The lowering of the English level requirement from the advanced CI level to the intermediate B1 level will encourage more entrepreneurs to come to the UK to establish a business. There were concerns that the high English requirement deterred potentially successful entrepreneurs.
Another important rule that was changed was the amount of initial investment that originates from a specified source, which lowered from £200,000, to £50,000. Specified sources will now include UK Government Departments and is also expanded to include Devolved Administration Departments.
Other sources have also been added, such as the Financial Services Authority and the UK entrepreneurial seed funding competitions listed as endorsed on the UK Trade and Investment website. The extra specified sources and the lowering in the amount of the initial investment should spur investment in England, and will also incentivize international companies to consider setting up shop in the UK.
The new settlement and the continuous resident requirements major changes will catch the interest of foreign investors and entrepreneurs in the UK. If a skilled worker, self-employed, investors or entrepreneurs wants to qualify for indefinite leave to remain (ILR), the person must complete a continuous period of resident there. For most categories this is a five-year period, except for investors and entrepreneurs, which have an accelerated option of two three years depending on the level of activity they have in the UK.
Migrants who are considered skilled will now be required to have a clearer connection with the UK, and they will be required to be making an economic contribution to the UK. This appears to be stricter than the previous rules.
However, the government made sure that there was flexibility for the migrants to be able to leave the country for business purposes and to see friends and close family. Therefore the law was changed that allows these peoples to be outside of the UK for up to 180 days for every 12 months, as long as the reason is regarding business or other important situations.
The UK has made these drastic changes in their migrant rules to stimulate the economy and encourage foreign investment. But this has also benefited foreign investors and workers, who will now have more relaxed rules regarding setting up a company, and living and working in the UK.
