Montenegro’s Finance Minister Aleksander Damjanovic said closing the Golden Passport program would harm Montenegro, according to a report by Balkan Insight.
The minister’s comments follow pressure from the European Union on the country’s authorities to abolish such a program after reports that it was involved in numerous illicit affairs, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
On Monday, Damjanovic said that 70 million euros would be expected from this program for next year alone.
“From the cases currently under procedure and from those which have not yet started to be resolved, we expect up to 70 million euros – around 35 million in revenue, that’s for sure, but it is estimated that they will up to 70 million for next year”, underlined the minister.
The Finance Minister highlighted the fact that European authorities continue to put pressure on the Balkan country to end this system by 2023. He said such a measure would cause significant damage to Montenegro, stressing that the country needs to find a new one to see if there is an effective model to continue implementation.
In May this year, the Prime Minister of Montenegro, Dritan Abazovic, promised that such a program would be completed by December 31 this year, while adding that there would be additional checks in order to make the process more transparent.
In September, Abazovic once again emphasized that the program would end by the end of this year, while emphasizing that applications for this program could be submitted.
“The program has brought many benefits; Thanks to him, valuable investments have been made and new jobs have been created. But we must also respect the demands of our European partners.” Abazovic emphasized in this regard.
The Golden Passport program, also known as the Citizenship by Investment programallows wealthy internationals to make a financial contribution to the country’s economic sector in order to acquire citizenship.
Data provided by the Montenegro government revealed that 108 international citizens, mostly from Russia and China, acquired citizenship through the Golden Passport program.
Although often the subject of much criticism, Montenegro’s Golden Passport and Golden Visa programs have made a significant contribution to the country’s economic sector.
A previous report published by real estate brokers, Tranio, revealed that Montenegro’s Golden Visa program, as well as those of Portugal, Greece, Spainand Latvia, are among the favorites of wealthy internationals when considering residency or citizenship.