What self-sponsorship visa options are available for the UK?

Following the abrupt closure of the Tier 1 (Investor) visa category on 17 February 2022 citing security concerns, there hasn’t been a replacement, nor is there a truly independent “self-sponsorship” visa category.

The former visa category simply required an individual to invest at least £2million into acceptable funds. After a set period of time, the individual could apply for and obtain indefinite leave to remain and then get their investment back – usually in full, and usually with an uplift.

Earlier this year, Bloomberg reported that the UK government was considering re-introducing a revamped version of the previous visa. Presumably this idea is still in its relative infancy, and will require careful planning to avoid the same criticisms as before, as there was no mention in the detailed white paper – published just days later. For any new reiteration, targeting investments into key sectors such as technology, energy, and life sciences would make sense to help keep the UK globally competitive. 

So, whilst there is no longer any truly independent “self-sponsorship” UK visa option available (like the former Tier 1 (Investor) visa), there are potential options, with different people having different interpretations as to what “self-sponsorship” means to them.
 
By far the most popular “self-sponsorship” option is under the current Skilled Worker route – which requires a genuine and trading UK entity to secure a sponsor licence. Its predecessor, the Tier 2 (General) route, expressly prohibited a migrant who owned more than 10% in the sponsoring company from being sponsored. This restriction was notably absent in the Immigration Rules, when the Skilled Worker route went live on 1 December 2020.
 
This inadvertently opened up the route to “self-sponsorship” – allowing individuals to sponsor themselves through their own business, regardless of the size of their shareholding.

As this was never the intention of UK policy, the UK government have been introducing changes. The rules changes which took effect from 9 April 2025 has probably had the biggest impact on “self-sponsorship”. Where an individual makes payments to the sponsoring (or related) organisation(s), these will likely be caught under the investment rules, meaning this needs to be averaged out and subtracted from the minimum salary calculation. Other items such as deductions and loan repayment might also be caught under the changes.
 
With some strategic planning, the sponsored Global Business Mobility: UK Expansion Worker route could be a temporary platform, used as a “step stone” to other options. The route allows individuals working in an overseas company to be sent to the UK to expand operations, with no investment rules as above.

Other “independent” visa options which don’t specifically require sponsorship through a business might include the Global Talent, Innovator Founder or UK Ancestry routes. The former options require endorsement from an approved organisation; whilst the latter looks at an individual and their family’s circumstances. In any event, these options generally allow setting up businesses as well as being employed which offers a lot of flexibility.

Ultimately, what option(s) works best for an individual will very much depend on a number of different factors. It’s always sensible to seek independent and tailored immigration advice so that professional advisers can assess your circumstances, advise on the pros and cons to each visa category. Contact our immigration team to obtain support and bespoke immigration solutions, Where helpful, we can collaborate with other professionals as well to look at matters holistically.

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