FILE PHOTO: Britain’s Home Secretary Priti Patel walks outside Downing Street in London, Britain, October 27, 2021. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls
February 17, 2022
LONDON (Reuters) – British interior minister Priti Patel said on Thursday she had closed a visa route available to those who had invested at least 2 million pounds ($2.72 million) in the country as part of a crackdown on fraud and illicit finance.
Media had reported the government planned to scrap the so-called “golden visa” system, which has previously attracted wealth Russian investors to resettle in Britain, in response to Russia’s aggressive behaviour towards Ukraine.
“I’ve closed the Tier 1 Investor visa with immediate effect following our review of all those granted,” Patel said on Twitter. “This is just the start of our renewed crackdown on fraud and illicit finance.”
($1 = 0.7345 pounds)
(Reporting by Kylie MacLellan; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
