On 23 January, the European Commission issued a Report and a Staff Working Document on Investor Citizenship and Residence Schemes in the European Union, the so-called golden passport or visa schemes, which aim to attract investment in exchange of citizenship or residency rights of the country concerned. Such schemes pose serious risks in terms of security, money laundering, tax evasion and corruption, and the Commission is calling for more transparency on how nationality is granted and cooperation between Member States. The Report and Staff Working Document can be accessed online.

We are proud that Milieu’s report, which provides a factual analysis of such schemes in Member States, constitutes a major fact-finding basis for these documents.