Tier 1 (Investor)
Money that can be transferred
This page explains what proof of the money that can be transferred you must provide to support your initial application to the investor category (Tier 1 Investor) under the points-based system to come to the United Kingdom.
Full details of all requirements are in the immigration rules at paragraphs 245 O-U of part 6a and Appendix A, which you can find on the right of this page. You must read the policy guidance before you apply under this category. You can download the guidance and application form from the Applying section.
A letter which shows how the money can be transferred
All of the £1,000,000 money needed to meet the investor category requirements must be freely transferable to the United Kingdom and convertible to pounds sterling. Many countries have controls over the transfer of currency and we must therefore ensure that the money can be transferred to the United Kingdom. If your money is not already in the United Kingdom, you must confirm that the money can be transferred into the United Kingdom if your application is successful.
If you have money that is not held in the United Kingdom, or have a portfolio of investments that are not in the United Kingdom, you should provide a letter from your bank or financial institution as evidence that the money can be transferred into the United Kingdom.
This must be an original letter, on the official letter-headed paper of the bank or financial institution. It must have been issued by an authorised official of that institution and must confirm:
- the name of the beneficial owner, which should be you (or you and your partner);
- the date of the letter;
- the amount of money to be transferred;
- that the money can be transferred to the United Kingdom if your application is successful; and
- that the institution will confirm the content of the letter to us at our request.
The bank or financial institution must be regulated by the home regulator (official regulatory body for the country in which the institution operates and the money is located).
Terms explained
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Financial institution
A body that provides financial services to clients, for example a bank, building society, credit union, stock brokerage or asset management firm.
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Home regulator
When used in the context of regulation of financial institutions, this is an official financial regulatory body, appropriate to the type of financial transaction, in the country where money is held in a financial institution.