The 21st Global Investment Immigration Summit (GIIS) wrapped up its second day in Edinburgh on 8 November, drawing more than 400 advisers, developers and would-be expatriates seeking alternative residence and citizenship options amid rising UK tax rates. Organiser BLS Global said the UK audience was the largest in the event’s history, reflecting surveys that 34 % of British HNWIs are considering relocation within five years.
Panel sessions focused on Europe’s re-opening golden-visa market—Portugal’s new ‘cultural investment’ track, Greece’s €500k property threshold, and Italy’s lump-sum tax regime—as well as the resurgence of the US EB-5 Regional Centre programme after 2022 reforms. Caribbean officials from Antigua & Barbuda and Grenada pitched citizenship-by-investment packages positioned as a hedge against potential future UK wealth-taxes.
![Edinburgh summit courts high-net-worth Britons eyeing ‘Plan B’ residence options]()
Tax advisers warned delegates that the UK’s 2026 abolition of the remittance basis will make non-dom planning “obsolete” and could trigger a fresh exodus similar to the 2010-11 spike when top-rate income tax hit 50 %. Real-estate developers marketed turnkey projects aligned with fast-track visa thresholds, while mobility managers from Big-Four firms discussed structuring ‘dual-base’ arrangements that keep key talent on UK payrolls but cap days for tax residence.
For corporate mobility teams the message was clear: requests for employer-supported golden visas are likely to rise, especially from senior executives facing Scotland’s 48 % top rate and the rest of the UK’s planned wealth-tax consultation. Policies on tax-equalisation, split contracts and family support should be revisited well ahead of April 2026.
The next GIIS edition will be held in Dubai next March, but organisers hinted at a return to Manchester in 2026 if HM Treasury presses ahead with a wealth-tax Green Paper.
Panel sessions focused on Europe’s re-opening golden-visa market—Portugal’s new ‘cultural investment’ track, Greece’s €500k property threshold, and Italy’s lump-sum tax regime—as well as the resurgence of the US EB-5 Regional Centre programme after 2022 reforms. Caribbean officials from Antigua & Barbuda and Grenada pitched citizenship-by-investment packages positioned as a hedge against potential future UK wealth-taxes.
Tax advisers warned delegates that the UK’s 2026 abolition of the remittance basis will make non-dom planning “obsolete” and could trigger a fresh exodus similar to the 2010-11 spike when top-rate income tax hit 50 %. Real-estate developers marketed turnkey projects aligned with fast-track visa thresholds, while mobility managers from Big-Four firms discussed structuring ‘dual-base’ arrangements that keep key talent on UK payrolls but cap days for tax residence.
For corporate mobility teams the message was clear: requests for employer-supported golden visas are likely to rise, especially from senior executives facing Scotland’s 48 % top rate and the rest of the UK’s planned wealth-tax consultation. Policies on tax-equalisation, split contracts and family support should be revisited well ahead of April 2026.
The next GIIS edition will be held in Dubai next March, but organisers hinted at a return to Manchester in 2026 if HM Treasury presses ahead with a wealth-tax Green Paper.
