Rules on immigration governing who may enter and stay in a country exist so that countries can control who crosses their borders. A country may well want to encourage certain categories of people to come and live there in order to benefit their economy. Often therefore immigration systems will have mechanisms in place to permit people who are seeking to invest in their country.

The Isle of Man is no exception in this regard and has a category for investors in its Immigration Rules. The Tier 1 investor category is a relatively simple mechanism within the Immigration Rules for investors, who are neither British nor EU Nationals, together with their families to move to the Isle of Man.

An investor can apply for a visa allowing them and their family to live in the Isle of Man if they have at least £2 million available to invest in the Isle of Man.

The £2 million must belong to the investor and it is necessary to prove that they must normally have been held for a minimum of 3 months before an immigration application is made under this category. If the investor has not held the £2 million for that three month period immediately prior to the application all is not lost however so long as the investor can provide good evidence of the source of the funds.

Applications for a visa as an investor are usually made from the country the investor is currently residing in or from a country they are a national of.

It is possible to apply for a visa if you are already in the Isle of Man in certain circumstances. People who are already on a long term visa can switch their category in some cases but they would have to meet the requirements of the relevant category they wished to change to.