Chelsea’s Russian billionaire owner Roman Abramovich gets Israeli citizenship after UK visa delay
Britain said this month it would review long-term visas of rich Russians after the March poisonings of a former Russian spy and his daughter in the English city of Salisbury
Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, the owner of Chelsea soccer club who has found himself without a visa to Britain, took Israeli citizenship and will move to Tel Aviv where he has bought a property, an Israeli media report said.
Abramovich has been counted as one of the richest men in Britain since he bought the English Premier League soccer club in 2003.
His British visa expired last month and sources said it was taking longer than usual to get it renewed. The British government has declined to comment on his case.
The Ynet website that belongs to Israel’s biggest selling daily, Yedioth Aharonoth, said Abramovich, who is Jewish, jetted into Tel Aviv on Monday and had received documents confirming his status as an Israeli citizen.
An Israeli official told Channel 10 News that Abramovich submitted a citizenship request “like any other person” with Israel’s Moscow embassy and was accepted.
A spokesman for Abramovich also declined to comment.