10 weeks of Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa tips – Week 9 – When do I have to create jobs and whom can I hire?

When it comes to the Job Creation rule for Entrepreneur visa migrants , these are 2 most common questions. 

Question 1:  when is the deadline for creating 2 jobs and hiring the workers ?  

The answer is there is no real deadline other than the visa expiry date minus 12 months, although it is very risky to leave it until that point! The rule is to create 2 full-time jobs for settled workers during the time of the initial visa with each job lasting 12 months. The 1st visa is for 3 years (plus 4 months if you applied outside the UK), so you have all that time. 

You can create jobs in the 1st year or in the 2nd or - as often happens - in the 3rd year. As long as you can meet this rule. Each job doesn’t need to be for continuous 12 months , can be one person working for 6 months in year 2 and then replaced by another worker (in the same job) for the other 6 months during the year 3.  Same for the 2nd job. 

The absolutely latest would be to wait for the last 12 months of your visa and then start hiring workers. This is what happens quite often but it is very risky! Your employee may not stay with you for 12 months and you would have to replace them fast to avoid a gap!

Question 2: whom can I hire? And how much should I pay them ?

You must hire settled workers for this purpose. Must be a British citizen or a European citizen (except some Croatians) or one with permanent residency document. You can’t count yourself or a fellow migrant, such as your spouse on a Tier 1 Dependant visa. You must hire them as employees, not as self-employed. 

How much to pay? The only rule dictated by the UK Immigration Rules is the UK minimum wage, which can be found here: National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates 

The other factors are likely to be the market rate, based on the type of work and level of skills and experience. This is completely between you and your employees! 

Next week : the last post of this series and it will be about Frequently Asked Questions and Compliance. 


For individual advice or to make an application please contact us info@1st4immigration.com or visit http://www.1st4immigration.com/index.php  We respond emails on the same working day!

1st 4Immigration Ltd, authorised by the OISC, ref 200800152. we operate at the highest Level 3 of expertise. Office address: 68 King William Street, City of London, London, EC4M 7DZ.

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