UK ends golden Visa program amid security concerns, but
is this all political?
UK visas offering foreign investors fast-track residency will
be scrapped with immediate effect, the Home Secretary announced.
Priti Patel said ending Tier 1 investor visas, for those
spending at least £2m, was the start of a "renewed crackdown on illicit
finance and fraud".
The visa scheme was introduced in 2008 to encourage wealthy
people from outside the EU to invest and bring wealth to the UK. However, the
visa programme has been under review for some time, after concerns it is open
to abuse.
The announcement appears to have been rushed following the
Ukraine crisis and pressure on ministers to cut UK ties to Russia, a source
confirming the decision to the BBC on Wednesday.
The Tier 1 (investor) visa, known as a "golden
visa", offers residency to investors and their families investing £2m or
more in the UK. Similar golden visa schemes operated in other European countries.
Holders are then fast tracked for permanent residency in the
UK, at a speed depending on how much they invest. A £2m investment allows an
application within five years, shortened to three years with £5m or two years
if £10m is invested.
8 tips to survive the coming recession
What can you do to prepare for the coming recession?
Watch video version.
Signs of a downturn include:
·
Household electricity and gas bills are
doubling.
·
Cost of petrol at the pumps highest it’s ever
been.
·
Raw materials up by over 30%, cost of shipping is
up 10 times.
·
The UK official inflation rate is now the
highest it’s been for 30 years.
·
Food and essential household item inflation is
running at 20 to 30%.
·
Farm prices, fertiliser and seed are all
soaring, with fertiliser up to hundred percent on last year due to the rising
price of natural gas used in the production of nitrogen-based fertilisers.
·
Food inflation is rampant and unlikely to slow this
year making life much harder for ordinary families.
·
Families will spend more on household essentials,
such as fuel and petrol, sucking money out of the wider economy which will affect
company earning.
·
A stock market correction or crash would reduce
investment, increase unemployment and loss of billions in people’s savings.
·
A property crash could lead to substantial
losses, mass repossessions and a squeeze on lending.
In a previous podcast last year, I advised followers to
“invest” in non-perishable foods and household goods, as prices were likely to
rise faster than most other investments you could put your money into.
US national debt now exceeds $30 trillion or 128% of GDP. In
1980 the US National debt was just 34% of GDP and in 2000 59% of GDP. UK
national debt is over £2 trillion.
Greedy banks are failing to pass on interest rate rises to
savers despite two recent hikes by almost .5%.
8 tips to survive the coming recession
1. Make
a spreadsheet of all your income and outgoings. I cover this in my books
and many of my podcasts. This is vital if you are going to get control of your
finances and a must during a downturn when your income will be squeezed.
2. Tighten
your belt. Cut out all unnecessary expenditure and check those standing
orders and direct debit‘s to get rid of memberships and services you no longer
require or use. Unfortunately, this has a knock on effect on businesses and
almost becomes a self filling prophecy driving the world further into
recession.
3. Reduce
credit card balance or pay off if possible. With credit card interest
running anywhere between 18 and 40%, it makes no sense to have money in the
bank earning less than 1%. You should still have a cash reserve but if you can
pay off cards or switch them to lower interest or interest free deals then by
all means do so as this will save you a fortune in interest payments.
4. Build
up a cash reserve of 6 to 12 months of outgoings. This is essential during
a downturn when the job may not be safe. Everyone should have cash reserves
equivalent to 6 to 12 months of household expenditure. In reality, 90% of
people have no savings and are only a couple of salary payments away from
bankruptcy and homelessness.
5. Take
a part-time job to earn extra money or change jobs. With inflation running
at record rates, your income, even with pay rises, will not be keeping pace
with rising costs. You may need to consider finding ways of earning extra money
through a part-time job or home-based business.
6. Review
your investments. Review your investments to ensure that you are not
exposed to a stock market downturn or crash. This includes your pension funds
and any savings ISAs or mutual funds. Seek independent financial advice. Fund
managers and advisers will often advise you to stay in the market even if it’s
going down.
7. Review
your mortgage, insurance loans and suppliers. Reviewing your loans and
suppliers can save your fortune and is even more important during the
recession. Loyalty does not pay. I have saved thousands of pounds by switching
mortgages, utility suppliers and insurance contracts.
8. Finally,
stay positive and plan to come out of this recession even stronger. During
a recession, many people give up and say things like, there’s no point in
working because nobody’s got any money. Make sure you are working harder than the
competition.
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