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19 March 2024

UK investor visa now more than Dh11 million

A minimum investment amount of EUR5 million (Dh23 million) is required. (File)

Published
By Majorie van Leijen

The minimum investment amount for the Tier 1 Investors programme of the UK has been doubled from GBP1 million to GBP2 million, now equaling a minimum of Dh11,511,128.

The Tier 1 Investor route is one of the two routes offered to business people eager to attain a residency status in the UK. In return of a financial injection, applicants can apply for indefinite stay and consequently British citizenship.

The Tier 1 programme consists of the investment option and the entrepreneur route, where the investment option requires little more than a financial injection in the local economy.

However, the minimum investment amount was traditionally known to be one of the highest among countries offering similar programmes, and the bar has just been placed a little higher.

Previously, an investment of GBP1 million could lead to permanent residency after six years, while this was reduced to three years when investing GBP5 million and to two years when investing GBP10 million.

Added to this is the requirement of physical presence in the country, regardless of the investment amount issued. In order to obtain a permanent residency, the person must not have spent more than 180 days outside the UK in any 12 consecutive months.

The good news is that the programme offers the option to finance the investment, although rules regarding this were tightened two years ago, when offshore financing options were scrapped.


Interestingly, the UK is the first and only country that offers an investment scheme compliant to Islamic rules.

Other than these conditions, the programme is relatively easy to get into. There are no language requirements, no business incentives are not mandatory and the entire process up to obtaining residency status usually takes 4-6 weeks.

The costliest investment programme at the moment is in Cyprus, where a minimum investment amount of EUR5 million (Dh23 million) is required, albeit in return for direct citizenship status.