site.btaBulgaria Assures EC No EU-Sanctioned Russians Apply for Golden Passports Here

Bulgaria has reported to the European Commission that there are no Russian citizens covered by EU sanctions who have applied for Bulgarian citizenship in exchange for investment. This was announced on Thursday before the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs by Monika Mosshammer from the EC's legal department.

Mosshammer noted that the EC had contacted Bulgaria, Cyprus and Malta with the expectation not to grant citizenship for investment to Russian and Belarusian nationals affected by EU sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine. She added that the authorities in Cyprus have reportedly revoked the Cypriot citizenship-for-investment granted to nine Russian investors and 49 members of their families covered by the sanctions. In Malta, the citizenship of two Russians has been revoked, one sanctioned by the EU and the other by the US.

According to the EC, granting citizenship in exchange for investment does not comply with European law, Mosshammer noted.

On the issue of granting residency in exchange for investment, there are still concerns that Russian and Belarusian nationals could benefit from it. This was pointed out by Johannes Luckner from the EC's Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs. He added that several EU countries are considering ending these opportunities. According to him, the Commission expects that the right of residence will not be granted to Russian and Belarusian citizens who support the war in Ukraine in any way.

Luckner recommended that countries end the granting of the right of residence in exchange for investment for all Russian and Belarusian citizens.