North Macedonia plans to change citizenship-by-investment rules
North Macedonia plans to abolish the investment threshold for obtaining citizenship following criticism from the European Union over potential risks to the security of the Schengen area. This was reported by Balkan Insight.
Changes to the law
In June, the government in Skopje proposed amendments to the Citizenship Law. The authorities said the changes were intended to strengthen citizenship-granting rules and address EU concerns over the so-called golden passport scheme.
The proposal provides for abolishing the requirement to invest €400,000 in exchange for citizenship. It also plans to remove the condition of employing ten people.
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The European Union's position
The European Union criticized the proposed changes, stating that they do not go far enough in abolishing the citizenship-by-investment scheme. Critics of the scheme believe it is often abused.
At the same time, the authorities will still be able to grant citizenship to people recognized as being of special interest to North Macedonia. Such interest may include economic, cultural or sporting interests.
