investor settlement application must be made before 17 February 2028. For Tier 1 Entrepreneurs, the ordinary settlement deadline has already passed. Only applicants who previously held leave as a Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur remain within the normal transitional settlement provisions, and they must apply before 6 July 2027.

The requirements governing these legacy routes have changed repeatedly. Eligibility can depend on the date of the applicant’s original grant of permission, their immigration history, investment or business activity, residence in the UK and the evidence available at the date of application.

1. Is Settlement by Investment Still Available in the UK?

There is no longer a UK immigration category open to new applicants which provides residence solely because an applicant is willing to make a passive investment in the UK.

The Tier 1 Investor route closed to new applicants at 4.00pm on 17 February 2022. It is therefore no longer possible for a person who has never held Tier 1 Investor permission to apply for an Investor visa or switch into the route.

The Tier 1 Entrepreneur route is also closed. New entrepreneurs wishing to establish or develop a business in the UK must consider the immigration routes that are currently available rather than applying under the former Tier 1 system.

The closure of these routes did not immediately remove the settlement rights of everyone who had already entered them. Transitional arrangements have allowed qualifying migrants to progress towards ILR for a limited period.

The current position is therefore best understood as a legacy settlement regime, rather than a current investment migration programme.

Whether an individual can still qualify will depend first on which former Tier 1 route they held and whether they remain within the applicable settlement deadline.

2. Tier 1 Investor Settlement: Applications Before February 2028

Existing Tier 1 Investor migrants may still be able to apply for indefinite leave to remain.

The deadline for applying for further entry clearance or permission to stay as a Tier 1 Investor passed on 17 February 2026. It is therefore no longer possible to make a new Tier 1 Investor extension application.

Settlement remains possible for eligible investors, but paragraph 245EF of the Immigration Rules requires the settlement application to be made before 17 February 2028. An application made on 17 February 2028 itself would be too late.

This final deadline can be particularly important for an investor whose current immigration permission expires before they have completed the relevant settlement qualifying period. Since the extension route has now closed, the timing of the applicant’s existing permission, qualifying period and proposed settlement application should be reviewed carefully.

Who Can Still Apply for Tier 1 Investor ILR?

A Tier 1 Investor will generally need to satisfy requirements relating to:

• Their qualifying investment;
• The period for which the required investment was maintained;
• Their period of lawful residence as a Tier 1 Investor;
• Their absences from the UK;
• Their knowledge of English and life in the UK;
• Their immigration history and suitability; and
• The ownership, control, source and movement of the investment funds where relevant.

The investment and evidential rules depend in part on when the applicant originally entered the Tier 1 Investor route.

For a current settlement application, the principal investment thresholds are:

An investor relying on accelerated settlement must have maintained the higher qualifying investment for the relevant period. Simply increasing an investment to £5 million or £10 million shortly before applying for ILR will not normally allow the whole of an earlier period at the lower investment level to count towards accelerated settlement.

Our detailed Tier 1 Investor Visa ILR guide explains the investment, residence, documentary and transitional requirements in greater detail.

Qualifying Investments and UK Government Bonds

The present rules for qualifying investments are materially different from those which applied during the earlier years of the Tier 1 Investor route.

Current settlement applications will ordinarily need to rely on qualifying share capital or loan capital in active and trading UK-registered companies.

Investors whose initial Tier 1 Investor permission was granted on or after 29 March 2019 cannot rely on UK Government bonds as qualifying investments.

Earlier investors also face an important transitional cut-off. Where the settlement application is made now, no points will be awarded for investments that remained in UK Government bonds on or after 6 April 2025.

An investor who previously held gilts should therefore establish exactly when the bonds were disposed of, how the proceeds were reinvested and whether the required level of qualifying investment was maintained throughout the relevant period.

The definition of an active and trading UK-registered company has also tightened. The underlying companies relied upon should be reviewed against the requirements that apply at the settlement stage rather than assuming that an investment which was acceptable under an earlier version of the Rules will necessarily remain qualifying.

