War Could Restrict Access to Citizenship and Visas in Europe

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The Russian invasion in Ukraine has had an impact on the issuing of citizenships and Gold Visas in Europe. The Citizenship and Residence by Investment programmes should have their granting rules revised in the near future. In Portugal, the attribution of nationality through links to the Sephardic Jewish community is also shaky, but still in operation.

This discussion was raised after the sanctions imposed by the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada Phone Number List  against several Russian oligarchs with links to Vladimir Putin's government, who obtained citizenship in European countries through these schemes.

Currently, three member states have Citizenship by Investment (CBI) policies: Bulgaria (which has already committed to closing its programme), Cyprus (currently only processing applications submitted before November 2020) and Malta.



The exchange of residence for investment (RBI), on the other hand, is accepted in 12 European Union (EU) countries. These are: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Malta, Estonia, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.

The basic difference between the Citizenship by Investment Programme and the Residence by Investment Programme is that the former grants immediate citizenship to its applicant, while the latter grants residence, albeit without the obligation to become a resident, but with the possibility of obtaining citizenship after a certain period of time (as is the case of Portugal's Golden Visa). Both are known as Golden Visa. Between 2011 and 2019, these schemes have benefited at least 130,000 people, attracting a total foreign investment of €21.8 billion to these countries, according to data provided by the European Parliament.

'Citizenship by investment' (CBI) programmes, through which third-country nationals can obtain automatic nationality rights in exchange for an investment, are to be abolished by 2025. Residence-by-investment programmes, on the other hand, may continue to exist, but with tighter rules.

In the last 10 years, Portugal has granted 431 gold visas to Russian citizens, which resulted in an investment in the country of 278 million euros. In 2021 alone there were 65 and investments of 34 million. None of these visas were granted to Russian citizens whose names appear on the European Union (EU) sanctioned list.