Bulgaria’s Golden Visa program may no longer be available to foreigners after Prime Minister Kirill Petkov said on Friday that the scheme, which attracts large numbers of foreigners, will be cancelled.
This is not the first time the Bulgarian authorities have tried to do this. Last month, the country’s government announced that the program would be canceled after it plans to introduce a corresponding bill in parliament, according to SchengenVisaInfo.com.
However, the bill, which was supported by a large number of politicians in Bulgaria, must be approved by the country’s government.
Last month, the prime minister also stressed that the country plans to end such a program due to “the lack of real investment in the economy that can lead to job creation.”
While the Golden Visa, which operates in several European countries, makes a significant contribution to the economies of the countries, it is often criticized for its involvement in many illegal cases, such as corruption and money laundering.
Last month, the Ministry of Justice said the Citizenship by Investment program had not led to real investment in Bulgaria, according to EURACTIV.
In addition, the same ministry stressed that there will soon be an end to golden visa passports.
“This is one of the main obstacles for (joining) the Schengen, in my opinion, and for visa-free travel from the United States. Golden passports are a vice, and getting rid of it is our priority,” the Prime Minister noted in this regard, as Bulgarian national television reported.
Bulgaria’s Golden Visa scheme allows foreigners to obtain the country’s passport if they make an investment of at least BGN 1,000,000 or $568,000.
According to a report published earlier by Euractiv, 96 foreigners have Bulgarian “golden visas”. According to the report, many of them are Russians, followed by citizens of the Middle East.
Last June, the European Union sent a letter to the Bulgarian authorities calling for the termination of the Citizenship by Investment program.
The Commission of the European Union is constantly calling on the authorities of European countries that use such schemes to abolish them amid growing concerns about money laundering, corruption, tax evasion and other illegal activities.
An earlier report published by the Associated Press highlighted that there are systemic problems with the Greek and Portuguese golden visa programs and that such schemes are misused due to a lack of background checks.
In addition, the Cypriot authorities have also announced that they will cancel their Golden Visa scheme following an Al Jazeera investigation called the Cyprus Papers, which claimed that more than 1,000 foreigners acquired citizenship in Cyprus between 2017 and 2019.