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A long term drop off

In today’s blogpost we will be examining the drop in UK Investor visas during the last year. We will look into the reasons as to why the number of applications have fallen and what this may mean for the United Kingdom and its current immigration policies.

For those who are unaware, the UK Investor visa falls under the category of a Tier 1 Visa. Its sister visa, the Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa, is targetted to a similar client but the two visas do indeed vary in their requirements.

The basic requirements (amongst other requirements) for a Tier 1 Investor visa are as follows.

  • The applicant must have a minimum of £2,000,000  of investment funds
  • The applicant must be over the age of 18 years old
  • The applicant must be able to prove the funds belong to them, their spouse or same sex partner
  • Usually, the applicants funds are requiured to be invested in either UK Government bonds, and active and trading UK registereds company or in share capital

In comparison, the basic requirements (amongst others) for a Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa are as follows:

  • The applicant must have access to at least £50,000 in investment funds
  • The applicant must demonstrate a sufficient command of the English language
  • The applicant must score at least 95 points
  • The applicant must be at least 16 years of age

Whilst the requirements for the two visas do vary and are targetted at different clients, they do indeed share similarities. They both follow similar extension criteria and they both can lead to ILR, permanent residency, in the United Kingdom. However, the biggest difference is the financial investment that the applicant is required to make. It is this aspect of the Tier 1 Investor visa that we shall have a closer look at in relation to the fall in applications.

Changes

The investment requirements for the Tier 2 Investor visa changed dramatically in November 2014 with an 100% incvrease in the amount required. That’s right! Potential investors saw the figure double from £1,000,000 to £2,000,000. Whilst other criteria and requirement have subsequently changed, the most dramatic change was clear to see in the financial investment needed to qualify for this type of visa.

How much of a difference has this made to applications? The drop off rate for Tier 1 Investor visas has been staggering. From the period of April to June 2015 only 44 applications were made. Compare this to the previous year (same time frame) where 251 applications were made and the difference is palpatable. If we look at the first quarter of 2015 this drop off is plain to see: 58 applications were submitted. Thus, if we combine the total number of applications made in 2015 102 it is below half the number of applications made in just one quarter of 2014.

Why? It is possible that prior to the financial changes that there was a boom in applications as high net worth clients attempted to rush to apply for the visa which may influence the higher number, however, the difference is apparent. Other reasons for the drop of in applicants could be the similar programs that lead to an EU passport offered by other states across Europe. Cyprus, for example, allows the applicant to recieve a full EU passport within 3 months whereas the UK requires around 5 years. Other countries such as Portgual and Spain offer similar time frames but require much less investment.

Intrestingly, the number of applications for Entrepreneur visas in the first quarter of 2o15 fell compared to 2014 suggesting that high networth individuals are looking elsewhere or that there are just less applying. To place the drop in a broader context the U.K government has introduced stricter rules with the aim of curbing immigration. New salary requirements for Tier 2 workers and a new PBS RCoS system are making it harder for non-EU workers to come to Britain to work. In an increasingly globalised and interconnected world could the UK suffer from these short term policies? With a current net migraiton of 320,000 in the last 12 months the UK clearly remains an attractive destination for many across the globe regardless of their motives for migrating. However, the real impact of limiting the ease in which potential economic migrants can come to the UK remains to be seen. What is clear is that in the fierce debate surrounding immgiration both those in favour and those against are equally passionate about what immigration means for the United Kingdom.

for more information in regards to these two visa types, or any other immigration matters, contact our teams on 0207 118 7868 or via info@westkin.co.uk

What do you think has caused the drop in Tier 1 applications? Let us know by commenting below!

 

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