MILAN – Immigration authorities in Italy have suspended the golden visa program for Russian and Belarusian citizens, in line with the decision made earlier.
Italy’s Business Ministry has announced the changes on its website apparently fueled by demands put forward by the European Commission which stressed EU nations suspend their investor visa programmes in March 2022.
The European Commission recommended the move following the invasion of Ukraine and warned that those “who are subject to sanctions or significantly supporting the war in Ukraine” may have acquired EU citizenship or privileged access to the EU.
According to stats published by the Italian magazine, Altreconomia, the country issued at least 32 Russian citizens with two-year “investor” visas out of 36 applications last year which was more than the number issued to investors from the UK, the US and another 23 non-EU countries combined; data for this year is not available, Euronews reported.
Italy is one of the few EU countries that still have golden visa schemes despite concerns by the European Commission that this residency through investment scheme is a risk to security, transparency and the values of the European Union.
Earlier, Ireland also put an end to its Immigrant Investor Programme under which one could get Irish residence in return for a €500,000 donation or a three-year annual €1 million investment in the country.
One of the most lucrative Golden Visas was offered by Portugal but that too has virtually ended following the rent crisis in terms of housing.
Portugal’s Golden Visa scheme, also branded as Residence Permit for Investment (ARI), allowed wealthy foreigners to secure residency in the country if they made a significant financial contribution; however, when it opened the doors to unlawful affairs, authorities decided to scrap the scheme altogether.
Portugal became the second country after Ireland to do away with the Golden Visa scheme despite the fact that Portugal saw a total of 41.9 percent increase in investments through this program last year.
Golden Visa programs offer people the opportunity to obtain a residency permit by purchasing a house, investing significant amounts of money, or making a donation but for EU nations, this opens the door to gaining access to the benefits of being a resident of the bloc, particularly including free movement between countries.
As far as Italy is concerned, the country offers a two-year residency permit (which can be extended for three years) in exchange for a €2 million investment in Italian government bonds, a €500,000 investment in an Italian limited company, a €250,000 investment in an Italian innovative startup or a €1 million donation to a philanthropic initiative in the country under the Golden Visa; the visa can be extended for three years and after 10 years one may be eligible for citizenship.
