UK plans £5 million invite-only visa for wealthy foreigners: report
Key Points
- UK government has drafted plans for an invite only investor visa requiring a £5 million commitment to fast growing British businesses
- Three years of residency leading to permanent settlement, with property explicitly excluded as a qualifying asset
- Threshold matches the accelerated tier of the defunct Tier 1 (Investor) visa, shut down in February 2022 over money laundering concerns
- Response to a wealth exodus after the April 2025 abolition of non dom tax status, with nearly 11,000 millionaires leaving in 2024
- Survival of the proposals depends on Prime Minister Keir Starmer fending off a Labour leadership challenge
The UK government is drawing up plans for an invite-only investor visa that would grant wealthy foreigners three years of residency in exchange for a £5 million commitment to British businesses.
The Office for Investment, a cross-government unit housed under 10 Downing Street alongside the Treasury and the Department for Business and Trade, sent the proposals to private wealth advisers earlier this month, according to documents reviewed by Bloomberg.
Qualifying investments would have to flow into priority areas such as fast-growing UK businesses, with property explicitly excluded as an eligible asset. Applicants would face enhanced vetting under an invite-only application route, with a direct path to permanent residency after three years.
The £5 million threshold matches the accelerated settlement tier of the now defunct Tier 1 (Investor) visa, which the previous Conservative government shut down in February 2022 to curb the influence of Russian money.
That earlier programme started at £2 million for a five-year settlement and offered faster routes at higher tiers, including three years for £5 million and two years for £10 million.
The new proposals eliminate the lower thresholds entirely and reportedly include thorough due diligence to minimise money laundering risks.
At £5 million, the UK route would sit at the top end of the global market. Portugal’s golden visa starts at €500,000 for fund investments, Greece’s programme ranges from €250,000 to €800,000, and the US EB-5 sets its standard threshold at $1,050,000. The invite only structure is unlike any current open golden visa on the market.
The shift reflects mounting pressure on the Treasury after the abolition of Britain’s centuries-old non-dom tax regime in April 2025 prompted several prominent billionaires to leave the country or reduce their ties.
Business Secretary Peter Kyle has publicly acknowledged that higher levies introduced under Labour drove some ultra wealthy residents to depart.
Henley & Partners estimated that nearly 11,000 millionaires left the UK in 2024, with a further 16,500 departures projected by the end of 2025. The UAE, Italy, and Turkey have all stepped up efforts to court the same pool of mobile capital.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s November budget separately revealed plans for a tax offer aimed at high talent individuals, though few details have emerged since.
Whether the proposals survive ongoing Labour politics is also unclear.
Bloomberg notes that sdvisers received the documents before Labour’s heavy losses in local elections put Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s premiership under severe pressure, and several of his Labour critics have already challenged separate plans to link permanent residency to income levels.
If Starmer is unable to fend off a leadership challenge, the entire initiative could stall.
