Investments in exchange for residency. Why Romania needs the Golden Visa, the program recently launched in the USA by Donald Trump
Romania is preparing its own “golden visa”: a program inspired by the American model introduced by Donald Trump, which offers the right of residence to foreign investors willing to invest at least 400,000 euros in the economy. While other European countries attract billions through such schemes, here, the flow of foreign capital is at a historic low.
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“Romania needs foreign investors like air, a strategy to attract foreign investments, investment capital, people capable of opening new businesses in our country, developing jobs, business chains”, economic analyst Adrian Negrescu declares for Adevărul.
Negative balance of foreign investments
In his opinion, no matter in what form, the initiative is salutary and must be promoted, of course, with strict filters. “You cannot grant a visa to anyone who has money, considering the terrorist danger, for example. We also need such solutions in the conditions in which we witness a real exodus of foreign money from Romania to more favorable destinations such as Bulgaria, a country that from January 1 enters the euro zone”he explains.
According to his words, the subscriptions of new foreign capital are at a historical low, and the withdrawal of money through profits is at a historical high.
“Statistical data show that if 10 years ago, approximately 3.5 billion euros entered Romania annually and about the same amount went out, in 2024 we had capital inflows of only 0.6 billion euros and outflows of 12 billion euros”says the economic analyst. In other words, in addition to the fact that new money is no longer coming in, profits are no longer being reinvested in Romania.
“Beyond attracting companies interested in investing in Romania, through fiscal facilities, through administrative facilities (land concessions, buildings, etc.), we also need to attract individuals willing to bring their money to Romania, to settle here, to live and work in this country”, adds Adrian Negrescu.
The “golden visa” model
We remind you that the draft law submitted by the PNL to the Senate provides that citizens from outside the European Union who invest at least 400,000 euros in Romania will receive a temporary residence permit for a period of five years, with the possibility of later applying for Romanian citizenship. The scheme is inspired by the American model launched by former President Donald Trump, who introduced a permanent visa for investors, sold for five million dollars. The Romanian version will allow foreigners to buy Romanian government securities, real estate or shares in listed companies, provided that the investments are kept for at least five years.
Those interested will have to prove that the sums come from legal sources, that they have not had sanctions and that they do not pose a risk to national security. The “Golden Visa” program includes checks by SRI, SIE and the National Office for the Prevention and Combating of Money Laundering, before issuing permits. This right of residence will benefit not only the investors, but also their family members, and after five years, they will be able to apply for Romanian citizenship, complying with the legal requirements.
The initiative follows similar examples from other European states. In Greece, the “Golden Visa” program has since 2013 attracted more than 2.6 billion euros and generated more than 9,000 permits for lead investors.
In Portugal, the program launched in 2012 brought in more than 7.3 billion euros, but was recently amended to eliminate real estate investments, considered speculative. In Spain, the scheme was closed after more than 90% of the funds went to the property market, which fueled rising house prices.
Hungary relaunched a competitive program in 2024, based on investments from 250,000 to 500,000 euros, and Italy and Malta oriented the program towards productive investments and philanthropic donations.
