{"text":[[{"start":157.6,"text":"Chancellor John Healey will not include a new visa route to the UK for wealthy people from overseas in his Budget next week, even though plans for such a programme were well advanced under Sir Keir Starmer’s administration."}],[{"start":158.1,"text":"Former business secretary Peter Kyle drew up a scheme with Varun Chandra, Starmer’s business adviser, to encourage people with at least £5mn to invest to come to the UK, with their cash channelled into British innovation and companies looking to grow."}],[{"start":158.6,"text":"People briefed on the October 28 Budget said Healey was not about to revive an investor visa, similar to the one scrapped by Boris Johnson’s government in 2022 amid fears it was being abused by oligarchs and money-launderers."}],[{"start":159.1,"text":"However, the idea was ready to be rolled out this year. Chandra and new business secretary Jonathan Reynolds are still interested in exploring new ways to bring wealthy investors to Britain, according to people familiar with the matter."}],[{"start":159.6,"text":"Kyle, sacked by new Prime Minister Andy Burnham in July, told the FT: “There’s a way to attract wealthy investors that want to spend more time here that can be explained to the public and would be beneficial to the economy. I hope the boldness and political leadership is there to make it happen.”"}],[{"start":160.1,"text":"Under Kyle’s plan, foreign investors would have been invited to create investment funds worth at least £5mn, which would be administered by the British Business Bank, a state-owned body that helps UK companies access financial support."}],[{"start":160.6,"text":"The investor would have had a seat on the investment panel and the fund would be invested in UK innovation and scale-up. The investor could decide if the fund was used to back sectors such as life sciences, defence tech or AI, said one person briefed on the plan."}],[{"start":161.1,"text":"The aim would have been to harness the investor’s experience and skills, as well as money, and in return they would have gained residence rights and even fast-track citizenship given both the investment and long-term commitment."}],[{"start":161.6,"text":"“Strict rules would have applied,” said the person briefed on the plan. “It would have been for working investors only, not idle billionaires or oligarchs.”"}],[{"start":162.1,"text":"The person added that Chandra did early work on the scheme, which was developed by the government’s Office for Investment."}],[{"start":162.6,"text":"Healey is not taking the idea forward in his first Budget, in which he has ruled out increasing capital gains tax and reducing the “mansion tax” threshold from £2mn to £1.5mn."}],[{"start":153.16,"text":"But people briefed on the discussions said Reynolds and Chandra, who has stayed on as Downing Street business adviser under Burnham, still believed there was merit in exploring a new visa route."}],[{"start":159.28,"text":"The Treasury declined to comment on Budget “speculation”."}],[{"start":163,"text":"Advisers to the rich said they would have welcomed the idea. John Kiely, head of immigration at law firm Howard Kennedy, called it “a no-brainer”."}],[{"start":170.44,"text":"“There is definitely an appetite among [high-net-worth] clients for a credible investment route,” he said. “I think it is an easy sell with the electorate too, particularly if the route requires genuine and impactful investment into the UK economy.”"}],[{"start":184.24,"text":"Zoe Jacob, a partner at Boodle Hatfield, said there was “considerable pent-up demand”, adding: “We have a list of potential clients who are waiting for a new investor visa to be announced and would then be interested in relocating to the UK.”"}],[{"start":196.72,"text":"At present wealthy individuals who want to move to the UK can apply for a skilled worker visa, said Nicolette Bostock, a partner in the UK immigration team at Withers. But this means they need to be employed by a business and largely cannot manage business interests beyond their sponsored role."}],[{"start":212.96,"text":"Advisers said the government would need to make sure an investor visa worked harmoniously with existing tax schemes, such as rules exempting new arrivals from UK tax on foreign income and gains for their first four years of UK tax residence."}],[{"start":225.92,"text":"Robert Brodrick, a partner at Payne Hicks Beach, said an investor visa would “need to tie in with tax” and “ideally, with a £5mn investment, offer some preferential tax status for the duration of the visa — but along with an annual fee”."}],[{"start":239.36,"text":"Nigel Farage’s Reform UK put forward a “Britannia Card” in 2025, where non-doms could pay a £250,000 fee to obtain tax relief on foreign assets, including inheritance tax. But that proposal was announced before Robert Jenrick defected from the Conservatives and became Reform’s Treasury spokesperson."}],[{"start":262.28,"text":"Jenrick said in April that the rightwing party was still looking at the scheme and may revise it to make it “even better”, with incentives to attract “bright young people” as well as established investors."}],[{"start":279.16,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1792565882_6440.mp3"}