Overseas criminal record certificates for Tier 1 (Investors) and Tier 1 (Entrepreneurs)

Last week the Minister for Immigration, James Brokenshire, announced that from 1st September 2015, migrants who are applying for entry clearance as Tier 1 (Investors) or Tier 1 (Entrepreneurs) must Last week the Minister for Immigration, James Brokenshire, announced that from 1st September 2015, migrants who are applying for entry clearance as Tier 1 (Investors) or Tier 1 (Entrepreneurs) must provide a criminal record certificate from any country in which they have resided in continuously for 12 months or more in the ten years prior to the date of application. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) of the main applicant in these Tier 1 categories must also provide a criminal record certificate.

You must provide the following specified documents:

• The original certificate, for each country (excluding the UK) where you have resided continuously for 12 months or more in the last ten years, since aged 18 years old, issued by the overseas authority; and


• If the original is not in English, then you must provide a translated copy of the certificate, in line with UK Visas and Immigration requirements.

Certificates will only be considered valid if they have been issued within six months of the entry clearance application. If a migrant fails to provide any certificates or an acceptable explanation as to why a certificate was not obtained, then the application will be refused.

We suspect the Government will roll this requirement out for other visa categories in due course. This additional requirement is another example of a visa application becoming more complex, time consuming and costly. Any future Tier 1 (Investor) or Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) application should consider factoring in extra time to obtain the relevant certificate.

Should you require further information, please contact Lynn McCloghry.