Is the European gold visa going to be ended? Did Spain bear the brunt of the implementation?

Recently, members of the European Parliament collectively advocated banning the "golden passport" and adjusting the "golden visa" scheme, and clearly stated in a draft legislative initiative:

From a moral, legal and economic point of view, the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) program, in which third-country citizens can acquire the right to nationality through investment, is not desirable and will bring some serious security risks;

The "Golden Visa" is subject to adjustment by the EU and is subject to the Indefinite Residence by Investment (RBI) scheme;

The so-called golden passport undermines the essence of EU citizenship and should be phased out.

Members of the European Parliament have already debated and voted on the legal bill at the next plenary meeting from March 7 to 10. This situation shows that the golden moment of European immigration is gradually moving away, and more stringent immigration policies and censorship are coming.

Tightening "golden visa" rules

The draft involves Cyprus, Bulgaria, Malta and other countries that obtain investment by providing "golden passports", urging them to phase out the plan and transform it into an "investment residence" plan implemented by 12 EU member states represented by Greece (RBI is "golden visa").

Members of the European Parliament require strict background checks on investors, including family members and sources of funding, mandatory checks on the EU justice and home affairs system, and third-country review procedures; EU member states should have reporting obligations, as well as minimum physical residence requirements for applicants, and consideration of the contribution of participation in the economy based on the amount of investment. MEPs also envisage a notification and consultation scheme that would allow other member states to object to the granting of golden visas.

Ban on "golden passports"

Members of the European Parliament stressed that from the moral, legal and economic point of view, the investment citizenship (CBI) scheme in which citizens of third countries can obtain the right to nationality through investment is not desirable and will bring some serious security risks. The so-called golden passport undermines the essence of EU citizenship and should be phased out.

The final outcome of the proposal submitted by the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs of the European Parliament is still unknown. For each "golden visa" project, according to its natural law and growth cycle, it is a natural cycle from landing-development-stability-decline. On March 8, the European Parliament voted on a proposal to close down the golden passport submitted by Dutch lawmakers.

On March 9, 2022, the European Parliament passed a legislative initiative report with an absolute vote of 595 in favor, 12 against and 74 abstentions: urging the European Commission to prepare to ban the CBI golden passport program before the end of its term (before 2025) and regulate the relevant legislation of RBI golden visa program.

The report urges the EU to ban the golden passport program by 2025 and immediately stop issuing visas and passports to wealthy Russians. Previously, wealthy Russians were one of the largest groups of applicants for European golden passports.

It is said that the "golden passport" scheme generated more than 20 billion million euros of investment in EU countries between 2011 and 2019, and this scheme is almost completely unregulated in the EU. Countries such as Malta and Cyprus have reaped huge profits through the scheme.

EU lawmakers noted in their report that ending such programs could have significant economic implications for some countries. Therefore, they proposed that the negative impact could be reduced by phasing out the "golden passport" scheme, while stricter rules should be put in place for residential arrangements, including stricter scrutiny of applicants.

The Spanish government announced today that it has decided to temporarily block the fast track for Russian citizens to obtain residence permits in Spain, which is provided by domestic legislation to all non-EU citizens willing to make a large amount of economic or financial investment in Spain, commonly known as "gold" visa "or" gold visa ".