The Tier 1 (investor) scheme, one element of the so-called Golden Visa scheme, has been revised again; however this time it is unlikely that there will be the same embarrassment for the Home Office that greeted the December announcement that the visa scheme was to be suspended.

The new reforms will require applicants for the Tier 1 (investor) scheme to demonstrate that they have a minimum of £2 million in funds which they have had control of for two years instead of 90 days or provide evidence of the source of the funds. 

The Home Office has announced that there are to be two new routes available, known as start-up and innovator schemes replacing the Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) route.  The start-up visa, for those setting up a business for the first time, will no longer require applicants to be graduates and there will be twice the time to make the business successful, two years instead of one before they need to make any further applications.  The innovator route, which is reserved for the more experienced business person, will require an investment in their business of £50,000, which is a considerable reduction from the previous amount of £200,000.

In a sensible step-change, the decisions on the viability of the business plans of the applicants are to be judged by endorsing bodies and business experts as opposed to the Home Office.   The Immigration Minister, Caroline Nokes, commented: “These visa routes will be run in partnership with business experts to make sure the businesses benefit our economy and the UK remains a world-leading destination for pioneering business people.”

Reuters reported that the British fintech industry sector in London accessed a record £2.5 billion in funding in 2018; double that of Berlin, the nearest rival, making London the top European destination for tech expertise.  Russ Shaw of Tech London Advocates warmly welcomed the new Golden Visa routes saying “this is good news, the government is listening on the start-up visa side, this is something great for the sector.  What I am particularly pleased about on the start-up visa and innovator visa route is they are embracing third-party endorsement.

Russian entrepreneur Nikolay Storonsky, the founder of the digital bank Revolut, urged the government to introduce fast-track visas for technology talent.  Mr. Storonsky pointed out that 70 per cent of his bank’s technology teams are recruited overseas and he voiced concerns that Britain would lose out to France and Germany if there were barriers to immigration.  Revolut aimed to double the workforce in 2019 to enable it to achieve its aim of opening 50,000 accounts per day.  This appears to be in keeping with the tech sector in the UK according to information from Silicon Valley Bank.

Technology is not the only sector urgently requiring overseas talent the Home Office also launched a visa scheme for architects, Tier 1 (exceptional talent) visas – the first bespoke immigration category available for architects. The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) reports that research suggests that 86 per cent of architects believe that access to international talent is the key to the future.  RIBA warned that there would be a serious skills shortage if the Home Office did not go further in over-hauling the legislation to protect the £4.8 billion industry.  RIBA chief executive Alan Vallance said: “Without drastic reform, the UK risks turning inwards and cutting itself off from the world. In addition to the recommendations laid out in our report, we are calling on politicians to be open about the benefits of migration to our society – it is vital to the success of not just our businesses, but the places and spaces that architects create for our communities.”

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