The UK government’s plan to launch a new investment visa for wealthy foreigners willing to fund strategic sectors is dangerously out of step with reality, it’s claimed.
“On the one hand, ministers are asking for billions in backing for AI and clean energy. On the other, they’re pulling the rug from under the very investors who’ve been quietly building Britain’s economy for decades” says Nigel Green, CEO of global financial advisory giant deVere Group. “It’s not just inconsistent — it’s economically reckless.”
The government is currently weighing a visa scheme that would grant residency to individuals who commit substantial capital to high-growth sectors such as life sciences, artificial intelligence, and renewable energy.
But this pitch comes just weeks after the Treasury confirmed the abolition of the non-domiciled tax regime from April 2025 — a move that threatens to trigger a wave of wealth outflows from the UK.
Green continues: “The contradiction couldn’t be clearer. The proposed visa targets a small, tightly defined subset of foreign investors — while the tax change risks alienating an entire class of globally mobile wealth-creators already living, spending, and investing in Britain.
“Britain is throwing out the welcome mat for new capital, while discouraging the people who’ve already made the UK their home,” Green continues. “Why would any serious investor commit new money here when the message from the top is: stay too long and we’ll penalise you?”
Under the new tax rules, foreign nationals who have lived in the UK for more than four years will be taxed on their worldwide income — scrapping a long-established incentive that allowed them to keep offshore income outside the UK tax net.
While the Treasury estimates this could raise £2.7 billion annually, some experts warn the policy will ultimately cost more in lost growth, jobs and consumption.
Some studies report that non-doms contributed around £6 billion in tax annually before the changes — and played a disproportionate role in funding early-stage businesses, the arts, and charitable foundations. Many are now making plans to relocate to jurisdictions with clearer, more consistent tax policies.
The government scrapped the Tier 1 Investor visa in 2022 under pressure over security concerns. But Green believes that rather than reforming it or creating a coherent replacement, it is now pinning hopes on a narrowly scoped offering tied to ‘strategically important’ sectors.
He says most international investors aren’t looking for sector-specific gimmicks — they want long-term legal and fiscal clarity.
“Capital is fluid. The wealthy have options. They’re looking for countries that reward residency and investment with consistency, not bait-and-switch policies,” Green warns. “The UK’s new visa idea, without a broader policy rethink, won’t reverse the damage already done.”
And he claims that London is still home to world-class financial infrastructure, elite universities, and a powerful rule-of-law tradition — but these advantages are being undermined by political volatility and short-term policymaking.
“Global investors don’t want PR gestures. They want credible reasons to commit to Britain for the long haul. Right now, that case simply isn’t being made.”
