Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Jul 23, 2025

Chinese investors, beware: EU targets ‘golden visas’

Chinese investors, beware: EU targets ‘golden visas’

Such passports, which some nations issue in return for investments, are popular because they effectively give freedom of movement among all EU member states.

For years, wealthy Chinese have made investments in Cyprus and Malta in exchange for European Union passports – so-called golden visa transactions. Now, Brussels wants to end the practice.

The call to stop the policy came from the very top of the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, when President Ursula von der Leyen voiced it during her first state-of-the-union speech earlier this month.

“European values are not for sale,” she said.

“The breaches of the rule of law cannot be tolerated. I will continue to defend it and the integrity of our European institutions – be it about the primacy of European law, the freedom of the press, the independence of the judiciary or the sale of golden passports,” she said.


European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has declared the EU’s opposition to “golden visa” programmes.


The commission is even considering the possibility of taking EU member states that issue such visas to court, as it applies political pressure on those countries to stop the practice.

A golden visa essentially grants its holder full EU citizenship. The passports are very attractive given the freedom of movement among the nations in the union, since holders of Chinese passports do not enjoy visa-free access to most countries.

In the decade ending 2018, the EU welcomed more than 6,000 new citizens and close to 100,000 new residents through golden visas schemes, according to Transparency International, a German NGO.

Currently, four EU members offer passports and 12 trade residency rights through golden visa programmes. The two lists overlap, with three countries – Bulgaria, Cyprus and Malta – having both schemes. Cyprus and Malta seem to be the most popular with Chinese investors.

“Due to the nature of EU citizenship, such schemes have implications for the union as a whole. The commission is looking at compliance with EU law, and will introduce infringement proceedings, if judged necessary,” a commission spokeswoman said.

“The commission has frequently raised its concerns about investor citizenship schemes and certain inherent risks, in particular as regards security, money laundering, tax evasion and corruption.”

Didier Reynders, the European commissioner for justice, had been in contact with three member states to raise these concerns directly, the spokeswoman said.


European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders has contacted three member states to discuss the EU’s concerns about their investor citizenship programmes.


The EU has been under pressure to act after an investigation by Al Jazeera last month found that dozens of people who obtained golden visa passports from Cyprus between 2017 and 2019 would have otherwise been rejected as “high risk” according to the country’s rules.

Al Jazeera’s report included naming several Chinese businesspeople who had such passports and concurrently served as advisers to the Communist Party in the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.

Despite the EU’s hardening rhetoric, Chinese immigration agents appeared unfazed, with multiple websites continuing to promote this route to EU citizenship.

“The European Union is a loose federation, and the EU [commission] president really can’t speak for the member state governments,” said Crystal Tan, a manager at Cheuk Yuet Migration Consulting Services, an agent in Guangzhou.

Tan said she and other agents did not believe the golden passport programme would end.

“As we can see, such programmes are bringing huge revenues to Cyprus, Malta, Portugal and even Spain,” she said.

The Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus requires an investment of at least €2.2 million (US$2.6 million) but with no obligation to live there; within six months investors can have an EU passport with the right to live and work in all 27 states in the bloc – and visa-free access to more than 170 nations around the world.

In Malta, investors can receive a passport if they make a donation of €650,000 to a government national development fund, invest €150,000 in government-approved stocks or bonds, purchase real estate for a minimum of €350,000 and commit to a residence for at least five years.

Non-EU citizens can likewise be given a route to Portuguese residency if they spend at least €500,000 on a property – or lower price thresholds for less dense areas or areas marked for redevelopment.

The EU cannot ban such programmes by its member states, but is looking at ways to make these schemes illegal, including through the courts. And while there is no specific timeline, von der Leyen’s term lasts five years.

If EU countries did close their programmes, Tan said Chinese investors would have other options.

“Even if some member countries respond to the EU president by ending the golden passport programmes, rich people will just look at other places – for instance, Saint Kitts and Mexico are providing similar programmes.

“For Chinese clients, as long as the new passport can provide travel convenience or help to move wealth abroad, the demand will always be there,” Tan said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×