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| UK visas should be auctioned, migration advisers say | UK visas should be auctioned, migration advisers say |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The right to settle in Britain should be auctioned off to wealthy foreign investors, government advisers say. | The right to settle in Britain should be auctioned off to wealthy foreign investors, government advisers say. |
| At present migrants can gain entry by investing £1m or more in the UK. | At present migrants can gain entry by investing £1m or more in the UK. |
| But the Migration Advisory Committee says ordinary British citizens gain little from this. | But the Migration Advisory Committee says ordinary British citizens gain little from this. |
| It recommends doubling the minimum investment to £2m and auctioning slots with a reserve price of £2.5m - with any surplus going to good causes in a scheme similar to the National Lottery. | It recommends doubling the minimum investment to £2m and auctioning slots with a reserve price of £2.5m - with any surplus going to good causes in a scheme similar to the National Lottery. |
| The changes recommended in the committee's report would apply to settlement rights only and not citizenship. | The changes recommended in the committee's report would apply to settlement rights only and not citizenship. |
| They expect about 100 visas a year to be auctioned with the "winners" getting accelerated settlement in the UK - after two years rather than five, as it is with other investment routes. | |
| The Migration Advisory Committee suggests the auction could replace the "premium" routes for those who invest more than £5m. | |
| Sir David Metcalfe, chairman of the committee, said he did not want to see British passports being sold off, but said at the moment many wealthy foreigners are buying gilts - so are effectively loaning the government money, rather than investing in the UK. | |
| Sir David said: "The Brits get very little out of this at the moment, The migrants get a huge amount." | |
| He said that under the proposed scheme, thanks to the good causes fund, British people would get something out of it, adding: "I don't find it demeaning (to the UK) at all." |