Switching from Tier 2 General to Tier 1 Entrepreneur

[jonser]

Dear All,
I am in a bit of a fix now. My company sponsored my TIER2 Visa which was granted on January 6, 2014 and was valid till end of February 2017. However, I had a 121 meeting with my Manager today and was informed that my contract would not be renewed after 31 October (6 weeks time) because the project I am working on would be at a stage where an additional resource would not be required. This came as a huge blow to me as it was very unexpected. It was through immense strength that I was able to keep my composure during the meeting.

Now my question is, how realistic would it be for me to switch to the TIER1 Enterpreneur visa in 6 weeks? I have the 945 maintenance funds in a savings account which thankfully I haven't touched in more than 3 months. I can rally round and hopefully get the 50,000 pounds. Do i need a contract with with a new company in place before I can apply? What else do I need. Can anyone who has experienced this sort of a thing please provide me with a step by step guide on what I need to do?

My head is seriously spinning here.

Thank you for your kind assistance.

[attahaas]

Jonser,

Firstly, you should go through the UK Gov website Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa and the T1E policy guidance. You will find answers to most of your questions there.

From what you said in the above post, assuming you have been in the UK for more than 12 months, yes you need only 945 for maintenance, if not you need 3310. Also, the 50K route after 11 July 2014 is only for those who can get the funding from an FCA registered VC or Gov Seed funding competition or Gov Funding Dept. If you want to use your own money you should have been engaged in business prior to 11 July, which I don't assume you did.

In your case I believe you can only apply for the 200K route. If pooling 200K is not possible for you alone, then you can find a team member who can share half of the funds, cutting your financial burden by half.

If you put your heart into it, you may have enough time to apply for the T1E visa (6 weeks + 28 days grace period).

[managemajor1]

Hi Jonser,

Reading through the requirement I don't see any where that says you can't do it alone.

Even the £200k does not make any specific reference to Tier 2 visa.

So I am quite certain based on the list here:https://www.gov.uk/tier-1-entrepreneur/ ... -this-visa you can apply alone with £50k

Cheers MMajor

PS...

Am interested in your progress.

[torquay-cat]

Hi, Jonser,

May I please ask how your story went - I am right now in the exact same situation, and have the exact same plan as you did 2 years ago.
May I please ask you to share your experience?
Thank you.

[Fal]

Hi,

I am in the exact same situation. I am on a Tier 2 visa but I want to switch to Tier 1.

I have two years of work experience. My Tier 1 visa will expire at 20th Oct 2020.

Please can u tell me how much would it cost to apply through a lawyer.

Will I need to get any documents to apply for tier 1 visa from my employer?

[zimba]

Hi,

I am in the exact same situation. I am on a Tier 2 visa but I want to switch to Tier 1.

I have two years of work experience. My Tier 1 visa will expire at 20th Oct 2020.

Please can u tell me how much would it cost to apply through a lawyer.

Will I need to get any documents to apply for tier 1 visa from my employer?

Stick to your own thread, this thread is several years old
uk-tier-1-entrepreneur-visas/switching- ... 40144.html