London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Surge in wealthy Chinese keen on living in the UK as US delays granting visas amid trade war

The number of tier-1 investor visa applications by high net worth individuals from China rose 32 per cent year on year to 202, according to British private equity firm Growthdeck. Chinese investors also take advantage of a fall in the value of the British pound, which has made UK assets cheaper relative to other countries

The United Kingdom’s popularity among rich Chinese individuals is on the rise.

Visa applications by rich Chinese to live in the UK jumped by over a third last year, as the US delayed granting visas amid trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies, according to a British private equity firm.

The number of tier-1 investor visa applications by high net worth individuals from China rose 32 per cent to 202 in the 12 months through September 2019, compared to 153 applications in the previous year, Growthdeck said. The Milton Keynes headquartered firm offers tax-efficient investment opportunities in UK businesses to wealthy investors.

Some 171 of the applications were from mainland China – a year-on-year increase of 38 per cent – and the remaining 31 from Hong Kong, it said, citing data from the UK government’s Home Office which oversees immigration.

A tier-1 investor visa or “golden visa” allows those investing £2 million (US$2.6 million) or more to reside in the country for 40 months, with the possibility of a two-year extension. Visa holders may also apply to settle in the UK after two years. However, rules that came into effect last April require applicants to prove that they have had these funds for at least two years. It costs £1,623 to apply for a visa.

“Fears that the UK’s investor visa programme would be pulled by the last UK government, and long delays when applying to the US, resulted in a surge in UK applications during 2019,” said Samuel Hu, head of overseas investors at Growthdeck.

The waiting time for Chinese applicants to become US residents through the EB-5 visa programme, which requires an investment of at least US$500,000, can be as long as 16 years, according to the US State Department. The US grants only 10,000 of these visas a year, and a cap limits each country to just 7 per cent of the total.

At the same time many Chinese investors took advantage of a fall in the value of the British pound, which has made UK assets cheaper relative to other countries such as the US.

A stronger British government following the decisive election of Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson in December – who is pushing for a definitive deadline to take Britain out of the European Union – has given investors greater confidence, said Growthdeck.

“The general election has provided greater certainty over the future of the UK economy and its tax regime. This certainty is important for foreign high net worths looking to diversify away from their home markets.”

The UK’s private education system is another reason super wealthy Chinese relocate to Britain, said Hu.

This comes in line with Hong Kong and mainland Chinese stepping up their interest in UK residential property. According to real estate consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle, the firm recorded about a fourfold increase in inquiries from Hong Kong investors for UK homes in the second half of 2019.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
After 200,000 Orders in 2 Minutes: Xiaomi Accelerates Marketing in Europe
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×