United Kingdom · Residency by investment
Proposed 'invite-only' investor visa
Proposed
Last verified July 2026Unconfirmed
A proposal circulating in government during 2026, reported at a GBP 5m minimum with a 3-year path to settlement, property excluded, and entry by invitation after enhanced vetting. It is not law, not open, and faces resistance from both the Home Office and the Treasury. Treat as a signal of direction, not a plan.
The proposal is the clearest official acknowledgement that the non-dom reform has a cost side. Its design — invitation, vetting, priority sectors, no property — is the template every credible future UK investor route will follow. But betting a relocation plan on it would be a mistake.
The facts
- Minimum investment
- £5M
- Total landed cost
- Reported GBP 5m into priority-sector UK businesses; no reliable fee estimate exists because no rules have been published
- Physical presence
- Unknown
- Family
- unknown — no published rules
- Permanent residency
- Reported 3 years
- Citizenship
- Reported 3 years to settlement plus 12 months, but unconfirmed
- Dual citizenship
- Permitted
- Requirements
- none published
What can go wrong
- This is a leak-and-briefing story, not a published policy. Every number attached to it, including the GBP 5m, is reported rather than legislated.
- It is contested inside government. The Home Office killed the last investor route on security grounds and has not been shown to have changed its mind.
- Even if it launches, an invite-only route with enhanced vetting is not a product you can buy — the eligibility gate is discretionary.
- Any launch will collide with the earned settlement reform, which is moving in the opposite direction for everyone else.