UK explores ‘invite-only’ investor visa with £5 million cost
The government began drawing up plans last year for a special visa for foreigners who invest significant sums in Britain
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THE UK is weighing a new visa that would give three years of residency to wealthy individuals investing at least £5 million (S$8.6 million) in the country, as the nation seeks to revive its global attractiveness.
Entrepreneurs and other globally mobile individuals would need to fund so-called priority areas such as fast-growing UK businesses under the proposals, sent by government bodies to wealth advisers recently canvassing them on the idea.
The “invite only” programme would be subject to enhanced vetting and open the path to permanent residency after three years, according to the documents, reviewed by Bloomberg.
The UK’s reputation as a destination for globally-mobile rich investors has taken a hit in recent years after it imposed higher taxes on well-heeled individuals hailing from abroad known as non-doms.
The changes took effect last year under Keir Starmer’s administration, widening reforms first proposed in early 2024 under the then-ruling Conservative Party. In the aftermath, billionaires such as John Fredriksen, Nassef Sawiris and Guillaume Pousaz left the country or curbed their ties.
In 2022, the UK also scrapped a flagship investor visa programme that allowed foreign nationals a path to residency in exchange for more than £2 million, as the UK sought to curb the influence of Russian money.
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That move has made it more complicated for overseas high-net-worth individuals to come to the UK, while other global wealth hubs such as Dubai, Milan and Abu Dhabi ramp up efforts to court the global elite.
“We are making every effort to attract investment into the UK,” a government spokesperson said by email. “The Global Talent Taskforce is keeping all options under review to identify and attract the brightest minds in the world.”
Details of the UK’s investor visa proposals were sent out to private wealth advisers from the Office for Investment early this month, before Labour’s heavy losses in local elections put Starmer’s premiership under heavy pressure.
The UK premier’s office, 10 Downing Street, is responsible for the cross-government unit, along with the Treasury and the Department for Business and Trade.
It’s unclear at what stage the investor visa proposals are at, or if they would be continued if Starmer is unable to head off a leadership challenge. Many of his critics in the governing Labour Party have challenged separate plans to link permanent residency to income levels.
The UK began drawing up plans last year for a special visa for foreigners who invest significant sums in Britain, which has sought to tighten other visa programmes amid concerns over the nation’s migration levels putting pressure on public services and housing.
In 2025, the UK government also published a white paper that outlined its ambitions to attract global talent as part of its efforts to improve the nation’s immigration system.
Starmer’s government is keen to avoid the pitfalls of the UK’s previous investor visa that faced criticism for being abused to funnel dirty money into Britain.
To curb those risks, the government is considering restrictions such as excluding assets like property and would carry out thorough processes to minimise money-laundering risks, Bloomberg previously reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s second budget in November separately revealed plans for the nation to explore a “tax offer” to help attract high-talent individuals, coinciding with Business Secretary Peter Kyle acknowledging that higher levies introduced under Labour had led some ultra-rich residents to leave. Few details have since emerged, however, about those plans.
Meantime, US President Donald Trump has also championed efforts to bring in a programme granting permanent residency in the world’s largest economy for as much as US$5 million.
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK Party, which secured huge gains in local elections this month, has said as well it would seek to lure rich foreigners to Britain with a tax break on their overseas wealth in exchange for a once-a-decade fee of £250,000 that would support low-income workers. BLOOMBERG
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