Boris Johnson’s government could revoke so-called “golden visas” already issued to oligarchs and other wealthy foreign nationals living in the UK, a Home Office minister has said.
Home secretary Priti Patel has shut down the Tier 1 visa system – which had offered British residency routes to those investing at least £2m – citing concerns over “dirty money”.
But the government is facing calls to go further and “kick out” associates of Vladimir Putin’s government living in the UK under Tier 1 visas.
Asked if the government would revoke some of the existing golden visas granted to the super-rich, security minister Damian Hinds told Times Radio: “There are routes to take to revoke [visas] when needed.”
Mr Hinds: “We’ve done a review of past cases with these visas, and clearly it’s because there are concerns about the visa, and how it can be used. That is why the route is being stopped.”
Those who had been eligible for the visa launched in 2008 must have at least £2m invested in the UK – giving wealthy foreign nationals residency for five years and allowing apply to settle in the country after further investments.
The Tier 1 investor visa route will be shut to all new applicants from all nationalities with “immediate effect”, the government said on Thursday.
The Home Office said that a review of existing Tier 1 visas granted had created “security concerns”, including people “acquiring their wealth illegitimately and being associated with wider corruption”.
The Liberal Democrats have called for the government to revoke visas obtained by those linked to the Kremlin.
Layla Moran, the party’s foreign affairs spokeswoman, said: “Shutting the door to Putin’s cronies is not enough – too many of them have already walked through it with virtually no questions asked.”
The senior MP added: “The government must immediately publish the long overdue report into those who currently hold and came here on these visas. It’s time to kick out associates of the Kremlin who have used golden visas to launder their dirty money, and reputations, in our country.”
There have been just over 13,000 “golden” visas issued since 2008. Since then, 2,581 have been issued to Russians, with 55 in the same nine months in 2021.
Ms Patel said the government wanted to stop “corrupt elites who threaten our national security and push dirty money around our cities”. She said the closure of the Tier 1 visas was “just the start” of a crackdown on illicit finance.
Home secretary Priti Patel (Stefan Rousseau/PA)
But the Home Office said it will reform another option for the wealthy – called the innovator visa – as part of the new points-based immigration system which the department says will provide an “ambitious investment route”.
Mr Hinds said the innovator visa would emphasis job creation in the UK, rather than just inviting people in because they “have a lot of money”.
Asked why the government had not acted earlier to stop the flow of cash from oligarchs in the UK, Mr Hinds said the forthcoming Economic Crime Bill would help tackle it.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “On the broader point… about so-called dirty money, money laundering and use of the City, it is true that London is an international centre, the City is an international centre, but we are cracking down on money laundering.”
The minister added: “We don’t want that money here. It is bad for the reputation of the City, for our financial institutions, and it is just morally wrong.”
Meanwhile, Mr Hinds said it was “not inevitable” that Russia would now invade Ukraine, urging Mr Putin to consider the path of diplomacy.
A report in The Times claimed senior government officials now believe Mr Putin had made his mind up to send Russian troops into the eastern European country, with one source saying: “He’s going to do it, and it’s going to be horrendous.”
Asked if the British government now believed an invasion was inevitable, Mr Hinds told Times Radio: “It may be that’s there’s an imminent invasion, it may be it’s going to take a little bit longer. We’re dealing with someone who will choose his moment.”
The Home Office minister added: “It is not inevitable. These things are in the choice of president Putin … Until such a terrible thing has happened there is always a diplomatic route and we strongly encourage president Putin to take that.”
