Investor visa applications decline by 83% in the first nine months of 2015 compared to 2014
The Guardian today published an in-depth look at the number of Tier 1 (Investor) visa applications and says that the first nine months of 2015 saw an 83% decrease compared to the same period in 2014.
Image credit: UK GovernmentAccording to the Guardian, there were just 136 Tier 1 (Investor) visa applications up to the end of September this year, down from 780 last year.
There had previously been a steady rise in applications and then a sharp jump to a peak in 2014:
Number of visa applications
2015: 136**
2014: 1,290
2013: 600
2012: 505
2011: 380
2010: 225
2009 :180
2008: 70*
* June to December **January to September
The Government increased the initial investment threshold required for a Tier 1 (Investor) visa in November 2014, doubling it from £1 million to £2 million. As the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) noted in its February 2014 report on Tier 1 (Investor) visas, the £1 million investment threshold had not been altered since 1994.
According to the Guardian, the Home Office gave no official reason for doubling the investment threshold, but a source close to the policy said the change was mainly due to upward pressure on property prices. Buyers from Russia and Asia had bought up to a third of London's high-end properties. UBS recently identified London as the most overvalued property market in the entire world, with house prices more decoupled from household earnings than anywhere else.
The Guardian says that the drop in the number of Tier 1 (Investor) visa applications by Chinese and Russian investors in 2015 has been particularly notable. The two nationalities have accounted for around 60% of Tier 1 (Investor) visas since the scheme's inception.
In addition to the investment increase to £2 million, the Guardian also noted that the recently launched stringent criminal checks on those applying will have contributed to the drop in applications.
The Home Office announced the increased checks in July.
Josephine Goube of Migreat told the Guardian: "Before April 2015, UK banks used the fact that individuals were granted a UK investor visa as a qualifying evidence to overcome due diligence concerns when assessing the individual's legitimacy. Criminal checks have only been implemented from this September 2015."
The downturn in the economic situation in Russia and China, and the weakening of their currencies against the British pound, was also identified as a reason for the drop in visa applications.