A court in Portugal is to deliver verdicts Friday in a corruption trial linked to so-called “golden” visas granted to wealthy foreign investors, a scandal that has thrown a spotlight on a controversial but widespread practice in Europe. Cash-strapped Portugal in late 2012 began offering the “golden” visas to wealthy foreigners willing to invest 500,000 euros ($570,000) in property, make a capital transfer of one million euros or create 10 jobs. But Portugal is far from being the only country involved in granting the special permits – or the most generous. In a report published last October, Transparency International and Global Witness said four EU countries — Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Malta — “sell” passports to wealthy investors, while 12 offer them residency rights. Spain tops the list of countries in terms of the number of visas issued and the amount of capital received — an average of 976 million euros annually.

Source: Egypt Independent January 04, 2019 14:37 UTC