Tier 1 Investor Visa scrapped
The Tier 1 Investor Visa route has been closed over security concerns.
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Tier 1 Investor Visa Route closed
The Home Office has closed the Tier 1 Investor Visa route amid rising security concerns in relation to the sources of funds from applicants.
The Tier 1 Investor Visa permitted entry to the UK to applicants who could invest funds in share capital or loan capital in UK registered companies that were active and training.
The Home Secretary announced that the route has been closed with immediate effect, in a statement explaining the decision she 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.”
Abuse of Tier 1 Investor route
The Home Office said that the Tier 1 Investor Route has been under constant review and that the decision was made to close the route after some cases led to security concerns including cases in which applicants that had acquired their wealth illegitimately and were associated with wider corruption.
The Home Office had previously attempted to reform the route to prevent abuse but the latest review led to the decision to fully close the route as part of their New Plan for Immigration.
The Home Secretary, Priti Patel, said:
“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.”
Innovator Visa route to be reformed
As part of their announcement of the closure of the Tier 1 Investor Visa the Home Office also announced that they would be improving the Innovator Route.
They said that the introduction of the UK’s new points-based immigration system has allowed them to better target the investors that they want in the UK and that the Innovator Visa will be improved to support this.
The Innovator Visa permits entry to the UK to experienced business persons who plan to set up an innovative business in the UK.
As part of the improvements to the route, settlement will now be conditional and applicants will first need to execute an investment strategy that shows genuine job creation and other economic impacts. Passively holding UK investments will no longer be enough to obtain settlement.