UK Tier 1 Investment in Q1 has broken a New Record as Suspension-Scare has Boosted Applications by as much as 42%

The UK Tier 1 Investor Visa has not seen as many applications during the first quarter of 2019 since 2014, when the investment, requirement criteria was actually half what it currently is. The false-alarm suspension announcement, made in December, drove this record-breaking investment volume increase.

Via investment in the Tier 1 program throughout the first 2019 quarter, 131 principal applicants managed to obtain visas in the UK.  This is representative of a 42% increase in the previous 3 months and in addition is the highest number ever recorded since 2014, when the investment requirement was as high as £1,000,000, which is half the minimum requirement today.

Accounting for just over half (66) of visa recipients are Chinese Nationals; consequently, consisting of the largest group.  With the addition of Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong, the total share of Chinese visa recipients makes an even bigger rise to 57%.

8 Brazilian investors were approved and made it to a distant 2^ndplace, which was a totally new record for Brazil and the very first time it made it into the top 3. South Africans, Australians and Kazakhs each got 2 approvals, Russia, Canada and the US each saw 6 of their nationals obtain investor visas.

The panic that followed, when the UK Home Office announced on the 5^thDecember, that there would be an upcoming suspension to the program, pending further reforms (they later backpedalling on this on 11^thDecember), caused this sudden inflation of interest.

In a seamless manner and without any disruption to the program and, these reforms have been instated.

The Tier 1 program raised 262 million pounds in Q1. Conservatively estimated, however, and presuming that each applicant invests only the minimum of GBP2 million, which is not the actual reality. The real figure is more likely to be closer to 300 million.

Astons is a leading global immigration advisory firm with offices in London, Moscow, Dubai, Cyprus and China and offers residency & citizenship investment solutions in the UK,  EU & the Caribbean.

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