UK’s Tier 1 Investor Visa Programme

The UK’s Tier 1 investor visa is slowly starting to rise following a slump at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. The latest figures suggest that ‘post-Brexit and geo-political shifts’ mean that more Tier 1 visa applications are being made.

The market for UK citizenship and permanent residency through investment is shifting toward a more mainstream model of business people rather than Nigh Net-worth and Ultra High Net-worth people applying for the Tier 1 investor visa.

Covid-19

However, the coronavirus pandemic saw applicant numbers drop, with even the wealthiest of people unable to travel.?

But in recent weeks, the number of applicants, and those granted a Tier 1 investor visa, have risen steadily. According to official Home Office data, 100 Tier 1 investor visas were issued in the third quarter of 2021, up from a pandemic-hit 66 and 45 for the second and first quarters of this year.

As well as the programme showing signs of recovery the perceptions of such visa schemes are starting to change because the type of people applying for them are no longer just the so-called ‘Ultra High Net-Worth’, but the more affluent and professional people such as scientists and entrepreneurs who are seeking a better life.

Karen Fleming, Head of sales, said “over the festive period we have had several enquiries from professionals in the Middle East and China which certainly backs up this shift to professional applications”