Chancellor John Healey is considering a new UK residence route for wealthy foreign investors in this month’s Budget, Bloomberg reported on 16 October; the Budget is due on 28 October. The idea is at the consideration stage only: the government has not confirmed whether it will introduce such a visa or on what terms. The Home Office declined to comment and the Treasury did not immediately respond, according to Briefs Finance, which followed up the Bloomberg report.
For high-net-worth individuals hoping to move to the UK, the practical position today is unchanged. There is currently no dedicated investor visa: the former investor visa route closed to new applicants at 16:00 GMT on 17 February 2022, and existing holders must apply for settlement before 17 February 2028, according to GOV.UK guidance. Sacha Wooldridge, head of immigration at law firm Birketts, told Briefs Finance that for wealthy migrants without a spouse visa or another UK connection, the route into the UK is “really a closed door”.
The Home Office shut the former investor route “to all new applicants from all nationalities with immediate effect” in February 2022, saying some cases “had given rise to security concerns”, according to its announcement on GOV.UK. Since then, several replacement designs have circulated. The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), a think tank, proposed in July a £5 million visa paid in stages — £3 million on entry, £1 million at renewal after two and a half years and £1 million after five years — invested through a pooled vehicle overseen by the state-owned British Business Bank, with “no fast track to citizenship”, a cap on overall numbers and bans on nationalities judged a high money-laundering risk. Foreign Investors for Britain, an investor lobby group, has proposed a minimum £2.5 million investment in qualifying UK assets, with an option to pay a flat £200,000 a year in tax for up to 15 years; the group estimates its model would bring in more than £225 billion over ten years, according to Investment Migration Insider and Briefs Finance. In May, the Office for Investment, a unit based at 10 Downing Street, also sent wealth advisers plans for an invite-only £5 million route, according to Investment Migration Insider.
Whether any of this reaches the Budget is uncertain. Investment Migration Insider reported that when the invite-only plan was presented to outside advisers in June, the Treasury and Home Office were unconvinced. Briefs Finance said the government’s push for growth sits against pressure to cut immigration, which has so far blocked a new route for wealthy migrants. The Budget on 28 October will show whether Healey takes the idea forward; until the government publishes rules, any terms reported so far remain proposals rather than policy.
References
Bloomberg – Healey Weighs New UK Investor Visa for Wealthy Foreigners in Budget Plan / Investment Migration Insider – UK Chancellor Healey Weighs New Investor Visa Ahead of October 28 Budget / Briefs Finance – Healey weighs new visa path to lure wealthy investors back to the UK / IPPR – The British business investment visa: A new model for investment migration in the UK
