Rich Russians are gaining entry to the UK in record numbers amid a worsening economic outlook in their home country.
The number of Russians who were granted investor visas this year has soared by 69 per cent, according to Home Office statistics. The visas gave foreigners from outside the EU a fast track to residence and citizenship in return for buying gilts worth £1m to £10m.
In the first nine months of the year, 162 investor visas were granted to Russians, compared with 96 in the same period of 2013, the figures show. The whole of 2013 saw only 118 investor visas granted to Russians, according to the data, which were first reported by The Sunday Times.