The money to be invested in the UK should be your own and not from any other source (e.g. bank loans). It can be held in the form of cash and share capital and the investment should give you an equal or controlling interest in the business.

You may apply for your spouse and children to accompany you as your dependants on your UK business visa. Your spouse/partner and dependent children may work as long as they have permission to stay in the UK. Your children entering the UK as your dependants are entitled to the same free education as British children when you have a UK Business Visa. You may choose to send your children to a private school if you wish. You and your family are eligible to free health care provided by the National Health Service. You are not required to take out private health insurance, although you may choose to do so.

You will initially get a UK Business Visa which will be valid for a period of 12 months. During this time you must usually make the full investment and create the required 2 jobs. At the end of this first year, the UK Business visa can be extended by applying to the Home Office. The extension application for your UK business visa will need to be accompanied by documentation showing the progress that your business has made; as long as the business looks viable, the investment has been made, and the jobs have been created, then the Home Office will normally grant a three-year extension to your visa. After a total of 4 years in the UK you may apply for indefinite leave to remain (Permanent Residence). A year after being granted indefinite leave to remain you may apply for naturalisation as a British citizen.

The UK business visa application should be made to a British Embassy in the Bangkok or the country of your nationality. If it is clear that you have a very strong case (for example, where the sum to be invested is significantly more than £200,000), it may be approved quite quickly by the consular officials. However, if your case requires more careful assessment, it will be referred to the Home Office in the UK. Irrespective of the strength of the application, it will be referred to the Home Office for security clearance if you are a citizen of Russia, North Korea, Liberia, or Iraq. When applications are referred to the Home Office, processing will normally take 9 months.

For trips to the UK of up to 6 months, a visit visa can be used where the work to be performed is limited; the official guidelines state that the following may come to the UK as business visitors

The effect of these regulations is that (1) allows considerable flexibility for an in-house training/roll-out team, and (2) gives considerable freedom to employees of such companies as Oracle, SAP, etc. who are rolling out their own products at client sites. As the majority of IT roll-outs are conducted by consultancies that are using products manufactured by a third party, such activities will require a work permit.

Financially Independent persons who wish to make the United Kingdom their main home may apply to enter the United Kingdom as passive investors.

 At least £750,000 must be invested in qualifying investments. Increasing numbers of wealthy foreign nationals are seeking entry to the United Kingdom under this category.