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File Name | S21-Policy-NCFCA-26-NEG-Golden-Visas.docx |
File Size | 71.16 KB |
Date added | February 8, 2021 |
Category | Archived |
Tags | Debate, NCFCA, Policy, Season 21 |
Author | Vance Trefethen |
AFF plan will abolish so-called “Golden Visas” in the EU. “Golden Visas” are a slang term for visas issued by individual EU countries to wealthy individuals who invest substantial amounts of money in things like real estate, government bonds, or new business startups within the territory of the country issuing the visa. It’s a fast-track to permanent residency (which could lead to citizenship), and it’s popular with wealthy people from places with political difficulties like Russia and China. [FYI, the USA has a similar visa known as the EB-5, and it has a huge backlog of Chinese citizens waiting in line to get one.] There is also another different yet similar scheme called the Golden Passport, which (for even higher fees) gets the wealthy immigrant a fast track to citizenship, not just residency. There are accusations of abuse, as well as questions about why rich people should be able to buy citizenship. Not all EU countries have them and they are not issued at the EU level. The first problem with a ban on these visas is that the EU doesn’t have the power to ban them, since they are under the jurisdiction of the member nations and not the EU as a whole. EU can tell member states to clean up corruption, but the EU can’t stop the visas or passports from being issued. In addition, there isn’t much corruption to solve and whatever there is has already been addressed. And the biggest problem for debaters is that such visas are a “tiny” part of EU immigration. Less than 0.1% of EU immigration is coming this way – definitely not a “considerable” reform of EU immigration.