A SCOTS immigration lawyer has slammed the UK Government’s “knee-jerk” decision to scrap an immigration route in light of the Ukraine crisis.
Jamie Kerr, an immigration expert at Burness Paull, said Priti Patel’s move to ban investor visas last week was a “red herring” and will put off companies looking to bring vital cash to the UK economy.
The Home Secretary removed Tier 1 visas as a route of entry to the UK after calls to stop “dirty Russian money” being laundered in Britain.
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Patel’s decision was welcomed by opposition parties but experts say it could prevent investment into the economy as the country plans its Covid recovery.
And there are questions about whether the visas – which were subject to strict controls – were being abused by criminals.
Kerr (above), an immigration lawyer of 15 years, told The National: “Because the Government has shut off so many routes for individuals to invest in the UK, the investor visa was one of the routes we're using to invest in businesses here.
“By shutting it immediately with no notice, there is a problem in that with the rule of law.
“It sends out the message to the world of global finance and global capital that Britain is not an attractive destination to invest in.
“The rules are liable to change without notice.”
He said the Government was sending the international business community “the wrong message” and this could spook investors looking to put money into the UK economy.
Tier 1 visas allowed people a “fast track” immigration route to Britain if they were investing at least £2 million – but Kerr said the perception there was “abuse” of the system by the “very wealthy” was flawed.
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“At the moment that’s not happening,” he said.
“In an advanced economy you have to cater for everyone and there is space for these types of visas.
“There is a varied range of people who come through the investor route.”
Most people who used the scheme to move to Scotland were retirees investing money in rural locations, Kerr said.
“We send out a message that Britain is closed for business,” he added.
“These are investments into businesses which allow businesses to innovate, to grow, to invest in research, invest in machinery and ultimately that’s the ability to create jobs. It will have a knock-on impact.”
Reforms in 2014 meant abuse of the system, which was introduced in 2008, was unlikely, said Kerr.
Kyra Motley, a partner with London law firm Boodle Hatfield, said axing Tier 1 visas was “very counterproductive”.
She added: “Almost every major economy wants to attract foreign capital and skills. Scrapping the investor visa will severely undermine the UK’s ability to do that.
“These investors have created thousands of jobs in the UK.”
It is “almost impossible” for dirty money to come into Britain because of strict checks on investors, Motley added.
“One of the key competitive advantages of the UK economy is that it has been open to foreign investment, foreign talent and new ideas. We shouldn’t jeopardise that because of a popular myth that foreign money is dirty money.”
In a statement on Friday, Patel said: “I want to ensure the British people have confidence in the system, including stopping corrupt elites who threaten our national security and push dirty money around our cities.
“Closing this route is just the start of our renewed crackdown on fraud and illicit finance.”
According to the Financial Times, 798 investor visas were issued between September 2020 and September 2021.
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