Common Travel Area provisions and the Isle of Man in respect of Tier 1 Entrepreneur
The closure of the UK Tier 1 Entrepreneur route and its replacement by the Innovator route have made it more difficult for business individuals with bright ideas to establish and run businesses in the United Kingdom.
However, the Isle of Man, who has similar Immigration Rules, still issues Tier 1 Entrepreneur visas.
More interestingly, even though the Isle of Man is a Channel Island and is not part of the United Kingdom, it is however a Crown dependency, for which the United Kingdom is responsible according to the case Spain v UK [2007] 1 CMLR 3.
The United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands (Bailiwick of Guernsey/Bailiwick of Jersey) and the Republic of Ireland all collectively form the common travel area (CTA). Accordingly, certain rules apply to individuals who enter the CTA. For example, an individual who has entered the CTA via the Isle of Man and has been examined for the purpose of immigration control, does not require leave (i.e. a visa) to enter any other part of the CTA per section 1(3) of the Immigration Act 1971.
Moreover, as per Schedule 4 of the Immigration Act 1971, any leave (i.e. a visa) or refusal of visas from any of the islands of the Crown Dependencies has effect as if the leave or refusal had been given by the United Kingdom. Thus, for instance, a migrant holding a visa from the Isle of Man will not require a visa to enter and reside in the United Kingdom. However, it should be noted that only direct travel is allowed i.e. only if the migrant travels from the Isle of Man to the United Kingdom.
To sum up the interesting points raised above:
- Is a Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa still valid and in place in the Isle of Man? – Yes;
- Is an individual who obtained a Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa from the Isle of Man allowed to travel to the United Kingdom and do the same conditions apply as if he obtained his visa from the United Kingdom? – Yes;
- Does it work the same way for other visas issued by the Crown Dependencies such as Indefinite Leave to Remain obtained from the Isle of Man? – Yes.
Please kindly note that this is only an informative article. We do not provide advice or services in relation to Tier 1 Entrepreneur visas in Isle of Man.
