Aspects of golden passport and visa schemes in the EU

Summary:

Citizenship by investment (CBI) and residence by investment (RBI) schemes allow third-country nationals to obtain residence or citizenship in a host country in exchange for a financial contribution. In the European Union (EU), these schemes erode the principles of sincere cooperation, fairness and non-discrimination. They commodify EU citizenship and residence rights and weaken vetting and due diligence systems, thereby posing risks of corruption, money laundering, security threats and tax avoidance. Additionally, they undermine macro-economic governance. In 2022, the European Parliament made several specific proposals to abolish CBI (golden passport) schemes and regulate RBI (golden visa) schemes. Meanwhile, the European Commission, which considers CBI schemes illegal under EU law, has taken one Member State to the Court of Justice of the EU and challenged its scheme. The Commission has also submitted several proposals to regulate certain aspects of RBI schemes. This briefing provides an overview of CBI and RBI schemes in the EU, the Parliament's stance on these schemes and the Commission's actions to address the identified problems. It also covers the situation of Russian nationals who, prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, represented a large share of applicants for CBI and RBI schemes in the EU. In the wake of the invasion, the Commission urged Member States to repeal any existing CBI schemes with immediate effect.

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