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There has been a 46% increase in the number of super rich who are willing to invest £ 2m to have the privilege of living and working in the UK despite the fact that Theresa May has ordered a crackdown on a visa system
More than 400 wealthy foreign investors applied for a Level 1 investor visa as of March 31, a 46% increase in the number of applicants in the previous 12 months. The Level 1 investor program, widely described as the "gold visa", allows visitors to stay in the UK for 40 months when they invest more than £ 2 million in the British economy.
The increase in claims comes as the government introduced stricter rules in 2015 forcing plaintiffs to prove the source of their wealth. Earlier this year, Chelsea FC's owner, Roman Abramovich, postponed his request to extend his Level 1 visa as part of a government review of visas previously granted to root out suspicious funds. Abramovich, who has a fortune of 10.5 billion pounds sterling and is a friend of Vladimir Putin, does not seem to have been involved in any wrongdoing.
The delay in Abramovich's visa caused him to miss his Chelsea team. He subsequently delayed Stamford Bridge's redevelopment projects by £ 1 billion. Since then, he has obtained Israeli citizenship and has withdrawn his visa application in the United Kingdom.
The then Secretary of the Interior, Amber Rudd, had ordered a review of the thetier visa regime 1 as part of a government crackdown on concerns that the UK was being used to launder money. "I asked my officials to look into the reforms we could pursue and take a look at the previous ones over the last few years," she told MPs in March . "I asked them to look at the cohort of the previous [applicants] to see if any action needed to be taken."
A study by Collyer Bristow, a law firm that advises the world's super-rich, revealed that 405 people apply for a Level 1 visa for the year ending March 31, against 278 in the last 12 months. The number of candidates of Russian citizens increased by 46% to 52, the Chinese interest increased by 26% to 123. The largest increase in applications came from Turkey, where the number increased from 85% to 24 after the government making it harder for Turkish citizens to apply.
Amber Rudd, then Minister of the Interior, ordered a crackdown on the Level 1 visa regime for money laundering problems. Photo: Reuters
James Badbad, a partner of Collyer Bristow, said: "Despite the uncertainty surrounding Brexit, the United Kingdom attracts many HNWI [high net worth individuals] as a place to live and invest."
"For many foreign investors, the UK an international platform from which to develop their investments or businesses on an international stage.In addition to financial and investment opportunities, the strong cultural appeal of UK and London as well as its private education system attract many HNWI overseas.
"With the political uncertainty surrounding investor visas in the US, a growing number of HNWI's looking to move and invest in the UK. However, some HNWI may fear that the government will tighten the visa rules after the official Brexit date in March 2019 and may consider entering it earlier. "
More than 8,500 Russians are listed as directors of British companies, according to research by the accounting firm Moore Stephens." Stuart Daltrey, a director of Moore Stephens, said the visa crackdown could harm the British economy if Russians with legitimate businesses decide to move to other countries.
"Positioning the UK as an attractive place for mobile entrepreneurs internationally to create and investing in business is essential to stimulate economic growth and create jobs, so it's hard to get them to do that. "19659014]
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