Migration as a Commodity: Do you Possess the ‘Golden Ticket…?’ An Assessment of the Tier 1 (Investor) Visa’s Social and Economic Effect on the UK’s Migration System

Abstract This chapter aims to critically access the Tier 1 (Investor) visa’s effect on the conceptualisation of the British Migration system. The scheme offers an exclusive route to temporary residency in the UK in return for a £2 million investment in Britain. It is contended that the government have consistently underestimated the continual detrimental effects of offering such a scheme due to their overarching pursuit for economic gain. As such, the scheme has imparted social disadvantage, highlighting the prevalence of inequality and the existence of a hierarchy of desired migrants. Furthermore, it is asserted that the investor scheme is facilitating threats to the public’s safety, exemplified in the recent Salisbury Novichok attacks. However fundamentally, this chapter will seek to illustrate that the Tier 1 (Investor) visa has commodified the UK’s migration system, bestowing investors with a ‘golden ticket’ and in turn disregarding the needs of the UK’s citizens.