You're reading: Bulgaria offers citizenship to foreign investors

SOFIA, Bulgaria — Here's one way to boost an ailing economy: Bulgaria is offering citizenship to foreigners ready to invest at least half a million euros ($650,000).

Under a newly approved amendment, the candidates would
have to invest in a Bulgarian company involved in a high-priority
investment project in industry, infrastructure, transport or tourism.
The investors are also required to have had residence status in the
country for at least one year.

Bulgaria, which joined the
27-nation European Union in 2007 and is the bloc’s poorest member, is
trying to reverse the severe drop in foreign direct investment from
€6.55 billion ($8.5 billion) in 2008 to €1.75 billion ($2.3 billion) in
2011.

Bulgaria already is handing out passports to ethnic
Bulgarians outside its borders, the main beneficiaries being citizens of
Macedonia, Serbia, Ukraine and Turkey — countries with living standards at a fraction of the EU average that are years away from possible membership.

The
latest amendments have been criticized harshly by the opposition, and
did not get unequivocal support from the presidency or the Justice
Ministry, the two institutions that deal with the issue of granting
citizenship. According to media reports, the Interior Ministry and the
security services have also voiced concerns about potential risks to
national security during a closed-door parliament committee meeting.

The
political and economic instability in the Middle East following the
Arab Spring revolutions could prompt wealthy citizens trying to escape
the region’s troubles to qualify for the citizenship-by-investment
program.

Other EU countries trying to cut public debt and attract
foreign direct investment are also considering economic residency
programs.

Spain is studying a plan to give residency to foreigners
who buy a house or apartment worth €160,000 ($207,800) or more. The
country has more than 700,000 unsold houses following the 2008 collapse
of its real estate market .

Government officials, however, are cautious about the idea.

“It
is not government policy. Nor is it likely to become so,” the
spokeswoman for Spain’s Economy Ministry said on condition of anonymity
because she was not authorized to discuss future policy discussions.

Spain’s residency idea for foreign home buyers would not give permanent residency or the privilege of working.

It
still would beat other offers from bailed-out EU countries like Ireland
and Portugal, where residency papers are offered to foreigners buying
houses worth more than €400,000 ($519,400) and €500,000 ($649,300)
respectively.

Even though these plans increase the number of
people who have an EU passport, the EU says citizenship issues are the
responsibility of national governments.

Latvia, a non-EU nation on
the Baltic coast, offers a deal where property buyers are eligible to
receive residency permits if they buy real estate in the capital Riga
worth €140,000 ($181,800) or places worth €70,000 ($90,900) in the
countryside.