More and more wealthy foreigners are taking advantage of the “investor visas” that were introduced by the UKBA back in 2008. The visa enables those with at least £1 million to invest in theUKand remain in the country for three years.
It seems that the visa has been exceptionally popular among Russians, who account for 21% of the hundreds of millionaires taking advantage of the scheme. Behind the Russians are Chinese investors, accounting for 15%. Roughly 30% are made up of high net worth individuals from former Soviet Union states such as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine.
Experts have claimed that the visas are seen as a fast-track process for wealthy foreign nationals to acquire British citizenship.
Damian Green will be doing a victory dance any time now. More rich foreigners is exactly what he asked for!
