{"id":7307,"date":"2016-07-12T18:08:35","date_gmt":"2016-07-12T18:08:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.investmentimmigration.com\/?p=7307"},"modified":"2019-02-12T13:49:43","modified_gmt":"2019-02-12T18:49:43","slug":"brexit-spells-trouble-british-investor-visa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.investmentimmigration.com\/brexit-spells-trouble-british-investor-visa\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Brexit\u2019 Spells More Trouble for British Investor Visa"},"content":{"rendered":"

Britain\u2019s exit from the European Union is expected to spell more trouble for its already-struggling investment immigration program.<\/p>\n

\"\u2018Brexit\u2019<\/p>\n

With cheaper programs in Portugal, Malta and Cyprus already attracting the vast majority of investment money, the so-called \u2018Brexit\u2019 is likely to further reduce interest in the Tier 1 Investor Visa<\/a>.<\/p>\n

New British Prime Minster Theresa May has promised to push ahead with the Brexit plan, but there is uncertainty over exactly what shape it will take.<\/p>\n

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\"\u2018Brexit\u2019<\/p>\n

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In the short term, that is likely to mean investors will avoid the British program over fears Europe-wide free movement will no longer be a benefit of permanent residency.<\/p>\n

Should those fears be realised in the longer term, the exit could spell the end of the program altogether.<\/p>\n

Until November 2014, the program was popular, particularly with the super-rich from China and Russia.<\/p>\n

Popularity Plummets Overnight<\/h3>\n

But when the investment threshold was doubled from \u00a31 million to \u00a32 million<\/a>, that popularity plummeted almost overnight.<\/p>\n

Just 192 visas were awarded through the program in 2015, compared to 1,172 the previous year, a fall of 84 per cent.<\/p>\n

Now those numbers are set to drop even lower, with 42 visas awarded in the first quarter of 2016.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the day of the Brexit referendum also saw a surge in Google searches for \u2018how to move to Canada\u2019<\/a>, as Britons concerned over the impact of the vote looked at how they could escape the country.<\/p>\n

As the pound dramatically dropped and financial markets fell, even some of those who vote to leave the EU started to regret their decision.<\/p>\n

Further reading<\/b><\/p>\n