Potential New UK Investor Visa

Rumours have been spreading throughout specialist media outlets in connection with the Labour government’s consideration of a new high-net-worth-individual investor visa that would exchange an investment into the UK with an individual’s right to permanent residence in the state. Publications ranging from Bloomberg to Vanguard News have reported on whispers in the corridors of power, that strongly suggest that the highest levels of government were contemplating the reintroduction of an investor visa, following the scrapping, in 2022, of the Tier 1 visa pathway (BBC, 2022; UK Government, 2022).

This prior programme had been terminated following long-running and well documented concerns on the part of the government regarding the inadequacy of the visa’s regulatory framework and high-profile cases of its abuse. Notable areas precipitating the shutdown of Tier 1 was a wide-spread perception of the lack of transparency of applicants’ source of wealth and concerns relating to money-laundering more broadly. Less egregiously, the Tier 1 visa had been criticised for permitting mere passive investments into the UK economy, principally by means of the purchase of government bonds, and that it, as a result, was not directly benefiting the UK economy. 

The new visa, if indeed the recent rumours are founded, will likely aim to address these inadequacies and others, according to HNWI immigration specialists at Charles Russell Speechlys and Mishcon de Reya (CPW, 2025). Such experts further contend that it is probable that any new investor visa would possess a higher investment threshold, Tier 1 have been set at £2m, would be accompanied by more robust compliance regulations and would prioritise ‘active’ investments in the UK economy, thereby precluding entry to those seeking to only passively invest in the UK economy. Speculation on the potential reintroduction commenced on the back of the government May 2025 white paper on immigration which highlighted Sir Keir Starmer’s policy aspirations in connection with immigration. Certain passages of the paper have been interpreted a signalling the government’s consideration of a replacement to the Tier 1 visa (CPW, 2025). 

In addition, the changes made to non-domiciled individuals in the UK is thought to have heightened the pressure upon the government to actively encourage foreign direct investment and engender a renewed influx of capital into the nation following the nascent exodus on account of these recent non-domicile regime changes. We eagerly await any developments to ascertain whether these rumours are likely to materialise into concerted action by the government.