Red Carpet for Dirty Money: The UK Golden Visa Comes Under Scrutiny

The UK golden visa might get abolished after a peer in the House of Lords puts forth an amendment to end it fearing that it is leading to corruption. There is a high possibility for the golden visa to get abolished or come under scrutiny.

The golden visa or the UK tier 1 investor visa is a means by which wealthy citizens from India, Russia, China and other countries get direct entry into the UK. Established in 2008, the golden visa has been the most preferred choice of high net worth individuals to get permanent citizenship of the UK.

Unlike an asylum application, the UK golden visa is extremely quick to get you entry in the UK. Applicants of the UK golden visa are required to invest two million dollars in the UK to get their visa pushed. The decisions for the applicants of the golden visa are made in just 3 weeks. The individuals whose visas get accepted are eligible to settle in the UK for 3 years with an extension of 2 years after a span of 5 years. If you can invest more (10 million dollars), you are entitled to get your UK PR in just 2 years. The golden visa, however, has been called into question for promoting money laundering and corruption. This is indeed bad news for people who had the golden visa as an opportunity to settle in the UK. But it will cut down on corruption and the same is covered in the report entitled "Red Carpet for Dirty Money."

It is Lord Wallace of Saltaire who has urged to end the golden visa altogether. He further appeals for a suspension of the golden visa until a final decision in this regard is made. As per sources, Lord Wallace of Saltaire has put forth an amendment to the Nationality and Borders Bill regarding the same. For your information, the Nationality and Borders Bill work at the committee stage in the House of Lords.

To be precise, the amendment tabled by Lord Wallace has urged to suspend the golden visa until the cash-for-residency visas given between June 2008 and April 2015 are reviewed or the golden route to get entry in the UK is closed permanently.

According to Susan Hawley, Executive Director of Spotlight on Corruption, the golden visa poses an alarming national security risk besides adding to corruption and the flow of "dirty" money. She further highlights the need to see if the golden visa regime is providing any real benefits to the UK.

In view of the same, the UK government has been urged to soon publish a detailed review of the visas under the golden category issued between the period 2008-2015.

As per the report given to the government, despite recent reforms in the golden visa policy, there have been several loopholes in the regime that are a threat to national security alongside facilitating corruption and money laundering. One issue highlighted in the report is of the individuals using "gifted" funds to get the golden visa.

The report contains descriptive and detailed data on the kind of action that needs to be taken in particular cases, including under what circumstances visas can be canceled and citizenship can be denied.

According to the UK Home Office, there have been many reforms in the golden visa regime to ensure that there is no corruption or misuse of the visa. It further added that the visa has been reformed in 2015 and then in 2019 to cut down on corruption and the flow of dirty money in the UK. Moreover, it has been made clear that the visa regime is always open to further reforms and changes by the Home Officer. In a statement by the Home Officer, it has been pointed out that one part of this reform was to ask individuals for the source of their funds.

According to Lord Wallace Saltaire, corruption from countries like Kazakhstan and Russia is a major concern. He further added that there's not much concern from India compared to the countries in Central Asia.

While calling for an amendment to end the golden visa, Saltaire called the golden visa regime a "shameful visa programme" that allows wealthy citizens from corrupt countries to live in the UK and ultimately gain permanent residency.

When taking examples of people like Nirav Modi, it is true that the golden visa is adding to corruption. Nirav Modi, a famous diamond merchant from India, is said to have gained entry to the UK on the basis of the golden visa in 2015. However, it was later revealed that he has been living in the UK after doing fraud and money scams in India. Nirav Modi has been wanted back in India regarding the fraud he did with Punjab National Bank in India.

In this context, Saltaire's amendment is considered to bring some positive changes in the UK. But the decision of abolishing the golden visa is not final yet. The amendment will pass through different stages and the votes will decide the future of the golden visa regime. Saltaire further added that most of the golden visas to date have been issued to citizens of countries with a high risk of corruption.

After Saltaire's call for the abolishment of the golden visa, more than six thousand golden visas will be reviewed for possible corruption and national security risks. But many citizens with the golden visa would have already gained permanent residency in the Uk. This can be a problem as per Saltaire. Although the future of the golden visa is uncertain, Saltaire's contribution in this matter will play an important role in establishing more security in the UK. It's not that the golden visa has been questioned for the first time. Even before Saltaire, the visa has been questioned for the sources of funds the applicants of this visa pledge. Nonetheless, the current appeal from Saltaire has put the golden visa regime under greater scrutiny.