Given the final settlement deadline, gaps or defects in an investment portfolio should be identified well before the ILR application is submitted.

3. Tier 1 Entrepreneur Settlement: The Remaining 2027 Cohort

The Tier 1 Entrepreneur route is also a legacy route.

For most former Tier 1 Entrepreneurs, the deadline for applying for indefinite leave to remain was before 6 April 2025 and has therefore passed.

A limited transitional category remains for people who previously held permission as a Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur before moving into the Tier 1 Entrepreneur route. An applicant within that cohort can still apply for settlement as a Tier 1 Entrepreneur, but the application must be made before 6 July 2027.

The fact that an applicant continues to hold, or previously held, Tier 1 Entrepreneur permission is therefore not by itself sufficient. Their complete immigration history must be checked to establish whether they fall within the remaining Graduate Entrepreneur transitional provision.

Tier 1 Entrepreneur ILR Requirements

An applicant who remains eligible under the transitional provisions must satisfy the settlement requirements applicable to the Tier 1 Entrepreneur route.

These include requirements concerning the level of qualifying investment, business activity, registration and job creation.

Depending on the basis upon which the applicant entered the route, they will normally need to demonstrate investment of at least £200,000 or, where the applicable lower funding provisions applied, £50,000.

The applicant must also have been genuinely engaged in business activity in the UK. The Home Office may consider whether the applicant genuinely established, took over or became a director of one or more UK businesses, genuinely operated the business and genuinely intends to continue operating a business in the UK.

For the standard five-year settlement route, the business must normally have created the equivalent of at least two new full-time jobs for settled workers, with the applicable requirements concerning the duration of those jobs being satisfied.

Accelerated Tier 1 Entrepreneur Settlement

A Tier 1 Entrepreneur who remains eligible to apply may potentially qualify for accelerated settlement after three years rather than five years.

Broadly, the accelerated provisions can apply where the applicant has either:

• Created the equivalent of at least 10 new full-time jobs for settled workers; or
• Established a new business which generated at least £5 million in business income during the relevant three-year period, or produced the required £5 million net increase in business income after taking over or investing in an existing business.

These are technical requirements. The accounting period, evidence of business income, nature and duration of employment and identity of the workers relied upon may all require careful analysis.

The final 6 July 2027 deadline also means that an applicant should establish their qualifying position well before the end of the transitional period.

4. Residence and Absence Requirements for Legacy Tier 1 Settlement

Both Tier 1 Investor and Tier 1 Entrepreneur settlement applications are subject to continuous residence requirements.

An applicant must normally have been absent from the UK for no more than 180 days in any 12-month period during the relevant qualifying period.

This is not simply a requirement to spend more than half of each calendar year in the UK. Absences are assessed by reference to the relevant 12-month periods, and the dates of departure and return should be calculated accurately.

Tier 1 Investors seeking accelerated settlement must still satisfy the residence requirement throughout the relevant two- or three-year qualifying period.

The same is true of an eligible Tier 1 Entrepreneur relying on the three-year accelerated settlement provisions.

Applicants should prepare a complete travel history and compare it with passport stamps, travel records and any other reliable evidence. Particular care may be needed where:

• The applicant travelled frequently;
• Passports have been replaced;
• Travel took place through the Common Travel Area;
• There are discrepancies between the applicant’s records and official travel history;
• The applicant entered the UK significantly after the grant of initial entry clearance; or
• The qualifying period is being calculated by reference to a particular application or decision date.

An applicant who has exceeded the permitted absence limit should obtain advice before submitting an application. It should not be assumed that an otherwise strong investment or business history will overcome a failure to satisfy the continuous residence requirements.

5. English Language and Life in the UK Requirements

An applicant for settlement as a Tier 1 Investor or eligible Tier 1 Entrepreneur will normally need to satisfy the Knowledge of Language and Life in the UK requirement.

Applicants aged between 18 and 64 will generally need to:

• Demonstrate sufficient knowledge of the English language; and
• Pass the Life in the UK Test.

