--- title: What the heck is a golden passport? - The Hustle description: The ultra-wealthy are paying big bucks for the right to travel freely throughout Europe. image: https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/311992015-HS-News-Brief_2022-10-04T002907.219Z.webp --- # What the heck is a golden passport? ![Rob Litterst](https://thehustle.co/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Rob-Litterst-pic.png?width=48&height=48&name=Rob-Litterst-pic.png) [Rob Litterst](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/rob-litterst) [Rob Litterst Twitter profile ](https://twitter.com/robbylit) Published: April 04, 2023 Updated: October 11, 2023 Aside from breathtaking views, the small Mediterranean island of Malta offers a unique opportunity to the ultra-wealthy: investment citizenship. ![What the heck is a golden passport?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hs-fs/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/311992015-HS-News-Brief_2022-10-04T002907.219Z.webp?width=595&height=400&name=311992015-HS-News-Brief_2022-10-04T002907.219Z.webp) - For a hefty fee, people can become citizens of the country and procure a Maltese passport, one of several “golden passports” that allow visa-free travel throughout Europe. The European Union isn’t a fan, and recently [took Malta to court](https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20221001-citizenship-for-the-rich-demand-rises-for-golden-passports) over the controversial program. #### **The golden passport…** … [starts](https://getgoldenvisa.com/get-malta-passport#ftoc-passport-costs) at $677.8k (€690k), not including background checks and legal fees. Since 2013, Malta has raised $1B (€1.1B) through the scheme. EU officials claim the practice breaks EU law and poses multiple problems, including: - **Security risks:** An investigation into a similar program in Cyprus found 30 applicants from 2017 to 2019 were under criminal investigation. - **Ethical concerns:** In the [words](https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20220211IPR23114/meps-call-for-a-ban-on-golden-passports-and-eu-rules-for-golden-visas) of one EU official, “Citizenship is a right, not a commodity to be bought and sold.” While it’s easy to imagine international criminals flocking to the program, most applicants are just looking for an easier way to travel, according to Dr. Kristin Surak, a professor at the London School of Economics. #### **Even if the EU wins…** … Malta has other options to lure investments from rich travelers. **Take Portugal,** which offers a residence visa that allows non-Europeans to pay ~$200k for the right to live, work, and study in the country, and travel visa-free to most EU countries for five years, after which they can apply for full citizenship. The country’s “golden visa” has raised ~$6B since 2012. Topics: [International](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/tag/international) [Travel And Leisure](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/tag/travel-and-leisure) ## Follow us on social media prev next - ![The world was already horrifying — technology is making it more so](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/457134246-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-tech_20231010211706.webp) ### The world was already horrifying — technology is making it more so - ![Ready for a trip? Psychedelic retreats are going mainstream](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/496061094-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-psychretreats_20230926222320.webp) ### Ready for a trip? Psychedelic retreats are going mainstream - ![Ready for a trip? Psychedelic retreats are going mainstream](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/496061094-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-psychretreats_20230926222320.webp) ### Ready for a trip? Psychedelic retreats are going mainstream - ![Airbnb with the (potential) purchase of the year](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle/Assets/Images/499309367-125_airbnb.webp) ### Airbnb with the (potential) purchase of the year - ![Check into the future: Hotels are getting an upgrade](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1767946706-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-Hotels_20230910231408.webp) ### Check into the future: Hotels are getting an upgrade - ![At the elite’s summer camp, the workers allegedly get bunk](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/518939982-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-campmen_20230828225257.webp) ### At the elite’s summer camp, the workers allegedly get bunk - ![Meta vs. Canada is a long pattern of dismantling news](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1038385209-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-newspaper_20230823220232.webp) ### Meta vs. Canada is a long pattern of dismantling news - ![This summer, at band camp, we got a reverse mortgage](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/764220105-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-Summer-Camp_20230611222529.webp) ### This summer, at band camp, we got a reverse mortgage - ![How many zeros would you shell out to feel less zeroed out?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/391309654-19-News-Brief_2023-05-07T230126.694Z.webp) ### How many zeros would you shell out to feel less zeroed out? - ![Planning a summer trip? Maybe skip Hawaii, says Hawaii](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/2055962616-httpsthe-hustle.hubspot.comhubfsDaily20Newsletter20ImagesMay209202023hawaii_tourism.webp) ### Planning a summer trip? Maybe skip Hawaii, says Hawaii Pop up for Subscribe to The Hustle Daily Newsletter Subscribe to The Hustle Daily Newsletter Get the 5-minute news brief keeping 2.5M+ innovators in the loop. Always free. 100% fresh. No bullsh*t. JOIN FREE ### 100% Free CRM Nurture and grow your business with customer relationship management software. Signup for a free account Close modal ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Rob Litterst", "url" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/author/rob-litterst" }, "datePublished" : "2023-04-04T23:28:24.000Z", "headline" : "What the heck is a golden passport?", "image" : [ "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/311992015-HS-News-Brief_2022-10-04T002907.219Z.webp" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/10042022-golden-passport", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject" } } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "#article", "@type" : "NewsArticle", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Rob Litterst", "url" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/rob-litterst" }, "dateModified" : "2023-10-11T19:48:18+0000", "datePublished" : "2023-04-04T23:28:24+0000", "headline" : "What the heck is a golden passport?", "image" : [ "https://7355427.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/7355427/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/311992015-HS-News-Brief_2022-10-04T002907.219Z.webp" ], "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 112, "url" : "https://fs.hubspotusercontent00.net/hubfs/53/assets/hubspot.com/web-team/WBZ/Blog%202021/Images/Logos/HubSpot%20Logo%20112X112.svg", "width" : 112 }, "name" : "HubSpot", "sameAs" : [ "https://www.facebook.com/hubspot", "https://twitter.com/hubspot" ], "url" : "https://www.hubspot.com" }, "speakable" : { "@type" : "SpeakableSpecification", "xPath" : [ "//title", "/html/head/meta[@name='description']/@content" ] } } ```