Jump to content

Tier 1 (Entrepreneur)

Image of entrepreneurs

Evidence of access to investment funds

This page describes the documents that you must provide as evidence that you have enough funds available for your initial application under Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) of the points-based system.

For more information about this requirement, see the Scoring points for access to investment funds page.

Letter from each financial institution

You must provide a letter from each financial institution holding your funds, to confirm the amount of money available to you (or to you and the other applicant, if you have formed an entrepreneurial team).

Each letter must be:

  • on the institution's official headed paper; and
  • issued by an authorised official of that institution.

It must state:

  • your name, and the name of the other applicant, if you are an entrepreneurial team;
  • the date of the letter;
  • the amount of your own money that is held in the institution;
  • the amount of money available to you, or to the business that you are running, from any third party that is held in the institution; and
  • the name of each third party and their contact details (which must include their full address including postal code, landline phone number and any email address).

It must also confirm that:

  • the institution is regulated by the appropriate body; and
  • if the institution is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), the money can be transferred into the UK.

If you want to use a letter template, you can find one in our policy guidance, which you can download from the right side of this page.

You will need to provide additional evidence if you have any third-party funding. Third-party funders may be family members, other investors or corporate bodies (including venture capital firms, seed funding competitions and UK government departments or devolved government departments).

We will not accept evidence of your money from a financial institution with which the UK Border Agency is unable to make satisfactory verification checks. A list of financial institutions which do not satisfactorily verify financial statements can be found on the right side of this page.

Bank statements for money held in the UK

For money held in the UK only, a recent personal bank or building society statement from the UK financial institution holding the funds, which confirms the amount of money available to you or your entrepreneurial team.

The total amount of available money must be either at least £200,000; or at least £50,000, as applicable. If the money is held in several financial institutions, you must supply a statement from each institution.

The statements must be original documents and not a copy, and:

  • the bank or building society holding the money must be based in the UK and regulated by the FSA;
  • the money must be in cash in the account. We will not accept ISA accounts or assets such as stocks and shares; and
  • the account must be in your own name only (or both names for an entrepreneurial team) only. Accounts in the name of a business or third party will not be accepted.

Each bank or building society statement must be on the institution's official stationery and confirm each of the following details:

  • your name; or your name and your entrepreneurial team member's name;
  • the account number;
  • the date of the statement;
  • the financial institution's name and logo; and
  • the bank or building society statement must have been issued by an authorised official of that institution and produced within the 3 months immediately before the date of your application.

We will not accept printouts of electronic statements from an online account without either a supporting letter from the bank, on company headed paper, confirming the authenticity of the statements, or without the official stamp of the bank on each page of the statement.

Venture capital, seed funding, UK government department or devolved government department funding

For £50,000 from a venture capital firm, seed funding competition, UK government department or devolved government department only, a recent letter from an accountant confirming the amount of money made available to you.

Each letter must:

  • be an original document and not a copy;
  • on the institution's official headed paper;
  • have been issued by an accountant engaged by the venture capital firm, seed funding competition or UK government department to provide the information; and
  • have been produced within the 3 months immediately before the date of the application.

Each letter must also confirm each of the following details:

  • your name and the name of your team member if you have formed an entrepreneurial team;
  • the date of the document;
  • the amount of money available to you or your business from the venture capital firm, seed funding competition or UK government department; and
  • the name of the venture capital firm, seed funding competition or UK government department and the contact details of an official of that organisation. These must include their full address including postal code, landline phone number and any email address.

The accountant must be a member of a recognised UK supervisory body. If they are not, we will not accept this item of evidence and will not award any points for this evidence.

More information

  • Additional evidence if you have third-party funding

    If any third parties are contributing funds which you are relying on in your application, you must also provide:

    • a declaration from every third party to say that they have made the money available for you to invest in a business in the UK; and
    • a letter from a legal representative confirming the validity of the signatures on each third-party declaration.

    We suggest that each third-party declaration should be a letter which includes:

    • your and the third party's names (and the name of the other entrepreneur in your team, if you are part of an entrepreneurial team);
    • the date of the declaration;
    • your and their signatures (and the other entrepreneur's signature, if you are part of an entrepreneurial team);
    • the amount of money available to you from them, in pounds sterling; and
    • their relationship to you (and to the other entrepreneur, if you are part of an entrepreneurial team).

    If applicable, the declaration should also confirm that:

    • the third party is an FSA-regulated venture capital firm - it should also state the award, the amount of money, and the FSA registration number under which the firm is permitted to operate as a venture capital firm; or
    • you have been awarded money from 1 or more UK entrepreneurial seed funding competitions listed as endorsed on the UK Trade & Investment website - it should also state the amount of the award and name the winner(s), including you;or
    • you have been awarded money from 1 or more UK government departments or devolved govenrment departments, made available by them for the specific purpose of establishing or expanding a UK business - is should also state the amount of money.

    You must be able to have access to and dispose of the money freely in the UK. If you are part of an entrepreneurial team sharing investment funds, both of you must be able to have equal access to and dispose of the money in the UK.

    You can find a letter template in our policy guidance, which you can download from the right side of this page.

    The legal representative's letter must confirm that the third-party letter(s) of permission contain the signatures of the people stated. You can provide a single letter covering all the third-party permissions, or several letters from several legal representatives. Each legal representative must be allowed to practice in the country where the third party or money is.

    The letter must clearly show:

    • the name of the legal representative;
    • the legal representative's the registration or authority to practice legally in the country where the permission(s) was/were given;
    • the date of the letter;
    • your name (and entrepreneurial team member's name, if applicable) and the name of the third party;
    • that the letter from the third party is signed and valid; and
    • the number of the third party's identity document (such as a passport or national identity card), the place of issue and dates of issue and expiry.

    You can find a letter template in our policy guidance, which you can download from the right side of this page.