
EU citizenship for sale - lelf
http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief/4315681-eu-citizenship-sale
======
brownbat
The EU was founded on the principle that free movement of people, goods, and
services is a net win for society. Malta's just taking this idea one tiny step
further.

We'll really fix this though when the circumstances of your birth don't
dictate where you are expected to live, work, or play.

If you want to work in London for a couple years, then Sri Lanka, then
Albuquerque, then Beijing, you should be able to do it, so long as you can
afford the cost of living and appropriate taxes for the area.

Sure, some do this now, but you should be able to do this as a mechanic from
Ghana, not just as an international business manager from Vermont with a trust
fund.

~~~
relet
> The EU was founded on the principle that free movement of people, goods, and
> services is a net win for society...

...within a gated community that encloses those who pay the access fee.

While free roaming would be a net win for society, the currently advantaged
part of society does not feel like sharing much.

~~~
ahomescu1
It's not exclusive to the rich/advantaged. IMHO the biggest opposition to
unrestricted immigration in richer countries comes from workers, because
"they're taking our jobs". Just look at the H1B mess in the US for an example
(where a lot of company managers/owners want to bring in more foreigners, not
fewer).

EDIT: Maybe I misinterpreted, your post reads like "the rich are preventing
free movement". I want to point out that anyone who has a well-paid job is
"advantaged", not just rich people.

------
vladd
Latvian banks have a residence program for 300K EUR:

[https://www.rietumu.lv/en/residence-
permit](https://www.rietumu.lv/en/residence-permit)

As long as the money is kept in a term deposit, "upon expiry of the term of
residence permit investors and their family members are eligible to apply for
the renewal."

After some years one can apply for naturalization and gain full Latvian
citizenship.

~~~
_delirium
Residence programs are more common, but to take advantage of them you have to
actually take up residence in the country, physically living there as your
main residence. Then you must live in the country as a law-abiding, productive
citizen for typically 3 to 8 years (depending on the country) before you can
naturalize and get a passport. You may also be required to take a language and
civics exam to do so. This at least ensures _some_ connection between the
passport holder and the country.

Direct cash-for-passport schemes for someone who's never lived in the country
are much rarer. Afaik, in the EU currently, only Austria sort-of has one, and
it's not explicit. Like many countries, Austria can grant special-case
citizenship to people who've rendered extraordinary services to Austria, but
unlike most other countries, this includes not only scientific achievement and
the like, but also a handful of very rich people each year, who negotiate
through intermediaries a grant of citizenship in return for either a large
donation, or a large investment. Mainly people from Dubai and similar places,
who don't want to move to the EU (and therefore can't use the residency
schemes), but do want an EU passport for travel or future-proofing purposes.
The price isn't disclosed, but rumors have it that it's a lot higher than
€650k, more in the €2m+ range for donations or €10m+ for investments.

~~~
bradleyjg
How many law-abiding, productive people generate €650,000 in positive
externalities in 3-8 years?

This looks like a win-win to me.

~~~
glesica
This is completely meaningless and unimportant. Unfortunately, real people
don't generally act like the "economic man" you (and I) learned about in Econ
101. Real people value social ties and community, even when the dollar value
of those things is quite low. Citizenship, especially for small countries, is
a form of community. Selling access to that community to outsiders who may not
respect the social norms and values of the community is therefore
objectionable to many people.

~~~
bradleyjg
It's completely meaningless and unimportant that there are real, concrete,
benefits because some -- but evidently not a majority of voters -- admittedly
irrational people have their inchoate feelings hurt?

€650,000 can go towards education, social safety net programs, or a variety of
other worthy causes, but the important thing is the feelings of rank
nationalists who are upset that their precious citizenship cum identity is
terribly diluted by being sold rather than being acquired by falling out of
the right vagina. Because after all there is requirement that a natural born
citizen participate in the "community".

------
kcorbitt
Interesting. I always assumed that as part of the Schengen Agreement there was
some kind of minimum requirement for naturalizing foreigners. Given that
apparently there isn't, I'm actually quite surprised that some small country
hasn't tried this before.

