Citizenship for the Rich: Demand Rises for ‘Golden Passports'

FRANCE 24: The EU is set to take Malta to court over its scheme allowing wealthy foreigners to buy Maltese – and EU – citizenship for a costly fee. But buying citizenship and residence rights is a global trend among the super-wealthy that looks set to stay.

The European Commission on Thursday took Malta to the European Union's highest court over its "golden passport" scheme that allows wealthy investors to buy Maltese – and therefore EU – citizenship, without having to live in the country.

Despite repeated calls to end the scheme, Malta has raised €1.1 billion since 2013 through offering passports in exchange for investments, with most investors coming from the Gulf, Asia and Russia.

Under pressure from the EU, Cyprus and Bulgaria have recently stopped offering similar schemes. Yet the only concession Malta has made is to suspend the scheme for Russian and Belarusian citizens following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

While Malta is under pressure to ban investment citizenship, multiple countries around the world welcome the practice.

“The [2008] global financial crisis also put pressure on governments to find ways to bring foreign investment into their economies, and this is seen as a relatively costless way of doing so,” says Lior Erez, departmental lecturer in theory of politics at Oxford University, UK. “Especially if it involves no actual migration.”

Yet the EU views things differently, citing “ethical, legal and economic” concerns as well as “several serious security risks”, if the scheme continues.

"By offering citizenship in exchange for pre-determined payments or investments, without a genuine link with the Member State concerned, Malta breaches EU law," tweeted EU Justice Affairs Commissioner Didier Reynders on Thursday. "European Union values are not for sale.” » | Joanna York | Saturday, October 1, 2022

Oligarchs on UK Sanctions List Were Granted ‘Golden Visas’

THE GUARDIAN: Eight unnamed individuals were awarded right to live in Britain under controversial investor visa scheme

Eight Russian oligarchs on the UK sanctions list over their links to Vladimir Putin were granted “golden visas” to live in Britain.

The eight individuals, who Boris Johnson described as having “the blood of the Ukrainian people on their hands”, were granted the right to live in the UK after promising to invest at least £2m under the controversial tier 1 investor visa scheme.

Lady Williams of Trafford, a home office minister, said in an answer to a parliamentary question this week that on 18 March, eight of the oligarchs subjected to sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine “had been identified as holding or having held leave as a tier 1 (investor) migrant or as a tier 1 (investor) migrant dependent”.

The eight people were not named, and the Home Office declined to provide further details. » | Rupert Neate and Aubrey Allegretti | Wednesday, March 30, 2022

Home Office Bans ‘Golden Visas’ for Wealthy Foreign Investors

Feb 17, 2022 • In another sign of declining relations, the Home Office has announced an immediate ban on so-called ‘golden visas’ for wealthy foreign investors wanting residency in the UK, citing "security concerns".

Kick the b*******s out, wherever they come from! We don’t need their filthy lucre. – © Mark

UK Urged to Suspend ‘Golden Visas’ after Fast Tracking of Russian Millionaires

THE OBSERVER: Liberal Democrat peer accuses Home Office of ‘selling residency’

Ministers face calls this weekend to publish an investigation into how more than 700 Russian millionaires were fast-tracked for British residency via a “golden visa” scheme exposed for lax checks on illicit funds.

The government said six months ago that it was finalising its report into tier 1 investor visas granted to the super-rich from several countries, including Russia, China and Kazakhstan, because of concerns over “dirty money”. It now faces calls to suspend the golden visa programme until the review is published.

Under the scheme, launched in 2008, applicants provide a minimum investment of £2m in exchange for the right to live in Britain. They can later apply for full citizenship and a passport.

The Liberal Democrat peer Lord Wallace has tabled an amendment to the nationality and borders bill in the House of Lords, requiring the scheme to be halted until the review is published.

He said: “It’s claimed we are a great global country, but we are behaving like Cyprus and Malta by selling residency.” » | Jon Ungoed-Thomas | Sunday, January 30, 2022

Jared Kushner Caught Selling Golden Tickets To America

Is there anything “The Kush” can’t (or won’t) do? Cenk Uygur, host of The Young Turks, breaks it down.

The Kushners and Their Golden Visas

THE NEW YORK TIME – EDITORIAL: The Kushner family has been caught in a shameless act of name-dropping. It has been highlighting its White House connections to entice wealthy Chinese investors and promising them green cards in return under a special government visa program. That’s pretty bad. But it’s also a scandal that Congress allows real estate developers to use the American immigration system to pad their profits.

Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and special adviser, is officially no longer managing his family’s businesses, but he still benefits from many of them. His sister Nicole Meyer was in Beijing and Shanghai this past weekend seeking investors for a luxury apartment project her family is developing in Jersey City, a short train ride from downtown Manhattan. Her sales pitch cited her brother and laid out how a $500,000 investment could provide a coveted path to American citizenship. The Kushner Companies later offered a mealy-mouthed apology “if that mention of her brother was in any way interpreted as an attempt to lure investors.” » | The Editorial Board | Monday, May 8, 2017

In Beijing Ballroom, Kushner Family Flogs $500,000 'Investor Visa' to Wealthy Chinese

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: BEIJING - The Kushner family came to the United States as refugees, worked hard and made it big - and if you invest in Kushner properties, so can you.

That was the message delivered Saturday by White House senior adviser Jared Kushner's sister to a ballroom full of wealthy Chinese investors, renewing questions about the Kushner family's business ties to China. Jared Kushner is married to Donald Trump's daughter, Ivanka.

Over several hours of slide shows and presentations, representatives from the Kushner family business urged Chinese citizens gathered at the Ritz-Carlton hotel to consider investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in a New Jersey real estate project to secure what's known as an investor visa.

But President Donald Trump's vow to crack down on immigration, as well as criticism from members of Congress, has led to questions about the future of a program known here as the "golden visa". » | Emily Rauhala | Sunday, May 7, 2017