Immigration minister Mark Harper has issued a parliamentary statement announcing a tightening of the rules relating to entrepreneurs who wish to settle in Britain.
Offering assurances that legitimate applicants would not be deterred, Mr Harper wants a “meaningful assessment of the credibility” of immigrants claiming to be entrepreneurs to be introduced.
“We will protect genuine entrepreneurs and continue to encourage them to invest in the UK where they will be made welcome,” he said.
Fake businesses were being created and funds recycled to provide evidence of entrepreneurial activity, he said.
The rules on who is allowed to live in the UK as an investor or an entrepreneur were changed in April 2011.
“These changes have successfully brought about a steady increase in applications from overseas. However, it is clear that following our tightening of other migration routes, the entrepreneur route is now being targeted by applicants seeking to abuse the immigration rules,” the immigration minister said, adding: “There is strong evidence that funds to prove eligibility are being re-cycled amongst different applicants and that artificial businesses are being created. We need to tighten the current rules to allow for a meaningful assessment of the credibility of an applicant for this route.”
Under the new rules, which come in to effect on January 31, the UK Border Agency would be able to “test the credibility of suspicious applicants” in future, he said.
