Chelsea’s owner takes Israeli citizenship after UK visa delay

RUSSIAN billionaire Roman Abramovich, the owner of Chelsea soccer club who has found himself without a visa to Britain, took Israeli citizenship on Monday and will move to Tel Aviv where he has bought a property, an Israeli media report said.

Mr 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 have 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 Mr Abramovich, who is Jewish, jetted into Tel Aviv on Monday and had received documents confirming his status as an Israeli citizen.

An Israeli immigration absorption ministry spokeswoman declined to comment on the report citing individual privacy but a spokeswoman for the Population Administration which oversees border control confirmed that Mr Abramovich was in Israel.

A spokesman for Mr Abramovich also declined to comment on the report.

Israel grants citizenship to any Jew wishing to move there, and a passport can be issued immediately. Israeli passport holders can enter Britain without a visa for short stays, although they require visas to work there.