Commission Underlines New Rules for Issuance of EU Golden Visas
The European Commission has issued a recommendation earlier this week, outlining a number of changes that the Member States operating residence-by-investment programs must impose in order to prevent criminals from benefiting from them.
The programs, often known as Golden Visas, are operated by a number of countries, including here Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Ireland, Latvia, Malta, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland.
The schemes permit third-country citizens to obtain residence in one of these countries in exchange for investment in the territory of that country.
“Investor residence schemes raise inherent security, money laundering, tax evasion and corruption risks for the Member States and for the EU as a whole. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has once again underlined these risks,” the Commission notes in a press release issued regarding the recommendation.
The changes proposed are focused on preventing people that are involved in money laundering, tax evasion, and other crimes, as well as Russians and Belarusians supporting the war in Ukraine, from benefiting from such visas. The main proposed rules include:
- The Member States operating the schemes must conduct strict checks on the applicants for a Golden Visa before issuing them one
- Carrying out checks related to the conditions of residence and security before granting such residence permits
- Verifying whether the residence in the issuing Member States is continuous
- Immediate withdrawal or refusal of the renewal of the residence permits granted under an investor residence scheme to nationals of Russia and Belarus targeted by the EU sanctions for supporting the war in Ukraine
- Suspending the programs for all Russians and Belarusians
“All measures need to be applied in compliance with the principle of proportionality, with fundamental rights and with Member States’ national law,” the Commission recommends.
Highlighting the risks that may be brought from granting residence permits to people involved in criminal activity or those supporting the war in Ukraine, the Commission has also pointed out that those holding such permits have the right to reside in the issuing Member State and the right to travel throughout the whole Schengen area freely.
Through the same recommendation, the Commission has urged Malta and Cyprus to end their citizenship-by-investment programs, through which foreigners gain the citizenship of these two countries by making an investment in exchange and, as a result, also gain EU citizenship. Bulgaria has also been part of the countries issuing such passports, but last month, the same abolished the scheme entirely.
At the same time, the Member States have been urged to review all Russian and Belarussian beneficiaries of the Golden Passport and Golden Visa Schemes in order to make sure that they aren’t part of the EU’s list of sanctions in connection to the war in Ukraine.
