UK weighs a £5m investor visa: 70% chance the program will return

The UK government has been discussing the possibility of launching a new Investor Visa scheme this month. According to the Financial Times, on June 10 a closed-door meeting took place at the Cabinet Office with tax advisers, economists, representatives from professional services, and anti-corruption organisations. Participants were asked to keep the discussion confidential.

The concept is that a £5 million investment (about $6.6 million) into a UK business would open the door to citizenship within five years. At the same time, property would not be counted, and access to the programme is expected to be invitation-based.

Among the initiative’s supporters is the head of the relevant department — business minister Peter Kyle. He describes the project as “a hard-fought battle for global talent.”

However, there is no consensus within government. The publication reports that the Home Office and the Treasury view the plan sceptically, with officials doubting that this format would deliver a noticeable boost to economic growth. One insider, citing sources, said the idea is “going nowhere.”

Still, market participants do not see the situation as definitively lost. Farzin Yazdi, who leads investor visa-related work at Shard Capital, assesses the outlook differently: “I believe the UK has a 70% chance to bring back Investor Visa.”

In his view, the key sticking points could be addressed through a redesigned programme. “There are ways to structure the visa so it addresses concerns and delivers real economic impact — measurable and acceptable,” he explains.

How the new route could work

The £5 million figure is not random: it is not simply a revival of the old scheme. In 2008, the Tier 1 (Investor) visa launched with a £1 million requirement, and by the time it was closed the threshold had been raised to £2 million. At the time, a £5 million level effectively bought the fastest route to status — three years instead of five.

The new version is expected to keep the accelerated timeline — three years — but make the “premium” level the entry requirement, removing cheaper options.

Qualifying capital is expected to be directed into priority sectors — particularly fast-growing UK companies — rather than property. Excluding real estate is intended to reduce criticism of the old programme: previously, accusations were made that the favourable regime primarily supported demand for high-end London property instead of driving productive investment.

In addition, the government has already signalled enhanced due diligence to distance the new format from the previous version.

The £5 million benchmark had also been discussed earlier. In May, documents describing an invitation-based route reportedly reached private advisers via an internal structure located around 10 Downing Street. But the June meeting expanded the circle of participants, including critics.

Strong resistance and the debate over benefits

Anti-corruption organisations came prepared to argue. Susan Howley of Spotlight on Corruption said the new investor programme would be “a reputational catastrophe for the UK”. It is also reported that tax advisers present at the meeting voiced a similar position.

The UK closed the Tier 1 on 17 February 2022, shortly before Russia began its full-scale actions in Ukraine. The decision came amid years of warnings that the scheme had become a channel for questionable funds. By that point, according to figures cited by the publication, the authorities had granted 2,581 investor visas to Russian citizens.

At the same time, the effectiveness of investor visas remains contested. Programmes of this kind often attract people focused on a “lifestyle” rather than investment outcomes, while families may move for schools and legal security, even if the capital itself stays abroad. As Madeline Sumption, Director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, notes, such schemes “often do not deliver the expected economic benefits”.

Australia has already abandoned a similar model, and in the EU, stricter rules for these regimes have been pursued for years. Activists fear a domino effect if London opens the door again.

But not all external stakeholders are opposed. For example, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), a think tank close to the Labour Party, worked with the law firm Mishcon de Reya on a design intended to cut off the risks. A report outlining the proposal is expected soon. Stephen Bostock, a partner at Mishcon de Reya, emphasises: “There remains a consistent demand from clients for investor visas since the end of the previous scheme.”

A familiar political dispute inside Westminster

This story is another turn in the UK’s internal tug-of-war. Practitioners have been saying for more than four years that the lack of a dedicated investment track creates a “political vacuum”, even though the government still attracts similar people through tax levers.

In April 2025, the non-dom regime ended and was replaced by Foreign Income and Gains — a four-year system for new residents. And in November, ministers decided to speed up the path to status: for those earning £125,000 or more, the timeline is cut to three years.

Yet these changes did not create a separate channel specifically for investors — and that gap, according to the project’s proponents, is precisely what the proposal is meant to fill. The relocation it could partially offset is measurable: after non-dom was abolished, billionaires left the country, including Jon Fredriksen, Nassef Sawiris and Guillaume Pouyazé. According to Henley & Partners, nearly 11,000 millionaires left the UK in 2024, with a further 16,500 forecast by the end of 2025.

For now, the proposal is at the same point it reached after the June meeting: it is “alive” enough to justify consultations, but too contentious for government insiders to already say things like “it’s dead.”

If you’re considering investment-based residency/citizenship options in the UK, it’s crucial to assess risks and real odds of program changes—especially with reports about a potential £5M investor visa and a possible return of the scheme. The team at Digital Nomad can help you review requirements, prepare documentation, and build a clear plan aligned with your goals—from timelines to eligible investment structures.

Our Telegram channel about various types of Greek residence permits, digital nomad programs, and the Greek Golden Visa: @digitalnomadgr