The UK Tier 1 Investor Visa - 2019 Statistics

Author: Armo Andonian

Recent Home Office statistics have shown that the amount of wealthy foreigners who are coming to the UK with a Tier 1 Investor Visa has increased considerably in 2019 and it has been the largest increase since 2014.

The best immigration lawyers London state that the Tier 1 Investor Visa can be easily accessible to those who have a minimum amount of £2 million to invest in the UK. If you have £2 million and are prepared to invest this you can apply for the Tier 1 investor Visa and gain three years of entry clearance which means that you can stay in the UK for three years and then have the option to extend your application after this time if all the relevant criteria have been met. If you extend your application and stay in the UK for a further two years you can then apply for indefinite leave to remain after a total of five years which means getting permanent residency in the UK that will allow you to continue to live in the country and make it your long-term home and primary place of residence.

It is also worth noting that Tier 1 Investor Visa applications can be fast-tracked and this depends on how much money you as an applicant would like to invest in the UK. If you choose to invest more than 2 million, then you can receive the status of indefinite leave to remain much faster. For example if you invest 10 million you can apply for indefinite leave to remain after only two years and if you rest invest 5 million you can do so after three years.

The Tier 1 Investor Visa has been referred to as many as the "Golden Ticket Visa" and has also been criticised for being an easy way for anyone who has the required amount of £2 million to gain entry clearance into the UK. However, the Home Office has said that all applicants are vetted properly and are given these visas based on their own merits.

The Tier 1 Investor Visa route is one of the most secure ways of getting into the UK as long as you are:

  • Are over the age of 18

  • Able to prove that the (minimum of £2 million) you, your husband, wife, unmarried or same-sex partner

  • Have a bank account open at a UK regulated bank to use for your funds

Furthermore, your funds must be:

  • Held in one or more regulated financial institutions

  • Free to spend (‘disposable’) in the UK

Statistically, many of the people who apply for the UK Tier 1 Investor Visa come from Russia and China and in the first half of 2019 alone, 255 people were granted to one investor visas signifying the highest amount since 2014 according to official Home Office statistics. Moreover, since its creation in 2018, more than 11,000 people have entered the UK on a Tier 1 Investor Visa. However the rise of successful applications in 2019 can be linked to a number of factors, the main one being the ongoing, complicated and uncertain Brexit negotiations that have resulted in the drop in the price of GBP which means that life in the UK is generally cheaper than it was before. This might have led many who can afford it to apply for the Tier 1 Investor Visa as getting this Visa allows you to bring your dependent family members with you to the UK to live, work and study.

More information on the Tier 1 Investor Visa can be found on the official Home Office website.