BRIC Seekers of U.K. Golden Visa Double From 2015 Despite Brexit

(Bloomberg) -- The number of Brazilian, Russian, Indian and Chinese citizens willing to invest at least 2 million pounds ($2.6 million) in the U.K. for a so-called golden visa has almost doubled since 2015, even as the push for Brexit continued.

A total 239 BRIC applicants were recorded in 2019, comprising 64% of the global aggregate, according to data from the U.K. Home Office compiled by Shard Capital Partners LLP. China (including Hong Kong and Macau) accounted for the bulk of these at 193.

“The withdrawal of U.K. government bonds as a qualifying investment has seen a shift in applicants investing into managed U.K. corporate bond portfolios of mainly investment-grade bonds,” Farzin Yazdi, head of investor visa at Shard Capital, said by email.

A Tier 1 Investor visa allows individuals to live in the U.K. for a maximum of 3 years and four months but they can't avail public funds. Those who want to settle in the country can do so after two years by investing an additional 10 million pounds.

BRIC applicants accounted for 40% of total global refusals in 2019, even as the overall refusal rate dropped to about 4% from 11.4% in 2015.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jeanette Rodrigues in Mumbai at jrodrigues26@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Arijit Ghosh at aghosh@bloomberg.net, Ruth Pollard

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