Golden passports’ are objectionable ethically, legally and economically and pose several serious security risks, the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs agreed on Tuesday. With 61 votes for, three against and five abstentions, the committee approved a draft legislative initiative report that sets out an array of measures to address problems linked to “citizenship and residence by investment schemes”. MEPs will now debate and vote on the report in the next plenary session, being held between March 7 and 10. If endorsed by the plenary, the Commission will need to prepare a legislative proposal or justify its decision not to do so. The draft report calls for “golden visas” to be regulated and levied at EU level and for third-countries with visa-free access to the EU to also end their “golden passports” schemes. Who offers golden passports? Malta, Cyprus and Bulgaria offer citizenship-by-investment schemes. Twelve member states have residence-by- investment schemes. Citizenship by investment schemes, under which third-country nationals can get nationality rights in exchange for an investment, are “objectionable from an ethical, legal and...