Turkish Businessperson visa: extensions and settlement

Overview

A Turkish Businessperson can extend for up to 3 years at a time, as often as needed, while the business remains genuine and viable. A Turkish Worker with 4 years' lawful employment can also extend for up to 3 years, and someone with 3 years can extend for up to 12 months. There is no Home Office application fee for an extension.

On the business route you can work only for your own business or businesses, not as an employee elsewhere. On both routes you cannot claim most public funds, and you can study. Your permission is held as an eVisa in your UKVI account.

Settlement now requires 5 years. You may have read that Turkish businesspeople can settle after 4 years, but that is not the rule today. Settlement applications made on or after 26 March 2027 will need English at B2 instead of B1.

Who can apply

This route is not open to new applicants. You can use it only if you already have, or last had, permission as a Turkish Businessperson or Turkish Worker, or you are their family member. Turkish nationals on other visas, such as Student or Skilled Worker, cannot switch into it.

• Turkish nationals in the UK with Turkish Businessperson permission who want to extend or settle.
• Turkish nationals with Turkish Worker permission and at least 3 years' lawful work for the same employer.
• Partners already in the UK with permission as the partner of a Turkish Businessperson or Worker.
• Children under 21, who can apply from outside the UK to join a parent on these routes.

A partner who is outside the UK and has never held ECAA permission cannot join under these rules and must apply under the family rules; see our Spouse visa page. If you are a Turkish national starting a business in the UK today, look at the Innovator Founder visa or self-sponsorship.

Requirements

Extending as a businessperson

• You are in the UK with current permission and have not breached immigration law.
• You are still running a genuine, viable business, which can include starting another business or helping to run an established one.
• Your share of the profits is enough to support you and your family without other work or public funds. There is no fixed minimum figure.
• The money you have invested is your own, in proportion to your interest, and you can meet your share of the business's liabilities.
• Your role is real. If you are a partner or director, you take an active part in running the business, and it is not disguised employment.

The Home Office usually expects accounts, tax returns, about 6 months of bank statements, and evidence of trading such as invoices and contracts. A caseworker who sees a modest profit and a large household will ask how the family is supported, so the figures need to add up.

Extending as a worker

• After 3 years' lawful work with the same employer, you can extend for up to 12 months and work for that employer or in the same occupation for another.
• After 4 years (including 3 with the same employer and the rest in the same occupation), you can extend for up to 3 years with no restriction on your work.
• You need a contract and recent payslips. Holidays, sick leave and statutory family leave count as employment.

The standstill clause

The Ankara Agreement contains "standstill" clauses. They stopped the UK from making the rules for Turkish businesspeople and workers stricter than they were when the clauses took effect for the UK; for businesspeople, that meant the immigration rules of 1973. The agreement stopped applying to the UK at the end of 2020, but the UK kept these extension rules for people already here. In practice they remain simpler than today's business routes: there is no minimum investment, no English test and no fee for an extension.

The standstill clause does not, however, give a right to settle on older terms. In 2017 the Upper Tribunal decided that it does not apply to settlement, so settlement follows the current rules.

Settling after 5 years

• 5 years' continuous residence, with your most recent permission on the ECAA route. Earlier time as a Tier 1 Entrepreneur can count for businesspeople, and time on Tier 2 or a work permit for workers.
• No more than 180 days outside the UK in any 12-month period.
• For businesspeople, a business you are still genuinely running and intend to keep running.
• English at B1 in speaking and listening (B2 from 26 March 2027) and the Life in the UK test, unless you are under 18 or 65 or over.

How to apply

1. Check your expiry date and apply before your current permission ends.
2. Gather your passport, business or employment evidence, bank statements and, for settlement, your English and Life in the UK test results.
3. Apply online from inside the UK. Children joining from abroad apply online from outside the UK.
4. Prove your identity, either through the UK Immigration: ID Check app or at an appointment.
5. Do not travel outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man until you have a decision, or the application will be treated as withdrawn.
6. If granted, your new permission is added to your eVisa.

Costs

There is no Home Office application fee for an extension as a Turkish Businessperson or Turkish Worker. Your partner and dependent children can also extend free of charge while you, the main applicant, still have permission under the Ankara Agreement.

Once you have settled, your family members can apply to settle too if they meet the requirements. If they do not qualify yet, they need to extend their permission instead, and from that point they pay the Home Office fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge.

Settlement applications under the Ankara Agreement have a Home Office fee, but no surcharge. The current figure is shown on this page and on our UK visa fees page.

Other costs can include an accountant's fees for up-to-date accounts, the English and Life in the UK tests, and translations of Turkish documents.

Processing times

Extension and settlement applications usually take about 6 months. If you applied before your permission expired, your existing permission and conditions continue while you wait. Because you cannot travel while the application is pending, plan family visits to Turkey around it.

Partners and children

A partner who already has ECAA dependant permission can extend with you. Children under 21 can apply from outside the UK to join you, and children over 21 can extend only if they already have ECAA permission. Family members can work but cannot claim most public funds.

Your partner can settle after living with you in the UK for 5 years. If you settle first, your partner can extend until they reach 5 years. Your children can settle with you when both parents are settling or settled, or in certain other cases, for example where you have sole responsibility for them.

Extending your stay and settlement

You can extend as many times as you need while you meet the rules. Once you have 5 years, you can apply for indefinite leave to remain. If you do not qualify on the ECAA route, another route may fit, such as long residence after 10 years. After settlement you can usually apply for British citizenship. The Government has consulted on changing how settlement works ("earned settlement"); this page describes the rules in force today.

How we can help

Colleagues including Celemet Yener and Tamer Ulay can advise you in Turkish, and explain each step in your own language. We review your accounts and bank statements before you apply, point out gaps the Home Office is likely to raise, and prepare the application and a covering letter.

We also prepare applications for children joining from Turkey and for settlement, check your absences and test results, and deal with Home Office requests for more information. If an application is refused, we advise on challenging the decision; see our appeals and judicial review page.

Frequently asked questions

Can I still apply for a Turkish Businessperson visa from Turkey?

No. New applications closed at 11pm on 31 December 2020. Only people who already had permission on the route, and their families, can use it now.

Can I settle after 4 years?

No. The current rules require 5 years' continuous residence. The Home Office used to apply the standstill clause to settlement for businesspeople, but withdrew that policy after the Upper Tribunal decided the clause does not apply to settlement.

Can my wife join me from Turkey?

Not under these rules, unless she already has ECAA permission. She would need to apply under the family rules, which have their own income and English requirements.

My son is 19 and lives in Turkey. Can he join me?

Yes. Children under 21 can apply from outside the UK to join a parent on these routes, as long as they are not married and do not live an independent life.

Can I take a job while on the businessperson route?

No. You can work only for your own business. If the business is no longer viable, take advice before your permission runs out.

My business made a loss last year. Will I be refused?

Not automatically. The Home Office looks at whether the business is viable and whether your share of the profits supports your family. A year of losses needs a clear explanation and evidence of recovery.