The Italian government has decided to suspend the participation of Russian and Belarusian citizens in the Investor Visa for Italy program

The Italian government has decided to suspend the participation of citizens of Russia and Belarus in the Investor Visa for Italy program, which allowed them to obtain a residence permit in the country in exchange for investments, starting in July 2023.

This is reported by Yevropeiska Pravda, citing the Italian edition of Altreconomia.

According to Altreconomia, the Italian authorities announced the cancellation of the possibility of obtaining "golden visas" and added a special message on the program's website. The decision states that the Ministry of Economy of Italy made this decision on July 14, 2023, based on the recommendation of the European Commission of March 28, 2022.

According to Altreconomia, during the existence of the Investor Visa for Italy program, at least 36 Russian citizens have taken advantage of this opportunity, and among them 32 have received two-year "investor" visas.

Russians were the largest national group using Italian "golden visas" in 2022. In second place by the number of visas received were citizens of the United States and the United Kingdom (12 each), as well as 23 citizens of other countries outside the European Union, whose nationality is not disclosed for privacy reasons.

The publication also indicates that the volume of investments attracted through the Italian "golden visa" program last year reached its highest level since 2017, when this mechanism was first introduced, and amounted to 32.3 million euros.

In recent years, the European Commission has called on EU member states to abolish such residence permit programs, viewing them as a means of legalizing the financial irregularities of foreigners.