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on August 25, 2025
Read Time: 7 Minutes
You might have recently heard the news – as reported by Bloomberg – that the UK Government is “drawing up plans for a special visa for foreigners who invest significant sums in Britain”.
Such a visa scheme – if it was to come to fruition – would be effectively a long-term replacement for the (Tier 1) Investor visa category. That particular programme closed suddenly in February 2022, amid concerns about misuse and a lack of meaningful economic benefit to the UK.
This raises the question, then, of whether any new Investor visa category could seek to avoid the former scheme’s drawbacks by placing a strong focus on attracting investment into certain sectors of strategic importance to the UK economy.
The decision to discontinue the previous Investor route was made by the then-Conservative Government just days before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Concerns about the influence of Russian money had been a key concern in the UK at the time.
Sure enough, it seems that the UK’s current Labour Government is eager to avoid any new Investor visa simply becoming another means by which dirty money could be funnelled into the UK.
This seemingly explains why – if the Bloomberg report is to be believed – the proposals for a new Investor visa envisage a scheme aimed at people willing to put money into sectors of the UK economy regarded as “strategically important” by the Sir Keir Starmer-led administration.
This is, indeed, the “£2,000,000 question”, to cite the minimum amount in investment funds that candidates for the Tier 1 Investor visa were required to have in order to apply for that now-shuttered route to the UK.
It is important to note that according to “people familiar with the matter” cited by Bloomberg, the visa plans were “still at an early stage, subject to change”. The news agency also suggested it was possible that ministers could try and make existing UK visa routes more attractive to investors.
Nonetheless, there are several reasons to believe there is a strong likelihood of the UK Government opening a dedicated Investor visa route once more.
These include:
Last month, the Starmer Government published a white paper, entitled Restoring Control over the Immigration System, outlining its future approach to UK immigration policy.
In this document, the Government stated that it wanted the UK’s immigration system to “attract the best talent, entrepreneurship, and investment into our country.”
The same publication also indicated that ministers would be putting in place “faster routes for bringing people into the UK who have the right skills and experience to supercharge UK growth in strategic industries”.
The fact that the reports about the possible reintroduction of a UK Investor visa indicate it would likely focus on attracting investment into certain strategically important sectors – such as AI, life sciences, and clean energy – suggests ministers are anxious to avoid the well-documented pitfalls of the Tier 1 route.
As the Bloomberg report notes, the Starmer Government has come under fire from business figures and political opponents due to its decision to heighten employers’ National Insurance Contributions (NICs) from 13.8% to 15%, with effect from April 2025.
This move, it has been claimed, has adversely hit UK business confidence and made employers more reluctant to take on new staff.
A well-designed new Investor visa scheme, then, could help strengthen the UK’s credentials as a destination for high-net-worth people, while supporting the Government’s statement that “kickstarting economic growth” is one of its “missions”.
Here are some sectors that we might expect to see supported by any new Investor visa scheme the UK Government introduces:
It isn’t exactly a secret that AI looks set to profoundly transform how we live and work – and indeed, has already been doing so. A Forbes Advisor poll in 2024, for instance, found that 79% of Brits had used generative AI, such as ChatGPT, to assist them at work.
The statistics outlining the broader role of AI in “UK plc” tell a similarly staggering story: the UK Government has said that the country’s AI market was worth over £72 billion last year. Furthermore, the US International Trade Administration has indicated that it anticipates the UK AI market hitting £1 trillion in value by the middle of the 2030s.
We would hardly be surprised, then, to see AI being a major focus of the UK Government’s efforts to draw in investment through any new Investor visa programme.
The drive towards Net Zero has already brought considerable economic benefits to the UK. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated last year that even just in the period from 2021 to 2022, the country’s low carbon and renewable energy economy (LCREE) saw a 28% increase in turnover, from £54.2 billion to £69.4 billion.
Moreover, it has been suggested that the UK’s Net Zero economy could be worth £1 trillion by the end of this decade. So, gearing any new Investor visa to attract investment into this sector could surely greatly help to boost funding for renewable energy projects, sustainable infrastructure, and green technology.
The UK already has a strong life sciences sector; as of 2021/22, a total of 6,850 life sciences businesses were operating in the country, while 304,200 people were employed in the industry. Furthermore, businesses in the sector generated £108.1 billion in turnover.
Nonetheless, if the UK wishes to maintain its competitiveness in this area, attracting suitably targeted investments will rightly be a high priority.
Recent data indicates that manufacturing is responsible for about £217 billion of output per year in the UK, in addition to providing 2.6 million jobs.
So, it is easy to imagine a situation in which a new Investor visa scheme seeks to maximise investment in advanced manufacturing technologies in the UK.
At the time of typing, in June 2025, the only people who are still eligible for a UK Tier 1 Investor visa are those who eligible to extend their existing visa.
Foreign nationals who already have entry clearance or leave to enter or remain as a holder of the Investor visa, can apply to extend their stay or to settle in the UK (the latter known as “indefinite leave to remain” or ILR status):
Migrants holding a Tier 1 Investor visa who are interested in extending their stay in the UK on this route, should bear in mind that any “dependant” family members of theirs under this category will need to apply separately to extend their own visas.
The exact eligibility criteria that someone wishing to extend their Tier 1 Investor visa will need to satisfy, will depend on when they successfully applied for their original visa.
Those who successfully applied prior to 6th November 2014, will be able to apply to extend their visa if they meet all the following requirements:
As for Tier 1 Investor visa holders who successfully applied for their original visa on or after 6th November 2014, they will be permitted to submit an extension application if all the below statements are true:
For a given holder of this visa, their “investor start date” will be either:
You might be reading this as an overseas national who already holds a Tier 1 Investor visa in the UK, and who is interested in prolonging a stay in the country. If this sounds like your situation, our award-winning specialists in UK immigration law at Cranbrook Legal can provide tailored advice and guidance, as you consider what steps to take next.
Alternatively, you may be a high-net-worth individual seeking out an alternative means of moving to the UK, in the continued absence of a replacement for the Tier 1 Investor route. In this case, our professionals can point you towards possibilities such as our Skilled Worker visa by investment programme.
Whatever your exact situation and aspirations may be, please feel free to call 0208 215 0053 or to use our online contact form to request a free consultation. When you do, we can provide the complete project-managed service to help you coordinate a smooth relocation to the UK, or an extension of your existing stay in the country.
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