There are exemptions in specified circumstances, including on grounds of age. An exemption may also apply where an applicant has a qualifying long-term physical or mental condition which prevents them from meeting the relevant requirement.

Applicants should establish how they intend to satisfy the English language requirement and complete the Life in the UK Test in sufficient time before applying.

This is particularly important for Tier 1 Investor applicants because there is now no possibility of obtaining a further Tier 1 Investor extension merely to allow additional time to complete the settlement requirements.

6. Can Tier 1 Investor and Entrepreneur Dependants Apply for ILR?

Partners and children of Tier 1 Investors and Tier 1 Entrepreneurs may also be able to qualify for settlement, but their requirements are not identical to those applying to the principal migrant.

In particular, a dependant partner will normally need to complete a five-year qualifying period before becoming eligible for ILR.

This means that accelerated settlement for the principal migrant does not ordinarily accelerate settlement for their partner. For example, a Tier 1 Investor who qualifies for ILR after two years on the basis of a £10 million qualifying investment may become settled several years before their partner becomes eligible for ILR.

A dependant partner must also satisfy their own residence requirements. For the periods to which the current rules apply, absences are generally limited to no more than 180 days during any 12-month period of the qualifying period.

The relationship must continue to satisfy the relevant requirements at the settlement stage, and the applicant must normally meet the applicable English language and Life in the UK requirements.

Different provisions apply to dependent children. Their age, immigration history, family circumstances and whether both parents are settled or applying for settlement can affect eligibility.

Where the principal applicant is considering accelerated settlement, it is sensible to review the immigration position of the whole family at the same time rather than treating each application in isolation.

7. What Happens After Indefinite Leave to Remain?

A successful Tier 1 settlement application results in indefinite leave to remain.

ILR allows a person to live in the UK without an immigration time limit. A settled person can generally work, study and establish or operate a business without needing further immigration permission.

Settlement should not, however, be confused with British citizenship.

A person granted ILR may later be able to naturalise as a British citizen if they satisfy the separate statutory requirements for naturalisation. These include requirements concerning residence, absences, immigration status, good character and knowledge of language and life in the UK.

An applicant who is not married to or in a civil partnership with a British citizen will normally need to have held ILR for at least 12 months before applying for naturalisation. Different timing rules apply to the spouse or civil partner of a British citizen.

Can Tier 1 Settlement Lapse?

Indefinite leave to remain can normally lapse where a person remains outside the UK and Islands for a continuous period of more than two years.

A person whose settlement has lapsed may be able to apply for entry clearance as a Returning Resident if they wish to return to the UK to settle again. Whether such an application succeeds will depend on the requirements of the Returning Resident route, including the applicant’s continuing ties to the UK and the circumstances of their absence.

Former Tier 1 Investors in particular should take this into account when planning their residence after obtaining ILR, as significant international business or family commitments can result in prolonged periods overseas.

8. What If You No Longer Qualify Under a Legacy Tier 1 Route?

The closure of the Tier 1 routes means that a person who cannot meet the remaining settlement provisions cannot simply make a new Tier 1 Investor or Tier 1 Entrepreneur application.

However, another immigration route may be available depending on the individual’s circumstances.

Potential alternatives can include routes based on employment, business activity, family relationships, long residence or other personal circumstances.

For entrepreneurs, the Innovator Founder route may be relevant where the applicant has an innovative, viable and scalable business proposition supported by an approved endorsing body. It should not be regarded as a replacement investment visa: the requirements focus on the applicant and the qualifying business rather than passive investment.

A person who owns or establishes a UK business may also consider whether Skilled Worker sponsorship is available through that business. The business must meet the sponsor licence requirements and any proposed Skilled Worker role must independently satisfy the requirements of the Skilled Worker route.

Applicants with substantial previous lawful residence in the UK should also consider whether they qualify for settlement under another route, including Long Residence where applicable.

Switching immigration category can have important consequences for the way in which a future settlement qualifying period is calculated. Applicants should therefore consider the long-term settlement implications before changing route.

9. Frequently Asked Questions: UK Settlement by Investment