Reform UK Proposes £250K ‘Britannia Card’ for Wealthy Migrants

Reform UK has introduced a controversial proposal offering 10-year UK residency permits to wealthy foreign nationals for £250,000.

Named the “Britannia Card,” the policy would restore tax exemptions on overseas income and channel visa revenues directly to the country’s lowest-paid full-time workers, bypassing general government funds.

This comes as the UK faces mounting losses of high-net-worth residents following the scrapping of the non-domiciled tax status by the current government.

Key points of the Britannia Card proposal:

• £250,000 fee grants a 10-year residency with non-dom tax benefits
• All funds to be redistributed directly to the bottom 10% of full-time earners
• Reform UK projects:
  • 6,000 applicants annually
  • £600 yearly payments for 2.5 million low-income workers

Party leader Nigel Farage frames the plan as a strategy to bring back investors, business owners, and job creators to the UK while incentivizing work over welfare.

Critics Warn of Revenue Loss, Uncertain Financial Outcomes

Labour and leading economists have raised red flags over the financial sustainability of the scheme. The Institute for Fiscal Studies and Tax Policy Associates estimate it could cost upwards of £34 billion over five years, far exceeding the projected gains.

Additional concerns:

• Labour’s Finance Minister called it a “tax cut for foreign billionaires”
• Critics argue it could require higher taxes on UK families to offset losses
• Official forecasts say 1,000 non-doms will leave the UK in 2025–26, but independent research suggests over 16,000 millionaires may exit

Despite backlash, Bloomberg reports that the current Labour government is considering a separate investor visa, focused on attracting capital in sectors like AI, clean energy, and life sciences, suggesting bipartisan interest in rebuilding routes for foreign investment.

This is the second high-value residency scheme announced globally this year, following the US launch of Donald Trump’s $5 million “Trump Card” program.