Business Rates Relief/Coronavirus Grant - Considered "Public Funds"?

Hi all,

I am fairly new to the UK immigration system and a newbie to this forum. I was recently granted a Tier 1 Ent visa with "no recourse to public funds" under the £50k route.

The Government recently announced[1] a £3,000/10,000 grant for small businesses eligible for Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR) due to the ongoing outbreak. My local council (Hackney), for example, including mine instructs eligible businesses to apply for SBRR on their Business Rates/Coronavirus Grant FAQ[2].

From what I have gathered, the grant is publicly funded and distributed by local authorities (i.e. similar to other benefits), hence my concern that they could be regarded as "public funds".

Obviously, for any new small business, being able to receive the grant would be helpful, but I am uneasy about applying for it when the time comes, since it seems to carry 'immigration risk'.

If anyone had their main Tier 1 Ent business(es) claim the SBRR/local authority grants in the past and went through the extension process, I would be grateful if you can comment/share your experience.

Thanks a lot and stay safe everyone.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... businesses
[2] https://hackney.gov.uk/br-budget-2020#b5

Contact the Covid-19 Home Office helpline:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus ... k#helpline

You don't want to get money now but denied renewal later over that.

Try to get any instruction in written format. These HO helpline are known to mislead people.

The reliefs are for the business, not you as an individual.

You are not allowed access to Public funds but there are such restrictions for your business.

Thanks Zerubbabel, marcnath,

Zerubbabel wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 18, 2020 2:20 pm

Contact the Covid-19 Home Office helpline [...]

I spoke with the helpline earlier and they do not have an answer for it as of now. I will wait a few weeks and see if that helps.

marcnath wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 18, 2020 3:32 pm

The reliefs are for the business, not you as an individual.

You are not allowed access to Public funds but there are such restrictions for your business.

I suppose you intended to say “no such restrictions”, or are you aware of particular restrictions?

Notwithstanding the grant, I am still curious if anyone claimed SBRR before (which exists regardless of the outbreak) and made it through the extension.

londondweller2020 wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 18, 2020 4:17 pm

Thanks Zerubbabel, marcnath,

Zerubbabel wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 18, 2020 2:20 pm

Contact the Covid-19 Home Office helpline [...]

I spoke with the helpline earlier and they do not have an answer for it as of now. I will wait a few weeks and see if that helps.

marcnath wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 18, 2020 3:32 pm

The reliefs are for the business, not you as an individual.

You are not allowed access to Public funds but there are such restrictions for your business.

I suppose you intended to say “no such restrictions”, or are you aware of particular restrictions?

Notwithstanding the grant, I am still curious if anyone claimed SBRR before (which exists regardless of the outbreak) and made it through the extension.

There are NO immigration related restrictions on your business - assuming it is a limited company or partnership. In the eyes of the law, the company is totally different person, it did not immigrate into the UK so no immigration rules apply to the company.

Please continue all discussion is the following post. This makes moderating it manageable

uk-tier-1-entrepreneur-visas/impact-due ... 99365.html