3Yr Accelerated Settlement based on business income

[tbardhan]

Hi everyone,
I am hoping to get some guidance on my husband's eligibility to apply for Accelerated Settlement (ILR) via the 3-year route based upon his business income.
My husband has been on the Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa since May 2016, and prior to that he used to be on a Dependent Visa. During his time on the Dependent Visa he established a company (in 2012). He has not taken over any existing UK business/es.

The Home Office Policy Guidance states that one would qualify for Accelerated Settlement if:
(b) You have spent a continuous period of 3 years lawfully in the UK with leave as a Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) migrant, and have:
(ii) established a new UK business or businesses that has or have had a gross income from business activity of at least £5 million during the 3 year continuous period, or
(iii) taken over or invested in an existing UK business or businesses and your services or investments have resulted in a net increase in gross income from business activity of £5 million during the 3 year continuous period, when compared to the 3 year periods immediately before the date the applicant became involved with the business as a Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) migrant.

I feel that the guidance in not sufficiently clear for me to understand the following:
1) Since he established the business (has not taken over any UK business) but it was in 2012 (a few years before he was on the Entrepreneur Visa), is his business considered an 'existing business' or a 'new business'?
2) For Accelerated Settlement on the 3 year route:
Would he need to show At least £5 million turnover for a continuous 3 year period from the time he was on the Entrepreneur Visa?
OR
Would he need to show a NET INCREASE in turnover of at least £5 million compared to the preceding 3 years of his own established business (although he has not taken over any UK business) ?

I called the Home Office to ask them the same question and was directed to 'Find out if you can apply to settle in the UK' page on their website: https://www.gov.uk/settle-in-the-uk/y/y ... eneur-visa. It says:
Continuous residence
The time you’re in the UK is called continuous residence. You can only be outside the UK for up to 180 days in any 12 months during that time.
You need to have been in the UK for 3 years if your business was new and either:

• created 10 new full-time jobs

• generated £5 million income

You can also apply after 3 years if you took over an existing business and have had a net income from business activity of at least £5 million in a 3 year period.

This refers to existing business and does not make any mention of £5 million turnover increase. My understanding is that the information on this page is potentially in conflict with the information in the policy guidance.

I was wondering if anyone would be able to help answer my questions here? I apologise for the long post!

Thank you

[zimba]

1) Since he established the business (has not taken over any UK business) but it was in 2012 (a few years before he was on the Entrepreneur Visa), is his business considered an 'existing business' or a 'new business'?

As he established it, it is a new business for the purpose of the registartion. An existing business is the one someone joins later.
As he was already a director when he got visa, he will also get the points for becoming a director within 6 months.

2) For Accelerated Settlement on the 3 year route:
Would he need to show At least £5 million turnover for a continuous 3 year period from the time he was on the Entrepreneur Visa?

He has to show he increased the turnover from whatever it was before his Tier 1E visa for at least £5m before applying for ILR. So the £5m is relative net increase in the turnover. For example, if the company's turnover was £1m when he got the visa, he must demonstrate that the business grew to having a turnover of at least £6m before his application for accelerated ILR.

[tbardhan]

Thank you for your reply.

He has to show he increased the turnover from whatever it was before his Tier 1E visa for at least £5m before applying for ILR. So the £5m is relative net increase in the turnover. For example, if the company's turnover was £1m when he got the visa, he must demonstrate that the business grew to having a turnover of at least £6m before his application for accelerated ILR.

This was the confusing thing - Because as per my understanding the £5m increase in turnover would be in the case of taking over or investing in an exiting business (acc to the Guidance below). However, his business qualifies as 'new business'.....

Home Office Guidance
(iii) taken over or invested in an existing UK business or businesses and your services or investments have resulted in a net increase in gross income from business activity of £5 million during the 3 year continuous period, when compared to the 3 year periods immediately before the date the applicant became involved with the business as a Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) migrant.

[zimba]

Under Immigration rules - Appendix A, Table 6, row 4 the new and existing business requirement are separately mentioned:

(ii) established a new UK business or businesses that has or have had a gross income from business activity of at least £5 million during the 3 year continuous period, or

(iii) taken over or invested in an existing UK business or businesses and the applicant’s services or investment have resulted in a net increase in gross income from business activity of £5 million during the 3 year continuous period, when compared to the 3 year period immediately before the date the applicant became involved with the business.

However the paragraph 46 says:

46. A business will only be considered to be a “new” business for the purposes of paragraph 43 and Tables 5 and 6 if it was established by the applicant no earlier than 12 months (or 24 months if the applicant was previously granted leave as a Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) Migrant) before the date of the application which led to the applicant’s first grant of leave as a Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) Migrant.

[tbardhan]

Perfect, this answers my questions then! Thank you for your help