United Kingdom migration policy: 2025 year-in-review for private wealth

The 2025 calendar year represented the first full operating period under the United Kingdom’s post-remittance-basis tax framework, and the data from HMRC’s first-year collection cycle has begun to clarify which structures survive and which do not. The abolition of the non-domiciled resident tax status, effective 6 April 2025, was the single most consequential legislative change for high-net-worth individuals resident in the UK, but it was not the only one. The Innovator Founder visa route completed its second full year of operation with a measurable increase in endorsement volumes, the Global Talent visa maintained its status as the fastest path to settlement for qualifying applicants, and the Skilled Worker route saw its minimum salary thresholds tested against real-world labour-market data for the first time since the April 2024 increase. For the private-wealth advisor, the question is no longer whether the UK is open to foreign capital and talent, but which specific regulatory gateways remain cost-effective under the new tax-and-visa architecture. ## The end of the non-dom regime and the FIG relief replacement The statutory abolition of the remittance basis for non-domiciled residents took effect on 6 April 2025, as confirmed by HMRC’s updated guidance on the tax treatment of foreign income and gains. Before that date, UK residents whose permanent home was outside the UK could elect to pay no UK tax on foreign income and gains provided those sums were not brought into the country, subject to an annual charge of £30,000 for residents of at least 7 of the previous 9 tax years and £60,000 for those resident 12 of the previous 14 tax years. That election no longer exists for any tax year beginning on or after 6 April 2025. ### Foreign Income and Gains relief as the replacement mechanism The replacement mechanism is Foreign Income and Gains relief (FIG), which applies automatically to eligible individuals for their first four tax years of UK residence, provided they have not been UK resident in any of the preceding ten tax years. FIG exempts foreign income and gains from UK taxation regardless of whether those sums are remitted to the UK. After the four-year window expires, the individual becomes taxable on their worldwide income and gains on the arising basis, with no option to reclaim a remittance-based treatment. The practical consequence for the UHNW family office is that the planning horizon has compressed from an indefinite deferral to a fixed four-year clock. ### Overseas Workday Relief rule changes The rules for claiming Overseas Workday Relief also changed on 6 April 2025, as noted in the HMRC guidance. Previously, employees seconded to the UK could claim relief on employment income attributable to days worked outside the UK without a time limit on the claim. The new rules require the employer to apply the relief at source through the payroll, and the claim is now limited to the first three tax years of UK residence. For the private-banking client who spends a significant portion of the year outside the UK, this change eliminates the back-end flexibility of filing a retrospective claim and shifts the compliance burden to the employer’s payroll function. ## Innovator Founder visa: steady-state operation and endorsement trends The Innovator Founder visa, which replaced the earlier Innovator visa, completed its second full year of operation in 2025. The route requires applicants to secure an endorsement from an approved endorsing body, which assesses whether the business idea is new, innovative, viable, and scalable, with evidence of planning that includes creating jobs and growing into national and international markets. The application fee for applicants outside the UK is £1,357 per person, plus a £1,000 endorsement fee paid directly to the endorsing body, and a £500 fee for each of the mandatory check-in meetings at 12 and 24 months. ### Settlement timeline remains at three years The settlement timeline for the Innovator Founder route remains three years, not five, which is the shortest path to indefinite leave to remain among the UK’s working-visa categories outside the Global Talent route. The applicant must demonstrate to the endorsing body at the 12-month and 24-month checkpoints that progress is being made; if the endorsement is withdrawn, the visa may be cut short. In 2025, the Home Office did not publish a formal revocation statistic, but practitioner reports indicate that endorsing bodies have become more rigorous in the second-year checkpoint, particularly regarding the scalability and job-creation evidence requirements. ### Supplementary employment flexibility A feature of the Innovator Founder visa that remains underutilised by the HNW applicant cohort is the permission to take supplementary employment outside the applicant’s own business, provided the role requires at least a RQF Level 3 qualification. This allows the founder to maintain