Securing Net Contributors: Why Health Worker Settlement Reforms is the Blueprint for Global Investors and Entrepreneurs

The Home Office’s announcement of revised settlement arrangements for eligible health and care workers marks an important acknowledgment of how contribution-based immigration policy should function in a competitive international landscape.

Outlining the rationale behind the settlement changes, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood stated explicitly: “Our changes ensure those who are net contributors are encouraged to come to this country and stay here.” FIFB urges Treasury to adopt an investor visa and tiered tax regime to retain global wealth.

Foreign Investors for Britain (FIFB) warmly welcomes this recognition. However, as HM Treasury seeks to strengthen public finances following the UK Autumn Budget 2026, the Government must apply this exact contribution-based principle to internationally mobile investors, wealth creators, and enterprise founders.

“The Government is right to recognise health and care workers’ contribution,” said Leslie MacLeod-Miller, Chief Executive Officer of Foreign Investors for Britain. “The Home Secretary’s principle is also exactly what we are arguing for international entrepreneurs: recognise the benefit they bring and give them a reason to stay.

These are different contributions—not competing claims. Investors finance businesses, support jobs and generate revenues that help fund public services. Many came in good faith, built their lives here and then saw longstanding protections for qualifying non-UK income and assets swept away. In our view, that undermined the predictability and fair dealing Britain should stand for. A special arrangement is not automatically a special favour. The question is what Britain receives in return.”

Aligning Contribution Principles: From Health Workers to Enterprise Founders

The policy connection between skilled health professionals and international investors is grounded in economic fairness. While health and care workers provide vital direct human infrastructure, high-net-worth investors and foreign founders supply the private equity, risk capital, and commercial enterprise that fund the broader tax base.

Recent fiscal shifts—most notably the full abolition of legacy non-domiciled protections, the introduction of Inheritance Tax (IHT) exposure on non-UK assets, and tighter rules surrounding foreign trusts—have created profound uncertainty for long-standing foreign investors who committed capital to the UK in good faith.

At the same time, the UK Autumn Budget 2026 launched new domestic initiatives, including Founders’ Relief (offering a 10% Capital Gains Tax rate on qualifying disposals up to £10 million) and an expanded £5 billion financial capacity for the British Business Bank. While these measures demonstrate HM Treasury’s desire to support domestic scale-ups, they remain isolated interventions if international mobile capital continues to migrate offshore to competing jurisdictions such as Italy, Switzerland, Greece, and the UAE.

To create a cohesive pro-growth framework, the Treasury must align its founder incentives with a dedicated, high-value investor residency and tax structure.

Multi-Tiered Policy Solutions

Rather than relying on singular policy labels, securing UK competitiveness requires a multi-faceted regulatory architecture. FIFB’s technical proposals encompass three complementary mechanisms designed to capture diverse tiers of international wealth, family offices, and serial business founders.

1. Global Investor Visa (Residency Framework)

Operating as a nationality-neutral residency route, the Global Investor Visa replaces the short-term 4-year Foreign Income and Gains (FIG) tax holiday with a predictable, 15-year statutory stability window. Participants deploy at least £2.5 million into active UK productive assets—such as technology scale-ups, green energy transitions, life sciences, or regional venture funds—alongside a recurring £200,000 annual contribution paid directly to HMRC.

2. Tiered Tax Regime (Taxation Framework)

Designed for established UK-resident foreign nationals, the Tiered Tax Regime (TTR) provides a structured, fee-based alternative that scales according to residency duration or global net wealth. By offering tiers at £150,000 (Years 1–4), £250,000 (Years 5–9), and £400,000 (Years 10–15), the TTR secures upfront, predictable revenue for the Exchequer while maintaining UK competitiveness against European flat-tax models.

3. Trust Framework & Asset Protection (Founders & Family Office Safeguards)

Long-term wealth retention requires statutory certainty over succession planning and pre-existing wealth structures. FIFB advocates for statutory grandfathering of legitimate offshore trusts settled prior to October 2024, protecting non-UK assets from retrospective Inheritance Tax charges and providing high-net-worth founders with the confidence required to maintain global family offices in London and UK regions.

Turning Principle into Action

As Oxford Economics modeling demonstrates, retaining high-net-worth investors and entrepreneurs protects a secondary tax ecosystem yielding billions annually in Value Added Tax (VAT), Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT), and corporate tax from operational trading entities.

“Recognising contribution is not abandoning fairness,” Leslie MacLeod-Miller concluded. “It is securing a benefit for the whole country. Keep investors here. Give those who left a reason to return. Compete with Italy, Greece and the UAE. The Government has stated the principle. Now work with us to put it into practice.”

FIFB calls on HM Treasury and the Home Office to initiate formal cross-departmental consultations on the Global Investor Visa, Tiered Tax Regime, and Trust Protection Framework to establish a durable, pro-growth partnership for the United Kingdom.

Image: UK Global Investor Visa, UK Home Office, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons