Government considering plans to auction visas to superrich, developing plans used by only 14 Turkish nationals so far
BRITISH VISAS could soon be auctioned to the richest bidder under proposals put to the government by the Migration Advisory Committee.
Under the proposal, overseas millionaires will be able to bid for a limited number of investor visas – known as Tier 1 – which allow holders and their families to live indefinitely in Britain.
Prices would start at £2.5 million.
The proposed system would double the amount Tier 1 investors are required to put into Britain to £2 million.
Home Office records show 14 Turkish nationals were granted Tier 1 visas under the current system since 2008, which means they will have invested at least £1 million in the country.
The majority of existing Tier 1 visas have gone to Russian or Chinese nationals — 433 and 419 respectively — followed by US citizens 93, Egyptians 46, Indian 44, Kazakhstanis 41, Iranians 38, Pakistanis 38, Australians 36 and Canadians 36, out of a total of 1,647.
DOUBLE THE PRICE
The cost has remained unchanged since the scheme was introduced in 1994 and the committee has now recommended doubling the minimum investment to £2 million and auctioning slots with a reserve price of £2.5 million.
“Some people say ‘isn’t it awful to sell off visas? Well, it is better than giving them away, which is what we are doing now,” committee chairman Professor David Metcalf said.
“The Brits get very little out of this at the moment. The migrants get a huge amount,” he added.
The existing Tier 1 route allows rich individuals accelerate the process of being allowed to settle in the UK by between two and five years depending on how much is invested.
There have been around 600 applications a year under this route, which allows applicants to be able to circumvent the usual criteria of having a reasonable command of the English language or a job in the UK.
A total of 560 overseas millionaires applied for investor visas in the 12 months to last September and 50 of them were turned down.
Immigration lawyers have attacked the idea of auctioning off UK visas with some warning against creating an “eBay culture” which will leave a bad taste with the British public
A visa bid scheme would be the first scheme of its kind anywhere in the world, but the decision on whether to implement it rests with UK home secretary Theresa May.