a separate income stream or advisory role without jeopardising the visa, which is relevant for the family-office principal who wishes to serve on the board of a UK operating company while building a separate venture. ## Global Talent visa: the preferred route for the UHNW family principal The Global Talent visa remains the most flexible long-term residence route for the high-net-worth individual who can demonstrate leadership or potential leadership in academia, arts and culture, or digital technology. The application fee is £766, paid in two parts (£561 for the endorsement application and £205 for the visa application itself) if the applicant requires an endorsement, or as a single £766 payment if the applicant has won an eligible prestigious prize. The healthcare surcharge is £1,035 per year per person. ### Settlement at three or five years Settlement is available after three years for applicants in the digital technology field and for those who apply via an eligible prestigious prize, and after five years for applicants in academia or arts and culture who do not hold a prize. The three-year settlement clock is identical to the Innovator Founder timeline, but the Global Talent visa imposes no requirement to operate a specific business, no minimum income threshold, and no restriction on the number of employers or clients the visa holder may work with. ### No limit on total stay There is no upper limit on the total duration of stay under the Global Talent visa; each extension may last between one and five years at the applicant’s choice. For the UHNW individual who does not wish to commit to a specific business plan or employment contract, the Global Talent visa offers a residence pathway that is decoupled from economic activity, which is a structural advantage over the Skilled Worker and Innovator Founder routes. ## Skilled Worker visa: salary thresholds and the health and care worker carve-out The Skilled Worker visa continues to be the most-used work route by volume, but its relevance to the HNW applicant is narrower. The route requires a confirmed job offer from a Home Office-approved sponsor, a certificate of sponsorship, and a role on the list of eligible occupations. The minimum salary depends on the type of work and the date the certificate of sponsorship was issued. ### The April 2024 threshold increase in practice The minimum general salary threshold, which was raised from £26,200 to £38,700 in April 2024, was in full effect throughout 2025. For the HNW applicant who is also a company director or equity partner, the threshold is rarely a binding constraint, but the requirement to hold a certificate of sponsorship from a specific employer creates a dependency that the Global Talent and Innovator Founder routes do not. Settlement is available after five years. ### Health and Care Worker visa as a cost-saving alternative For applicants who work in healthcare or adult social care, the Health and Care Worker visa offers a reduced application fee and an exemption from the annual immigration health surcharge. This carve-out is relevant for the family office that employs a private physician or care professional who will accompany the principal to the UK. ## Practical implications for the 2026 planning cycle The 2025 year-in-review yields four specific conclusions for the private-wealth advisor constructing a UK migration strategy for 2026. First, the four-year FIG relief window for new residents means that any individual who became UK resident after 6 April 2025 has until 5 April 2029 to structure their foreign income and gains outside the UK tax net; after that date, worldwide taxation on the arising basis is mandatory. Second, the Innovator Founder visa is the most cost-effective settlement route for the entrepreneur who has a genuine scalable business, but the £1,000 endorsement fee plus £500 per checkpoint meeting means the total visa cost over three years is £3,357 per person before the healthcare surcharge, which is higher than the Global Talent route for an applicant who qualifies without a prize. Third, the Global Talent visa is the optimal vehicle for the UHNW individual who does not wish to operate a specific business or hold a specific job, provided they can document leadership or potential leadership in one of the three eligible fields. Fourth, the Overseas Workday Relief changes eliminate the retrospective claim option for seconded employees, which compresses the planning window for the internationally mobile executive to three tax years from the date of first UK residence. ## Sources - UK Government, Innovator Founder visa guidance, https://www.gov.uk/innovator-founder-visa - UK Government, Global Talent visa guidance, https://www.gov.uk/global-talent - UK Government, Skilled Worker visa guidance, https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa - UK Government, HMRC guidance on non-domiciled residents and Foreign Income and Gains relief, https://www.gov.uk/tax-foreign-income/non-domiciled-residents