Tier 1 Investor Visas are a legitimate strategy for diversifying your nationality.
A second passport has been an important pre-requisite of being a global citizen for many years. Entrepreneurs around the world, in particular those who live in developing countries with regimes that could quickly turn hostile, have understood the value of possessing alternative nationality for some time.
Ultimately, a passport offers its holders the right to escape if it becomes necessary and enables family members to enjoy the benefits of being alternatively domiciled in a country whose higher standards of education, political freedom, or more friendly business climate allows families to flourish.
The UK today has one of the best passports in the world. The Tier 1 Investor Visa scheme promises a UK passport that offers visa-free travel to 173 countries. It also guarantees access to some of the best education in the world while having a long heritage of being reliably governed by the rule of law.
A Tier 1 Investor Visa is a viable, effective strategy for you and your family if your government becomes too controlling of capital flows, or if it restricts travel. In recent times, Russia offers an excellent example of how quickly things can change. There, certain occupations have found it increasingly hard to travel abroad. This seemed unthinkable after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The introduction of a new constitution had enabled Russians to leave and return freely. However, as many took this opportunity to leave, too many also never returned. Early at the turn of this century, it had seemed impossible that travel restrictions would ever return but they did and by 2010, Federal Security Services staff were banned from travelling.
The ban was slowly extended to include debtors to the state through unpaid taxes; furthermore several categories of civil servants, from firemen to police officers were then included in the ban. It is estimated now that circa 5% of Russia’s population is unable to travel abroad. Dual nationality may be attractive to many of those.
Whether it’s for business, political, familial or tax reasons, residency and citizenship are complicated – things change constantly and individual circumstances make huge differences. UK Welcome™, as part of Knightsbridge Wealth, has teamed up with a significant team of exceptional accountants and lawyers to ensure Tier 1 Investor Visa applicants receive the best advice, based on their unique circumstances.