The carefree era of the so-called «gold passports» of the European Union is, in fact, coming to an end. They feel most upset, of course. Russians who for three decades had the opportunity to easily and legally buy EU citizenship as a thank you for making large and direct investments. The fact that behind the good-sounding term «investments» were hidden financial, fraud, unfair dealings and even capital earned by «on blood» did not bother anyone for a long time. Respectable European politicians and officials simply «turned a blind eye to the origin of Russian and other dubious funds, which poured into certain national economies in a huge flow.
On 04/29/2025, the Court of Justice of the EU passed a decision prohibiting the program of «gold passports», the last of which remained Maltese. The Court held that the granting of citizenship in return for investment was contrary to the principles of solidarity and trust between EU Member States. Previously, similar programmes had already been closed by Bulgaria and Cyprus, while Malta remained the last country to make extensive use of such practices and, frankly, a genuine corruption scheme was involved.
Literally until recently, Russians actively used «gold passports» to circumvent the sanctions imposed on them by the West, gain access to the territory of the EU and legalize their wealth of dubious origin. After the full-scale invasion of Russian troops into Ukraine, the European Commission somewhat increased the pressure on those EU countries that continued to practice schemes with «gold passports», especially in relation to citizens of Russia and Belarus, where strict authoritarian regimes have prevailed for several decades. In response to increased control by the EC, some Russian businessmen tried to circumvent the new bans by buying Ukrainian passports (whose citizens have visa-free access to the territory of the EU) through corruption schemes. However, the Ukrainian special service discovered this corruption channel and blocked it in 2025. According to the EC, «gold passports» have become a problem for the United Europe for several reasons and it is not just a matter of morality, but a serious threat to the general security, mutual trust and effectiveness of the principle of the rule of law. The main problem was the loss of control over EU citizenship, moreover, citizenship – is not just a passport with an identity card, but access to all rights and freedoms within the European Union. Foreigners without a real connection to one or other EU state received citizenship for the investments made and automatically became citizens of the entire European Union, which could not but undermine trust between EU members. All European politicians were well aware of the fact that programs for providing «gold passports» were mostly used to legalize dubious funds, especially for Putin’s Russia, as well as other countries with a high level of corruption.
Also, the practice of «gold passports» carried threats in the field of security and defense. The European Commission has constantly warned that schemes with «gold passports» can be used to finance terrorism and organized crime. In addition, businessmen and criminals who are not clean in their hands used this practice for the purpose of tax evasion. Ultimately, the Court of Justice decided that values, security and trust were more important than investment and closed these programmes.It is worth noting that the most defiant and cynical was the «gold passport» scheme in Cyprus. The program started in 2013, after the financial crisis. Nicosia allowed to obtain citizenship in exchange for investments of at least €2 million in real estate or business. There were no other requirements. There was no need to live on the island or know the Greek language. It was enough just to invest money. The passport could be obtained in less than half a year – was a record-breaking naturalization for the EU. More than 3,000 people who received Cypriot citizenship through investments benefited from the program. Among them are – oligarchs and businessmen from Russia, Malaysia, China and the petrocracies of the Middle East. For example, Oleg Deripaska, Ihor Kolomoiskyi, Oleksiy Kuzmichov, Mykhailo Gutseriev (although all of them were included in the list of persons whose «gold passports were later canceled).
An independent investigation in 2020 showed how high-ranking Cypriot officials were willing to «sell a passport even to a convicted criminal. Numerous violations of the rules, falsification of documents and non-compliance with the criteria were also found. The Government of the Republic of Cyprus has admitted «errors, loopholes and oversights», but reputation damage has already been done! As a result, in 2020, Nicosia officially closed the program, and during 2023-2025, the government canceled more than 200 «gold passports», including investor family members. Today, at the level of the European Union, the general consensus is that, although many countries of the world have created various mechanisms aimed at attracting as much foreign direct investment as possible, however, the «gold passports» – program is a very dubious practice, extremely vulnerable to abuse.
So, will the «gold passports» of the European Union really expire for citizens of the aggressor state and other dubious elements? And yes, and no. The fact is that another program called «gold visas continues to operate in the EU. This practice makes it possible to obtain the right to free residence on the territory of the EU country, and, therefore, the entire European Union, for investments made. Although the «gold visa» program does not grant full citizenship, it continues to be a very convenient loophole for many unwanted elements.
Guided by logic, the European Commission would have to introduce new additional mechanisms to verify the origin of funds and to establish links between applicants for a «gold visa and countries that pose a threat to EU security. Well, ideally, the «gold visa» program should be closed just like the scandalous «gold passport» program, at least temporarily (for a certain preventive period).
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