Elitism within the UK’s immigration system should come as no surprise. Since 2008, the notorious Tier 1 Investor visa — commonly referred to as the “Golden Visa” — has allowed an estimated

11,000 of the super-rich to buy residency in Britain, with little to no obstacles in their way. With lenient criteria and scarce background checks, individuals who opt for the “Golden Visa”

have an experience that is worlds apart from that of the average applicant. But the Tier 1 Investor visa is not the only branch of the UK’s points-based system which holds elitist values at

its core. Due to come into effect on January 1, 2021, the UK’s new points-based immigration scheme values wealth above all else — salary is once again conflated with skill. Having entirely

care work, retail and hospitality. This disregard for low-paid workers comes as no surprise. Migrants who are not considered of “high value” have often faced hostility from the Home Office.

During her role as Home Secretary in 2010, Theresa May closed the Tier One General Visa category to new applications. She claimed, “At least 30 per cent of Tier One migrants work in

low-skilled occupations such as stacking shelves, driving taxis or working as security guards and some don’t have a job at all.” Such exclusionary rhetoric ignores the social and cultural

benefits of immigration, while snubbing those who initially arrived to the UK as “low-skilled” migrants, but who have built successful careers and lives for themselves since. It is clear

that only certain individuals fall within the government’s “reduced migration” net targets. Oligarchs and money launderers are seemingly immune from its constraints. While long-term British

residents faced wrongful deportation — resulting in the Windrush scandal of 2018 — a Channel 4 and Sunday Times investigation revealed that private companies dealing with “Golden Visa”

applicants were advising applicants on how to mask suspicious wealth. This occurred despite the government promising a toughening of regulation for “Golden Visas” in December 2018. While

African applicants are twice as likely to be denied UK visas and asylum seekers are consistently unnecessarily detained, those with excess wealth are granted a stress-free pass to residency

— with no requirement to be sponsored and the unique ability to gain British citizenship in three years. The assumption seems to be that “high-value” (or rather, high net worth) migrants

contribute more to the economy and so should be rewarded for doing so with a more lenient visa route. But this is wrong. Nicholas Shaxson, the author and investigator, suggests that, on the

contrary, those with excessive wealth do not necessarily boost economic growth. Rather, they increase wealth inequality and, as he explains in his recent book _The Finance Curse: How Global

Finance Is Making Us All Poorer_, they contribute to the unwelcome financialisation of the UK economy. Similarly, a report by OECD suggests that, “The poorest members of society suffer

immediately from inequality, but in the longer term, the whole economy is also damaged.” Inequality, the OECD argues, weakens public trust in institutions, reduces social mobility and slows

economic growth. A government that allows for the overarching success of a select few is one that promotes considerable systemic flaws — the UK’s immigration system has this effect.

Similarly, the insistence on distinguishing between a “skilled” and “low skilled” worker on the basis of salary will deal a damaging blow to the UK’s economy. It begs the question: why is an

elite minority granted privileged access to the UK while the majority face callous measures destined to deter?