Friday, October 1 2021A Promising re-start

The Q1 and Q2 statistics for UK Investor Visa applications have been released by the Home Office. During Q2, the UK began to remove certain COVID restrictions, and the data released certainly reflects this.

Applicants from Hong Kong and China continue to dominate, accounting for a third of all investor visas issued, followed by Russia and the United States. Q1 2021 saw a mirrored number of applicants from Q1 2020 with 45 in total issued. Q2 2020 saw 23 visas issued (we can expect this low number to be due to the strict, worldwide COVID restrictions at the time), but Q2 2021 however has seen a total of 66 Investor Visas issued. Year on year, more visas have been issued for Q3 and Q4, but the increase in interest and applicants in the first quarters of the year underlines the UK’s appeal.

This appeal is particularly acute to those experiencing political unrest. In the last 18 months, Hong Kong has undergone huge political change and the UK’s Tier 1 Investor Visa offers a safe and secure option for those wanting to move.

The withdrawal of western allies from Afghanistan has ushered in a huge shift in political control which has also spurred a number of applicants to enquire into the Investor Visa category, according to Shard Capital. Since 2011, the Investor Visa programme has issued 26 investor visas to applicants and a total of 121 visas including their dependents.

The UK and its rule of Law means that every citizen enjoys fundamental rights such as the security of persons and contracts, property, and human rights – benefits that many leaving Hong Kong and Afghanistan may no longer experience. To be able to move to the UK with a tier 1 visa, applicants require a £2 million or more investment into the UK, which will allow recipients to work and study with further investments leading to application for settlement.

The UK promises a much freer way of life to live, work, and study that consistently ranks highly on its quality of life, liveable cities, education, economy, and human rights. Ask anyone who settles here why they have chosen the UK and they will refer to the ‘fair play’ and broad education the country offers as being key to the decision to settle their family here.