Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Sep 03, 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
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
Pickles are the latest craze among Generation Z in the United States.
Deadline Day Delivers Record £125m Isak Move and Donnarumma to City
Nestlé Removes CEO Laurent Freixe Following Undisclosed Relationship with Subordinate
Giuliani Seriously Injured in Accident – Trump to Award Him the Presidential Medal of Freedom
EU is getting aggressive: Four AfD Candidates Die Unexpectedly Ahead of North Rhine-Westphalia Local Elections
Lula and Putin Hold Strategic BRICS Discussions Ahead of Trump–Putin Summit
WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that looks a lot like Telegram.
Investigations Reveal Rise in ‘Sex-for-Rent’ Listings Across Canada Exploiting Vulnerable Tenants
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
Federal Reserve Independence Questioned Amid Trump’s Push to Reshape Central Bank
British Politics Faces Tumultuous Autumn After Summer of Rebellions and Rising Farage Momentum
US Appeals Court Rules Against Most Trump-Era Tariffs
UK Sought Broad Access to Apple Users’ Data, Court Filing Reveals
UK Bank Shares Dive Over Potential Tax on Sector
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
×