On 2 November 2025 Nigel Farage unveiled a flagship immigration plank of Reform UK’s draft manifesto—a resurrection of the controversial “non-dom” regime packaged as the ‘Britannia Card’. The proposal would allow foreign high-net-worth individuals to purchase a ten-year renewable residence permit by paying a one-off £250,000 fee. Card-holders could shield overseas income from UK taxation, avoid inheritance tax on non-UK assets and skip the current £3 million minimum-investment threshold under the Innovator Founder route.
Farage claimed the scheme would lure “tens of thousands of wealth creators” and inject £2.5 billion a year into Treasury coffers, but economists immediately disputed the numbers. The Resolution Foundation warned that reinstating non-dom perks abolished in April 2025 would cost the Exchequer £34 billion over the decade, dwarfing any upfront fees. Tax-justice campaigners branded the plan a “bonanza for billionaires” that would widen inequality and distort the property market in London and the South-East.
![Reform UK’s ‘Britannia Card’ would trade tax breaks for 10-year residence permits]()
From a global-mobility standpoint, the Britannia Card would create an express lane for ultra-rich expatriates while the mainstream Skilled Worker route faces stricter English-language and salary thresholds in January 2026. Relocation specialists said the proposal would undermine attempts to build a coherent, skills-based migration system by putting price tags on residency.
Corporate immigration lawyers also noted compliance gaps: the draft contains no stipulation that Britannia Card holders spend a minimum number of days per year in the UK, opening the door to “passport-of-convenience” use cases that HMRC has spent the last decade trying to close. The Home Office declined to comment but pointed out that the Labour government’s May 2025 white paper explicitly ruled out any return to preferential tax status based on domicile.
With an election expected in spring 2026, Reform’s gambit is aimed squarely at high-net-worth donors and voters disillusioned with both Labour’s tougher settlement rules and the Conservatives’ abandoned Rwanda plan. Whether the proposal gains traction could shape the next phase of the UK’s long-running debate over how to balance talent attraction with tax fairness.
Farage claimed the scheme would lure “tens of thousands of wealth creators” and inject £2.5 billion a year into Treasury coffers, but economists immediately disputed the numbers. The Resolution Foundation warned that reinstating non-dom perks abolished in April 2025 would cost the Exchequer £34 billion over the decade, dwarfing any upfront fees. Tax-justice campaigners branded the plan a “bonanza for billionaires” that would widen inequality and distort the property market in London and the South-East.
From a global-mobility standpoint, the Britannia Card would create an express lane for ultra-rich expatriates while the mainstream Skilled Worker route faces stricter English-language and salary thresholds in January 2026. Relocation specialists said the proposal would undermine attempts to build a coherent, skills-based migration system by putting price tags on residency.
Corporate immigration lawyers also noted compliance gaps: the draft contains no stipulation that Britannia Card holders spend a minimum number of days per year in the UK, opening the door to “passport-of-convenience” use cases that HMRC has spent the last decade trying to close. The Home Office declined to comment but pointed out that the Labour government’s May 2025 white paper explicitly ruled out any return to preferential tax status based on domicile.
With an election expected in spring 2026, Reform’s gambit is aimed squarely at high-net-worth donors and voters disillusioned with both Labour’s tougher settlement rules and the Conservatives’ abandoned Rwanda plan. Whether the proposal gains traction could shape the next phase of the UK’s long-running debate over how to balance talent attraction with tax fairness.
