The British Government has concluded plans to discontinue the issuance of golden visas within a couple of weeks in a move spurred by the planned Russian invasion of Ukraine which has led to renewed calls for tough actions against illicit funds flooding the United Kingdom (UK).
A Golden Visa refers to a citizenship by investment or residency by investment programme which is directed at foreign nationals who want to acquire residency in a certain country by investing a substantial amount of money or by purchasing a property.
This Tier-1 investor visa route has up until now attracted wealthy Russian and different worldwide traders, who have taken advantage of the opportunity granted by the scheme to resettle in the UK.
According to a report by Financial Times, this visa scheme has been under intense scrutiny since the relations between the UK and Russia deteriorated after the poisoning of former Russian agent Sergei Skripal in Salisbury in 2018.
Review of the scheme
The UK government in 2015, tightened up its criteria which allows individuals with a minimum of £2 million to spend to qualify for the Golden Visa by insisting on checks to know how these candidates got their funds. It is reported that since 2019, the individuals are expected to have proof of a UK checking account.
However, allies of house secretary, Priti Patel stated she was eager to bring to an end the Golden Visa scheme due to beliefs that the system might be exploited by the laundering of illicit funds. Authorities officers confirmed plans had been being drawn as much as scrap the visas inside weeks.
A £2 million investment allows an application within 5 years, while it is reduced to 3 years with a £5 million or 2 years with a £10 million investment.
The UK Home Office said it had already reformed the scheme to ensure it is not used to facilitate corruption, and did not rule out further changes.
What you should know
- Recall that in 2020, the UK parliament’s intelligence and safety committee had warned that the exploitation of the UK’s investor visa scheme was a draw for a lot of Russians. It stated the UK had offered the best mechanisms for the recycling of illicit funds.
- The federal government had out of the 798 individuals issued Golden Visa, within 12 months to September 2021, 82 of them were Russians. Over the identical interval, 210 visas had been issued to Chinese language nationals.
- In 2018, former house secretary, Amber Rudd requested officers to evaluate the premise on which greater than 700 rich Russians had been allowed to settle within the UK underneath the scheme. After years of delay, the federal government has dedicated itself to publishing its findings earlier than April.