Twenty three files submitted for getting Moldova's citizenship through investments

Chisinau, 16 May /MOLDPRES/ - A number of 23 foreign citizens have submitted files to get Moldova’s citizenship in exchange for investments so far. At the same time, till present, a person who applied for the programme has already got the passport of Moldova. 

Iulia Petuhov, the deputy director of the Public Services Agency (ASP), the institution which implements the programme on getting Moldova’s citizenship through investments, today said that the files submitted within the programme were undergoing four stages of verification. At the third phase, an international company analyzed the file. Subsequently, the acts are subjected to expertise by national authorities, including the Interior Ministry through the migration and asylum bureau, Intelligence and Security Service, National Anticorruption Centre and the service for the prevention and combating of money laundering.     

„The process of Due diligence is at the basis of the programme, i.e. the process of checking the economic and financial reputation of the applicants and their family members; we analyze including whether there are risks for public order and the state’s security. All these are made for us to make sure that the programme poses no risk for the security of Moldova and its citizens,” Iulia Petuhov noted. Petuhov also gave assurances that people who had committed offences, who were accused or have the capacity of accused people before the International Criminal Court, are put on the wanted list by Interpol, got incomes from criminal activities, people whose funds come from illegal sources or who were found guilty for committing offences with terrorist character will not be able to become citizens of Moldova.         

The process of providing the citizenship through investments includes the submission of the file to the ASP’s secretariat, verification of its correctness and passing through the national and international control filters. Subsequently, ASP formulates a recommendation letter to the programme’s commission, which takes a decision as to meeting the eligibility criteria. In the case of a positive answer, beneficiaries transfer the financial contribution to the investments fund. After the money is transferred, the programme’s commission sends the recommendation to the president of Moldova, the decree on providing the citizenship is published in the Official Journal (Monitorul Oficial), the person takes the oath of allegiance to Moldova and the Moldovan passport is released.     

The programme was officially launched in last November and in December 2018 the first file was already submitted. So far, a single person has got the citizenship of Moldova in exchange for investments. Iulia Petuhov said that this person was a representative of the business environment from the IT sector, who wants to extend his business in Moldova. “The great majority of the applicants said they were willing to get Moldova’s citizenship, in order to benefit from the investment opportunities offered by the country’s economy and extend or start businesses,” the ASP deputy director added.     

Under the programme, a foreign investor will be able to get the citizenship of Moldova, if he/she earmarks at least 100,000 euros into the sustainable development fund or at least 250,000 euros into a strategic activity sector.