Fears over Russian influence and corruption have led to the United Kingdom canceling its "golden visa" program that gave a direct pathway to legal residence to foreign investors in the country. Meanwhile, the House of Representatives is pushing for a similar uncapped visa program in the COMPETES Act that would give legal residence to predominantly Chinese foreign investors and their families in the U.S.
Last Thursday, the U.K. government indicated that they would end their "golden visas" over fears that the program was being misused and taken advantage of by predominantly Russian figures with known connections to European corruption and organized crime.
The U.K.'s Home Office made the announcement, alleging that the investor visa program allowed for "corrupt elites to access the U.K.," adding that the investor visas led to security concerns "including people acquiring their wealth illegitimately and being associated with wider corruption."
While the Home Office itself did not single out a country when making the allegations, "the decision is widely perceived to be aimed at Russia," reports The National Interest. The article adds, "Thousands of wealthy Russian emigres with connections to the country's state-owned oil and gas companies live in London; many of them have ties to President Vladimir Putin and his inner circle, although some are political exiles opposed to the Kremlin."
Introduced in 2008, the U.K. investor visa offered permanent U.K. residence to any investor and their family if they invested 2 million Pounds in the country. However, since its inception, critics have voiced concerns that the program helped investors connected to illicit activities and European corruption to launder money outside of their home country.
In response, U.K.'s Home Secretary Priti Patel framed the program's cancelation as a crackdown on illicit finance. Patel stated, "I want to ensure the British people have confidence in the system, including stopping corrupt elites who threaten our national security and push dirty money around our cities."
During Prime Minister Boris Johnson's announcement of "tough sanctions against the Russian regime, against big Russian companies – organizations of strategic importance" in response to rising tensions in Ukraine - the PM added that the British Government would be taking action "also [by] making sure that we stop the raising of funds by Russian companies on London financial markets."
In the U.S., however, House Democrats have recently butchered a Senate bill initially intended to help U.S. businesses compete with communist China's state-run industries. In addition to the House's COMPETES Act's endless visas for foreign investors and their families - the bill would also allow U.S. businesses to import an infinite stream of foreign workers to replace American graduates and professionals across the country.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy stated on the disastrous House bill:
They call it the American Competes Act. But make no mistake. It's a bill that concedes to China. The American Concedes Act is Democrats' desperate answer to their string of self-created crises. While it contains some provisions supported by Republicans. Speaker Pelosi is holding these good ideas hostage by using this 3,000-page bill as a vehicle for the party's far-left agenda. Almost every page of the Democrats' "Concede Act" has a provision that helps China but hurts America.
For the complete story on the U.K.'s "golden visa", please click here.
For more information on the U.S.'s COMPETES Act, please click here.
