May 21 – Chelsea’s billionaire Russian owner Roman Abramovich, whose club won a distinctly unexciting FA Cup on Saturday to save their season, faced delays in renewing his UK visa and did not attend the game, according to reports.
Abramovich, reported to be the 13th richest person in Britain, reportedly faced long processing time to extend his UK investor visa but has not been refused permission. The UK Home Office has refused to provide any comments on the issue.
The delay in Abramovich’s visa was first reported by the Russian news agency the Bell, which wrote on Sunday that it had expired three weeks ago and that his private plane last travelled to London on 1 April. The report cited three people who know Abramovich who does not hold UK residency.
The UK Tier 1 (Investor) visa is issued for a maximum of three years and four months and can be extended for another two years. If a Tier 1 visa holder invests £10 million, he/she can apply to settle in the country after two years, or after three years in the event he/she invests £5 million, according to reports.
In late March 27, then home secretary Amber Rudd said the government was undertaking a review of the Tier 1 Investor visas. The statement was made amid deteriorating relations between the United Kingdom and Russia after London accused Moscow of involvement in the attempted murder of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia with a nerve agent in the UK city of Salisbury. Russia has vehemently refuted the accusations and demanded an independent investigation into the incident.
The Russian oligarch, who apparently has a net worth of £9.3bn, bought Chelsea in 2003 and has bankrolled the club during a period of unprecedented success.
Tier 1 visas are given to applicants who want to open businesses in Britain and have at least £50,000 in investment funds. Nearly 700 Russians came to Britain between 2008 and 2015 on such visas.
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