EXPLAINED | Want to apply for UK visa? Find out if you are eligible

The UK visa is among the most coveted visa ever in the world. But how difficult is it to secure a visa to live and work there and who is eligible? Immigration expert, Ajay Sharma breaks it down for Business Today

UK Tier 1 Visa
There are multiple ways to secure a UK visa and the most coveted visa category is the UK Tier 1 visa. The UK Tier 1 Innovator Visa is an ideal pathway for those who can demonstrate relevant experience in business and have the potential to set up or run an existing business. Applicants must invest £50,000 into an enterprise approved by the Home Office to be eligible. The applicants must also submit a viable business plan. The key benefit of the UK Innovator visa is that it gives you the right to live, work, and study anywhere in the UK.  Innovator visa holders can live in the UK for three years, directly leading to an indefinite leave to remain in the UK at the end of this period.  Innovator visa applicants can bring their immediate family members and children under 18 to the UK. The processing time for this type of visa is one to eight weeks from the submission date.

Other visa categories
Apart from the above, you can get residency in the UK if you apply under any of the following categories: Tier 1 and 2, International student and research fellow, businessperson, investor, self-employed, a highly skilled migrant, representative of an overseas newspaper, news agency, PR agency, or broadcasting organization, the sole representative of an overseas organization. The sole representative visa allows individuals to move to the UK to set up a business branch by sending over a senior employee to establish their commercial presence. This visa allows the holder to live and work in the UK for three years and bring their dependents to the UK. 

Will buying a house in London ensure a residency visa? 
The UK is undoubtedly one of the fantastic places to live, and London is an incredible investment city. Whether you are a resident or not, there are no limitations on foreign nationals purchasing a property in the UK. However, if you plan to buy a house in the UK, you must ensure that you meet all eligibility requirements to reside in the country. While many countries offer residency visas to foreigners through property investment–such as the UAE, Colombia, and Brazil, the UK has no such policy. Purchasing a property in Britain or part of it does not allow you any residency visa or citizenship in the UK. You may enjoy ownership rights of that house, but this does not give you residency permits. Your immigration status will continue as it was before purchasing the property. 

READ MORE: How to buy a house in London from India

What are entrepreneurship Visas, and what are the current rules for getting them?
You can fulfill your entrepreneurship dream in the UK by applying for the UK innovator visa scheme. This visa category is for experienced businesspeople who wish to set up an innovative business in the United Kingdom. You must make a minimum investment of £50,000 to apply for this visa. Your business must also be innovative, viable, and scalable enough to be approved by an endorsing body in the UK. 

Eligibility rules for the UK Innovator visa
To be eligible for an Innovator visa, you will need to meet the following conditions: Be at least 18 years old, have access to £50,000 to invest in your UK business, your business idea has been supported by an approved endorsing body, you genuinely intend to undertake, and are capable of undertaking, any work or business activity in the UK, you are competent in the English language to at least CEFR Level B2, you have at least £1270 to support yourself, plus £285 for a dependent partner, £315 for a first child, and £200 for each additional child.

What are the other routes to getting a UK visa?
There are different ways to move to the UK besides the investment route. They are as follows - work visas, business visas, study visas, visitor visas, family visas, settlement visas, transit visas, and refugee visas.