UK golden visa would open floodgates to dirty money, Reeves warned

Telegraph

8 hours ago

Rachel Reeves would risk 'rolling out the red carpet to kleptocrats, criminals and spies' by launching a golden visa, anti-corruption charities have warned.
The Government is considering introducing a special visa to attract wealthy businesspeople to the UK amid concerns that its tax crackdown has driven millionaires out of the country.
The scheme would be open to foreigners who invest in areas seen as strategically important to the country such as artificial intelligence and clean energy.
However, the investor visa would carry serious 'national security risks' according to charities including the UK Anti-Corruption Coalition and Patriotic Millionaires UK.
In a letter to the Chancellor, the charities said: 'We are writing to express our concerns about reports that the UK Government is planning a new investment visa, or 'Golden Visa', scheme.
'Past experience suggests this would be misguided, offer minimal economic benefit and expose the UK to acute national security risks by facilitating foreign influence and the flow of illicit finance.'
The UK used to offer residency to investors who put more than £2m into the country.
But the government scrapped the golden visa in 2022 as part of a crackdown on 'illicit finance and fraud' following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
In recent years several countries have also cancelled their golden visa programmes. Spain abolished its scheme at the start of 2025 because of concerns that foreign property investors had fuelled a housing crisis.
According to the Financial Times, some Labour ministers want to revive the golden visa, but the plan is facing logistical and political challenges.
Nicolette Bostock, of law firm Withers, said the UK was in need of a 'robust' immigration option for wealthy investors.
'The UK misses out on the economic uplift of having wealth holders in the UK, using their spending power locally and contributing to society more widely.'
She said individuals were already assessed for possible criminality as part of the visa application process.
'The Home Office has previously required investor visa migrants to submit proof of a clear criminal record in every country they have lived in for 12 months or more, going back 10 years.
'In addition, there is a 'sniff test' available to the Home Office to be able to refuse a visa on the basis of adverse character conduct or associations, which allows far-reaching powers for a visa application to be refused even where an applicant has no prior criminal record.'
Non-dom crackdown
The Government's decision to curb tax breaks for wealthy foreigners has triggered fears of an exodus of millionaires. However the charities argue that claims are 'unfounded'.
The Office for Budget Responsibility estimated that 12pc of non-doms would leave in response to the tax changes.
Meanwhile, tax advisers say that the end of the non-dom regime has pushed wealthy, globally mobile non-doms to leave for more tax-friendly jurisdictions such as Greece and Italy.
Under the new 'foreign income and gains (FIG) regime', which replaced the non-dom system in April 2025, new arrivals can avoid paying tax on foreign income and gains for only their first four years in the UK. Those who have been a UK resident for at least 10 years will face an inheritance tax charge on their worldwide assets.
The Treasury was contacted for comment.