London
UK Tier 1 Investor Visa
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland consists of the nations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The UK and England’s capital is the city of London. Even after brexit, London remains the Global City par excellence and is home to more foreign billionaires than any other city in the world.
About the UK
Residency by Golden Visa
The Golden Visa offers 3 streams under its official name, the UK Tier 1 Investor Visa. You can choose to invest 2M GBP, 5M GBP or 10M GBP. The higher the amount, the shorter the hold period and the wait for indefinite leave to remain (permanent residence). You are eligible for British citizenship after in 5 or 6 years of residence.
Taxation in the UK is advantageous as non-domiciled residents are taxed on what they remit into the UK. Under the Tier 1 Investor visa, you can also relocate to tax-friendly jurisdictions such as the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands to lower your tax liability further.
United Kingdom Crypto Environment
The UK is a major global financial hub and in recent years has become a fintech leader as well. At the same time, it is starting to demonstrate significant potential to become a leader in blockchain technologies and the crypto economy. However, in recent years we have seen some more regulation regarding derivative crypto trading (not allowed anymore in the UK) and in 2021 the UK government launched their plan for a CBDC called “Britcoin” (ngmi).
Country Overview
Program Overview
Location
Europe
Population
66,000,000
Currency
Pound
Language
English
Capital
London
Program Overview
Legal Status
Temporary resident
Mobility
Mobility: EU (indefinitely),
US (90days)
Timeline
2 months
Min. Investment
2M GBP
Physical Presence
None or half of the year for PR
Factsheet Download
Download our free factsheet with more detailed information about this program.
Who Can Qualify?
To qualify under the program you will need to invest in the share capital or loan capital of a UK registered companies. You can’t invest in companies mainly engaged in property investment, property management or property development.
Investment Requirements
Investment
The minimum requirements are:
- 2M GBP to qualify for permanent residence after 5 years of holding the investment.
- 5M GBP to qualify for permanent residence after 3 years of holding the investment.
- 10M GBP to qualify for permanent residence after 2 years of holding the investment
To qualify for citizenship you will need to have spent at least 5 years in the UK, including 12 months as a permanent resident. Effectively the 2M GBP option can lead to citizenship after 6 years, whereas the 5M GBP and 10M GBP can lead to citizenship after 5 years.
Benefits
The UK tier 1 investor visa imposes no physical presence requirements to the investor and only need to visit the UK once to renew their visa. But those that want to qualify for permanent residence or citizenship will have to be presence most of the year and become tax resident.
Since Brexit, the UK is not part of the European Union and the Schengen Area. But the UK remains part of the Common Travel Area with Ireland.
A resident permit in the UK also allows you to live in tax friendly jurisdictions in the Channel Islands such as Jersey and Guernsey.
Another great benefit of the UK is the Premium Service that can be used at certain stages of the application (e.g. permanent residence) to reduce to 24h the application process.
Family
Under the UK Golden Visa, you will be allowed to include your spouse and your minor children. Adult children can obtain a study permit. Parents can be admitted to family reunification after you obtained permanent residence status in the UK.
Requirements
The requirements for the UK Golden Visa, besides the investment, are as follows:
- You must open a bank account in the UK and demonstrate that the funds used belong to you or your spouse.
- Provide a Police Certificate of any country you have lived in for more than 12 months in the last 10 years.
- You must pass a Tuberculosis test and register for National Health Insurance.
United Kingdom Residency Application Process
The UK Home Office usually takes 8 weeks to give a decision on an application. The overall process can be longer depending on how fast you finalize the investment after that. We can lodge the application via a power of attorney, but you will need to physically travel to UK to collect your resident permit.
Day 0
- Verify eligibility
- Start client onboarding process with Global RCG.
- Global RCG helps you gather the required documents.
- Global RCG assists you in choosing your investment option.
- Global RCG assists you in opening a UK bank account and transferring the funds.
Day 1
Month 1
- Approval-in-principle is received. Give your biometric and pickup entry visa at consulate.
- Travel to the UK to pick up your resident permit. You will have 3 months to finalize your investment
Year 2, 3 or 5
Year 5 or 6
Year 6
Mobility
Access to the US
As a Golden Visa applicant, you will receive a multi-exit visa allowing you to travel in and out of the UK. As an American, you can already spend 6 months a year in the UK. But your UK resident permit will guarantee you entry in the country even during COVID-19 travel restrictions.
Once you become a British citizen, you will have Freedom of Movement within the common travel area and can live and work freely in it.
The British passport provides access to over 180 visa-free worldwide, including the EU’s Schengen area, the US, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Brazil.
Access to the US
More and more Americans are considering renouncing their American citizenship for multiple reasons. They want to know how they can circle back to the US with their new citizenship. The UK has visa-liberalization with the US, meaning British citizens can travel to the US 90 days each year without a visa. UK is a US E-1 or E-2 treaty country. As an UK citizen you will be able to apply for an E-2 investor visa allowing you to run a business in the US without having to fall back into US tax residence.
Taxation
Taxation in UK is relatively high, but many expats benefit from a non-domiciled tax regime. Non-domiciled are only liable to taxation on what they remit to the United Kingdom. As a Golden Visa investor, you are exempted from being a tax resident in the country if you don’t wish to. But be aware that tax residence is necessary to reach permanent residence or citizenship.
As an American, you are liable to taxation in the US even if you are not living there anymore. If you are living in the UK during that time, the double-taxation treaty will be used to make sure you are not overtaxed. To break free of US taxation, you must renounce your US citizenship first and go through the process known as the exit tax.
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