Finding safe haven through these schemes is simpler than you might think if you have a lot of money to spare. Despite the risks posed by golden visa schemes, several of the governments selling residency and citizenship do not seem to question where applicants’ money comes from. This perhaps contributes to the EU:



Welcoming over 6,000 new citizens and close to 100,000 new residents through golden visas schemes in the last decade.

and through golden visas schemes in the last decade. Attracting around €25 billion in foreign direct investment through golden visas over the last ten years.

While some nations are profiting from the sales of golden visas, all EU citizens take the sizeable hit due to the ethical implications and risks embedded in the current practice. Nonetheless, secrecy continues to obscure even basic information about these schemes and EU citizens do not have the information necessary to decide whether selling residency or citizenship is a risk worth taking.

We have worked with Transparency International to change this, investigating publicly available sources and reaching out to national governments for additional information. In our latest report, we are able to shine some light on the shady situation, revealing a telling though still incomplete picture of the golden visa scheme.

