An individual who satisfies various criteria may be granted permission to enter and live in the UK as an "investor" for various periods of time. The investor category was introduced in 1994, but there have been only a handful of applications.
Requirements
An applicant must intend "to make the UK his main home", but this is only a matter of current intention and need not prejudice a foreign domicile.
The applicant must show that he has at least £1m of his own under his control available for investment, which he intends to invest in the UK; more specifically,
- investments in the UK must be made personally, rather than through a company or any other mechanism, such as a trust;
- at least £750,000 (out of the £1m) must be invested in UK gilts or the shares or loan capital (including ADRs or Eurobonds) of active UK trading companies (either private companies or those quoted on the Stock Exchange);
