There are many ways through which one can obtain citizenship
of a country. Simplest ways are to be born in that country or being the
descendent of one of its citizens. Other ways to get a permit is through marriage,
adoption or naturalization - the latter of which is based on an application-related
executive decision. Before the outburst of the Ukraine war, additional
"citizenship by investment" (CBI) programs were also offered in the
three EU member states of Cyprus, Malta and Bulgaria. These are more commonly
referred to as "golden passports.” With investment of a certain amount of
money, it becomes possible to obtain citizenship without the bureaucratic
hurdles.
Cyprus and Bulgaria have now put an end to this method of gaining citizenship, while Malta specifically refuses to grant such passports to Russians and Belarusians. However, "Golden visas", i.e. residence permits granted in exchange for investments in the economy, still exist in several other European Union nations, as the infographic illustrates.
Especially in Southern Europe, so-called "residency by
investment" (RBI) programs are fairly common. While this practice was
recently abolished in Portugal and Ireland, Spain, Greece, Cyprus and Malta,
among others, still grant residency rights in exchange for economic
investments. According to a 2019 study by the EU Commission, more than 130,000
people were either naturalized or granted residence rights between 2011 and 2019,
under CBI - citizenship by investment and RBI - residency by investment, which
had generated a conservatively probable total revenue of €21.4 billion for the
countries.
Both practices have come under fire from officials. As early
as 2014, the European Union spoke out against such programs in disagreement
with them, among other things, that they run counter to anti-discrimination
requirements and could potentially increase chances of corruption and money
laundering. In Portugal, for example, the RBI program, which has now been brought
to an end, is considered to have fired the real estate crisis.
Worldwide, the first CBI programs were launched in the 1980s
on a few Caribbean islands, and some of them are still active there today.
European non-EU countries that offer CBI include Montenegro and Turkey.
Infographic by: statista
