The Isle of Man government has confirmed that its Tier 1 Investor Visa programme has now been closed to new applicants.
This comes after a move from the UK to scrap its equivalent foreign investor visa scheme following security concerns.
The visa was a route for high net worth individuals making a substantial financial investment to the island, with a minimum of £2m ($2.69m, €2.4m) in investment funds to apply.
This allowed investors to stay for just over three years or to apply to settle after two or three years if they made more “significant local investments”.
Since 2014, only six applications had been made for the Tier 1 Investor Visa, one of which was refused. No applications have been received since 2017.
Replacement incoming
The Isle of Man government said in a statement on 23 February 2022: “The UK have closed their foreign investor route due to security concerns about the source of funds that have been used in some applications.
“The types of investments permitted under the route were also found not to benefit the economy as expected. The closure of the route in the UK was made with immediate effect from 17 February 2022, in order to prevent a surge in late applications.
“The Isle of Man Tier 1 (Investor) visa route has also closed with immediate effect as of today. Current holders of a Tier 1 (Investor) visa may continue to apply on this visa through to settlement.
“A replacement for the Investor route will be introduced in the future.”
Do not accept
Kinley Legal, an Isle of Man-based immigration law firm, told International Adviser: “We are aware of the disappointing news that the Isle of Man Tier 1 (Investor) immigration route has been closed to new applications last night.
“The Isle of Man government has effectively decided to say ‘no’ to the tens of millions of pounds in legitimate foreign direct investment from which the Island stood to benefit in coming months. The job creation and tax revenue they would have brought to the Island in these difficult times will also simply not happen.
“We do not accept the line that the Isle of Man investor route represented significant money laundering risk. The Isle of Man has some of the most rigorous anti-money laundering controls anywhere in the world, and any funds invested would be thoroughly vetted to ensure they came from a legitimate source.
“In terms of any suggestion that national security issues are relevant in view of the current situation in Ukraine, to our knowledge the Isle of Man investor route has never proved popular with Russian citizens. In fact, even though Kinley Legal has Russian-speaking lawyers, we have never been consulted by any Russian citizen in relation to this route.
“We remain deeply concerned about the abrupt way this change has been made, and for the implications for democracy and good governance in the Isle of Man. It appears that political pressure from the UK may have been brought to bear on the Isle of Man government in a way that is incompatible with the constitutional arrangements in place.
“Key among these is the UK’s longstanding recognition that the Isle of Man is entitled to pursue its own interests in the international arena, which may be different from those of the UK.”
