The UK Home office has officially published findings on the Tier1 investor program that operated between 2008 and 2015.
According to the findings, written statement submitted to parliament, Home Office considered the cases of the 6,312 Tier 1 (Investor) migrants and Tier 1 (Investor) adult dependants who obtained leave between the launch of the route on 30 June 2008, between 6 April 2015. Each case was reviewed for potential links to criminality or other risk factors.
The Home office review found that only a small minority of individuals connected to the Tier 1 (Investor) visa route that were potentially at high risk of having obtained wealth through corruption or other illicit financial activity, and/or being engaged in serious and organised crime.
Suella Braverman, Secretary of State
The outcome of the review of UK tier1 investor visa route has identified
- Sanctioned 10 oligarchs who had previously used this route as part of our extensive response to Russian aggression in the Ukraine.
- Refusal rate for main applicants and their dependents of 7.9% for Entry Clearance applications,
- 4% for Leave to Remain applications,
- Main applicants seeking Indefinite Leave to remain (settlement) the refusal rate is 2.2%
Suella Braverman in her statement to parliament.“The lessons learned from this review, and from ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the Tier 1 (Investor) route and the impact of reforms made between 2014 and 2019, formed a significant part of evidence base on which the government made its decision to ultimately close the route on the 17th February 2022.”
The review did not find evidence of a systemic failure across financial institutions to carry out appropriate Customer Due Diligence checks on Tier 1 (Investor) visa applicants in the period in question. But it was found financial institutions were exploited by investors with weak due diligence.
Braverman also stated “We have established a new Combatting Kleptocracy Cell in the National Crime Agency to investigate criminal sanctions evasion and high-end money laundering. we have brought forward new and robust legislation to prevent corrupt elites abusing our open economy, including establishing a new, open register for overseas entities owning property in the UK.”
The Tier 1 (Investor) route had allowed individuals (primarily non-EEA nationals) investing in the UK to enter, and eventually settle in, the UK. It was launched in 2008 and at that time required applicants to be able to demonstrate they had access to £1 million of available funds to invest in UK government bonds and shares or loan funds to UK companies. The UK had operated some form of investor visa programme for high-net-worth personal investment since 1994. The Tier 1 (Investor) visa route was ultimately closed on 17th February 2022.
