China News Service, February 20. According to the news of the British version of the "European Times" WeChat public account "British Circle", on February 17, British time, the British Home Office announced the cancellation of the investment immigrant visa known as the "golden visa".

　　Various British media also responded one after another. The "Financial Times" published an article saying that "the British government will cancel the golden visa to combat money laundering".

　　The BBC said that the UK will cancel the "golden visa" for foreign investors; because the investor visa has not contributed to the British people, but has allowed many corrupt elements to take advantage of the loophole.

What is a "Golden Visa"?

　　The golden visa, also known as the UK investor visa, was first introduced in 2008 to attract capital from outside the EU to the UK.

　　This route allows applicants to enter and remain in the UK by investing funds in the form of equity or loan capital in active, trading UK-registered companies.

　　The UK investment immigrant visa is mainly aimed at high-income groups who want to invest in immigration in the UK. It can help applicants and their immediate family members obtain a UK green card, including spouses and children under the age of 18.

The previous Tier 1 visa regulations were:

　　- Investing more than £5 million, you can apply for permanent settlement after 3 years;

　　- If the investment exceeds 10 million pounds, the time to apply for permanent settlement can be directly shortened to 2 years.

　　Since its introduction in 2008, the Home Office has made several changes to the visa, even including additional scrutiny of how and when applicants acquire wealth.

　　During the scrutiny, some cases raised security concerns: it became an illegal acquisition of wealth by criminals, or even wider corruption.

　　While reforms to this route have been made to prevent abuse, the Home Office only abolished the immigrant investor visa outright on February 17.

　　But the government's new immigration plan is actually being implemented - firmly against people who want to abuse the immigration system, leaving the opportunity to those who really want to come to the UK and play by the rules.

　　The Home Office added in a statement that it will continue to attract investment into the UK by reforming the existing "Innovator" visa to include a points-based immigration system.

　　"I have zero tolerance for people who abuse the immigration system. In my new immigration plan, I want to ensure that the British people have confidence in the system, including preventing corrupt elites from threatening our national security..." Home Secretary Priti "Canceling the immigrant investor visa is just the beginning of our fight against fraud and illicit finance, and the upcoming Economic Crimes Act will crack down on those who abuse our financial institutions and better protect taxpayers," Patel said.

　　The Home Office has reviewed all Tier 1 investor visas issued between the launch of the scheme in 2008 and the route reforms on 5 April 2015, and the findings will be published as soon as possible.

In this regard, Twitter netizens have mixed opinions:

　　"I don't understand why there was such a visa policy in the first place? Why did you support it for so long?"

　　"Wait until the horses are gone before closing the stable door - it's too late!"

　　"I'm more concerned about how to move forward - hopefully the Home Office can scrutinize those who have been and are currently holding Tier-1s."

How does the new policy affect the Chinese?

　　What impact will the cancellation of investment immigrant visas have on the Chinese community?

What is the impact on groups that already hold this visa?

　　Brother Quan interviewed lawyer Huang Jingming, a partner of the British Jion Law Firm, to provide professional answers for readers who have doubts.

　　Q: How will the cancellation of the UK Tier 1 immigrant investor visa affect the Chinese?

　　Lawyer Huang Jingming: Many Chinese choose the whole family to immigrate to the UK because of the education of their children. Many people choose to apply for Tier 1 investment immigrant visas.

Although applying for this visa requires an investment of at least £2 million in the UK, it is relatively easy.

　　Because Tier 1 investment immigrant visa applicants do not need to pass the English proficiency test, the language threshold is low; and the visa is not limited to backgrounds such as nationality, education and employment, which is for some middle-aged people who are not good in English but have a successful career Very friendly.

　　In the past 12 months, a total of 798 Tier 1 investment immigrant visas have been obtained, of which 82 are Russians and 210 are Chinese. It can be seen that many Chinese want to immigrate to the UK through this method.

　　Regrettably, the Tier 1 immigrant investor visa was officially cancelled on February 17, which will undoubtedly reduce the channels for Chinese citizens to immigrate to the UK.

Not only that, but the decision will also affect various professional service organizations that provide immigration services, such as immigration consultants, lawyers, wealth managers and real estate agents.

　　Q: Does the new policy affect residents who currently hold Tier 1 visas?

　　Lawyer Huang Jingming: Since 2008-2015, the total number of applications for this visa is about 6,000.

During this time, the Home Office has been reviewing all holders of the T1 immigrant investor visa.

This review covers all Tier 1 immigrant investor visas issued from the start of the program in 2008 to the time the pathway was reformed on April 5, 2015.

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　　The Home Office said the results of the review of the Tier 1 immigrant investor visa will be announced in due course.

I believe that any T1 immigrant investor visa holder seeking to renew or apply for indefinite leave will be subject to intense scrutiny due to the continued attention of the Home Office, as well as the latest developments in the Court of Appeal and follow-up reports from various media outlets.

　　Q: After the Tier 1 immigrant investor visa is cancelled, the Ministry of Home Affairs will launch a new visa policy; which visa type will replace the current Tier 1 immigrant investor visa in a certain sense?

　　Lawyer Huang Jingming: We hope that the Home Office will consider reforming and/or expanding some channels for overseas talents to migrate to the UK, attracting talents from all over the world to contribute to the UK economy, society and communities, especially considering the impact of Brexit and the UK The government's global strategy called the "Global Britain policy".

　　Lawyer Huang Jingming, who has extensive experience in immigration appeal cases and participated in judicial review cases against the Ministry of the Interior, also shared some of the cases he has handled with Quange.

　　"Our lawyers represented a T1 investor visa holder in the Maxwell case, which is now before the Supreme Court. The Home Office has applied for leave to appeal in this case and we are currently awaiting a response from the court.

　　We also currently represent many T1 immigrant investor visa holders affected by Dolphin Financial.

In this regard, we are conducting further investigations and liaising with all relevant parties to clarify and resolve the situation.

　　In light of Bloomberg's report on the Dolphin Financial Corporation T1 Immigrant Investor visa today, we strongly advise all T1 Investor Visa holders associated with Dolphin Financial Corporation to seek the help of an attorney to review their immigration status and prevent any possible Civil and criminal law implications.

"

　　What do you guys think?