UK Immigration News

Increase in Foreign Millionaires Being Granted UK Visas

According to data obtained by McGrigors, a UK based commercial law firm, there has been a significant increase in the number of wealthy foreign investors being issued visas to stay in the UK over the last three years.

Under the UK investor visa programme, wealthy foreigners who invest at least £1 million in the UK economy are eligible to apply for a UK visa to live in the UK for three years. The investor visa is considered to be a quick route for wealthy foreign nationals to acquire UK citizenship.

In 2011, 320 foreign millionaires were granted UK visas through the investor programme while only 43 investors were granted in 2008.

21 percent of the total investor visa issued were to Russian nationals, while Chinese citizens were the next most prominent group (15 percent) and 30 percent were issues to nationals from Eastern Bloc countries such as Armenia, Azerbaijan and Ukraine.

Partner at McGrigors, Nick Thomas, says: "The nationality of the applicants for investor visas reflects those who are buying prime property in London. Many of these Russians will put their children through school in the UK and will use the investor visa mechanism as a means of acquiring British citizenship for those children once they reach their majority."

If you are interested in UK Visas, contact Migration Expert for information and advice on which visa is best suited to you. You can also try our visa eligibility assessment to see if you are eligible to apply for a visa to the UK.