Austrian passport for investment
These days, many countries wouldn't mind offering citizenship by investment program to those seeking a second passport. The process is simple for applicants: to invest as minimum six-figure sum in real-estate, business or government bonds and you can become a bona fide citizen of this country in a few months.
The list of such countries is changing permanently but the idea itself is leaving unchanged...However, there is one citizenship by investment program right here in Europe, which is never promoted and which is known not to everyone who wants to obtain a second passport. That is the program of economic citizenship in Austria.
What is important and what differs this program from "rivals". For one, Austrian citizenship by investment isn’t open to just anyone. Even if you meet the financial qualifications, you have to be deemed worthy by officials in the Austrian government.
Second, there is no law that suggests step-by-step instructions that must be followed in each and every case. Here in Austria, the procedure is extremely individualised.
In the absence of a specific citizenship by investment law, Austria uses Article 10, Section 6 of its Citizenship Act to allow the government to reward foreigners contributing “extraordinary merit”.In this case, such merit involves an investor putting his money directly into the Austrian economy and that means an investment in an active business or businesses that generate real employment. Real estate investments, bank deposits, or government bond purchases don’t count. Above just having a clean criminal record and excellent personal references, applicants must fund their business ventures to the tune of several million Euros. How much exactly? It depends on the project...
If you don’t want to invest in an actively running business, you can make a donation to a social project in the arts, education, or sports. .Donations should be at least 2-3 million euros to qualify, and the Austrian government must like your chosen charitable project.
Unlike other programs, Austria does not publish or disclose the names of those who acquire Austrian citizenship to any other country. And this is no coincidence. Austria is just about the last country in the European Union actively fighting to maintain rather strict bank secrecy. Of course, Austria is one of the world’s most valuable passports, granting access to live and work anywhere in the European Union, as well as visa-free travel privileges to virtually every civilized country on earth. Austria does not allow dual citizenship, which means you would be forced to relinquish your existing citizenship(s) to get an Austrian passport. But there are also exceptions to this rule ...
