SMART NEWS

Want European Union Citizenship? You Can Buy It

Got a million dollars sitting around? Move to Europe, and bring your friends

November 14, 2013

For just $875,000, you, too, could live in scenic Malta. Or anywhere else in the European Union. Neil Howard

What Europe lacks in wide open spaces, it more than makes up for in history. If you’ve ever wanted to pack your bags and move to Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Portugal, Spain or any of the other European Union member states, there’s really never been a better time. Thanks to a new plan approved by the teeny country of Malta, which lies off the coast of Italy, you can now just buy your way in. If you’re already fairly rich.

According to the Associated Press, Malta has decided to start selling citizenship. For just shy of $875,000, you can buy yourself a spot in Matla, or, since it’s a member of the European Union, the right to live, work, and vote in any other EU state.

As an EU member, Malta’s citizens can freely enter and reside in any of the 27 other members and they can stand as candidates for the European Parliament, among other privileges. In Brussels, European Union spokesman Michele Cercone noted that Malta and other members have full sovereignty to decide how and to whom they grant nationality.

And, once you’re in, says the AP, a passport for your relative is just $33,500.

Malta isn’t the first country to offer citizenship-for-sale, but it’s certainly one of the cheaper options.

You can pay your way to Australia for a cool $4.7 million. Or, if you have your heart set on Europe, and Malta’s plan falls through (some politicians in the country are not too pleased: they called it “black day for democracy”), you still have another option. Cyprus, an island nation south of Turkey, will give you EU access for around $3,360,000. Austria does an investment scheme, too, but theirs costs $10 million, so forget that. If you want to live in the Caribbean, says CNN, either Nevis or St. Kitts will be happy to take your money. Dominica, too, will adopt you for just $100,000.