The Keir Starmer government is drawing up plans to start a special investor visa to attract wealthy foreign nationals who would be willing to commit substantial capital to the UK’s economy. This will be a marked shift on the part of the government from the policies that closed its previous golden visa.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government, which is facing the economic hit from recent tax hikes and wider curbs on work permits, is trying to make up for the losses. Starmer’s government wants to attract investments in strategic sectors such as artificial intelligence, clean energy, and life sciences. The planning for the new visa is in its early stages and subject to change. The people, on the condition of anonymity, said an attempt is also being made to ease existing visa routes for investors.
The new investor visa is being prepared against the backdrop of Starmer’s priority of boosting the British economy and a backlash his government faces over its effort to roll back “non-dom” tax breaks for wealthy foreigners living in the UK. Tougher tax rules implemented by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves in April 2025 have caused a flurry of Britain’s richest residents to leave the country, which is a big concern for the Starmer government.
Sources familiar with the matter tell Bloomberg the new visa may form a part of the government’s broader effort to address the recent economic blow brought about by tax increases, a broader clampdown on other visa routes, and the exodus of the richest individuals following the roll-back of the UK’s non-dom tax regime.
Starmer’s administration’s decision to hike the national insurance payroll tax at Reeves’ first budget last October has caused a downturn in hiring and hit business confidence. Hence, it is trying to compensate for the economic hit from its effect. Starmer’s stance to bring down immigration “significantly” is likely to lead the Office for Budget Responsibility to cut its growth projections by a few basis points, considering that the fiscal watchdog usually views the influx of people as having a positive impact on the UK’s economic growth.
The British government, in a white paper released this week, set out its future plans on immigration and stated its intention to make its migration system “attract the best talent, entrepreneurship, and investment into our country.” It also pledged in the white paper, “faster routes for bringing people to the UK who have the right skills and experience to supercharge UK growth in strategic industries.”
The old UK “Tier 1” investor visa gave a path to residency to wealthy foreigners if they invested at least £2 million ($2.7 million) in local companies. However, the previous Conservative government scrapped this visa in 2022. The action was taken as part of a crackdown on illicit finance and fraud at a time when Britain was concerned about the influence of Russian money in the UK.
Starmer’s government does not want to repeat the mistakes of the previous investor visa, which as seen as being abused to funnel dirty money into Britain, and hence is considering investments to occur in specific strategic sectors and not in assets like property, according to the people familiar. Actions will be taken to tighten access to the visa, and thorough processes will be put into place to minimize the risk of money laundering, the people said.
Source – www.bloomberg.com
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