------
spindritf
I'm broadly against immigration to the EU, and 650k is a bit low, but in
general, this is the best way to go about it. We're getting people who really
want to get in, who demonstrably can contribute and won't be a burden on the
system. Also, not too many.

~~~
null_ptr
You'll get a lot of Russian mobsters that way, buying their way in and buying
property to get a foot in the EU door.

~~~
_delirium
Yeah, I would guess there is relatively little overlap between the kinds of
people willing and able to pay €650k for a passport, and those who have
productive skills the EU is currently in need of. The EU needs more middle-
class skilled labor, basically, ranging from skilled blue-collar workers to
educated professionals. It doesn't really need Dubai sheikhs or Russian
mobsters looking for a passport of convenience.

------
usaphp
$500K will grant you a US permanent residence: [http://www.uscis.gov/green-
card/green-card-through-job/green...](http://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-
card-through-job/green-card-through-investment)

------
auctiontheory
Every country does this in some way through "investment visas." Including the
US. Malta's sale is just a bit more blatant.

~~~
wavefunction
You may (not guaranteed) get a visa and green card. You do not receive
citizenship (at least in the US, I am ignorant about other countries'
investment visas.)

~~~
auctiontheory
The US investment visa provides a GC and puts you on track to receive US
citizenship. [http://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-through-
job/green...](http://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-through-job/green-
card-through-investment)

You'd (eventually) have to live in the US, and wait several years for the
passport, so it's not quite a cash-on-the-counter transaction like Malta. But
it is similar in concept

------
IvyMike
€30m at €650k a head = less than 50 people, no?

I guess the real problem is if this kicks off a "race to the bottom" among
other cash-strapped EU members.

~~~
websirnik
That's what I was thinking. Considering Russian, Chinese and Indian people,
who consistently faced with getting multiple visas, demand will be massive. EU
passport also allows you to go to UK and US(much easier comparing RU/CH/IN
passports).

The idea that other EU countries will try to compete on price, to be honest
intrigues me, as the outcomes might be unexpected. Probably EU will want
regulate such thing.

------
rmc
(a) It hasn't become law yet.

(b) Lots of EU countries have (in some ways) liberal rules of citizenship.

* Ireland gives citizenship to anyone who's grandparent was Irish (even if you and both your parents have never set foot in Ireland).

* Bulgaria (EU) gives citzenship to Macedonians (non-EU).

* Romania (EU) gives citizenship to Moldovans (non-EU).

etc.

------
hop
Why would you pay almost a million dollars for citizenship? Honest question.

~~~
wazoox
Because you're some horrible criminal from about anywhere out of Europe,
wanting to escape the law strikes me as the most probable reason.

~~~
vignesh_vs_in
Or a rich person wanting to escape a horrible country(Government).

------
cpursley
St. Kitts & Nevis has a similar program. It's a pretty good citizenship &
passport for a $400,000 real estate purchase or $250,000 "investment"...

[http://www.henleyglobal.com/countries/st-kitts-
nevis/citizen...](http://www.henleyglobal.com/countries/st-kitts-
nevis/citizenship/)

------
math0ne
The truth is when you start looking into it, if you have money, you can live
wherever you want.

------
adamnemecek
> "The award of citizenship through the controversial scheme is expected to
> yield €30m for the public coffers..."

Well that seems like it might not be worth all the trouble.

~~~
tgb
Malta's GDP is only 8.7 billion USD. €30m isn't too shabby.

------
kyriakos
Cyprus does something similar, you need to buy property worth a million and
make a 300k donation to the government. Then you get your citizenship in a
month. Of course you can sell the property after. Lots of Russians do this.

------
smtpserver
Same, a bit cheaper in Hungary (250K EUR)
[http://www.akk.hu/object.E2A89FF4-D355-4173-9252-C8F50FD17F0...](http://www.akk.hu/object.E2A89FF4-D355-4173-9252-C8F50FD17F04.ivy)

------
bowlofpetunias
This will really help with the anti-EU sentiment in Northern Europa.

650K is a low price for EU citizenship because it's being subsidized by the
richer EU nations. Malta citizenship would be a lot less attractive.

