The Tier 1 Investor visa route will be taken down “with immediate effect” amid security concerns, it has been announced.
The Government said the process was at risk of abuse by people that acquired their wealth illegitimately or who are associated with corruption.
The visa had allowed entry and stay in the UK if an applicant invested funds in share capital or loan capital in UK-registered companies.
But the Tier 1 Investor visa route will now be shut to all new applicants from all nationalities with “immediate effect”.
If you already have a Tier 1 Investor visa, or had one in the last 12 months and it was your most recent visa, you can still apply to settle in the UK, extend your visa for two years, or apply for family members to join you.
It is understood that the visa route will be reviewed and replaced with an alternative under the new points-based immigration system.
While it is not yet known when the reformed visa will be introduced, the Home Office has confirmed that settlement will now be conditional on applicants “executing an investment strategy that can show genuine job creation and other tangible economic impacts”.
Passively holding UK investments, meanwhile, will “no longer be enough to obtain settlement”.
Commenting on the move, Home Secretary Priti Patel said: “I have zero tolerance for abuse of our immigration system. Under my New Plan for Immigration, I want to ensure the British people have confidence in the system, including stopping corrupt elites who threaten our national security and push dirty money around our cities.
“Closing this route is just the start of our renewed crackdown on fraud and illicit finance. We will be publishing a fraud action plan, while the forthcoming Economic Crime Bill will crackdown on people abusing our financial institutions and better protect the taxpayer.”
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