For example, if a client was to invest a relatively small amount like 50,000 euros to expand their existing business overseas into Bulgaria, that would be enough to persuade the immigration authorities of their intentions and they would be granted a residence permit. As this small amount is not covered by the Bulgarian Investment Promotion Act(only 500,000 euros upwards), Permanent Residence EU LTD offer a full money back guarantee in the unlikely event that applications are not successful.

This means that clients have no risk when applying for their EU residence permit.

People who are getting EU residence permits by expanding their existing businesses into Bulgaria are finding the general busness climate there very beneficial to their growth. Not only is the general rate of tax for both individulas and companies now the lowest in the EU, but also much of the beurocratic red tape that hindered business practice in the nineties and early noughties has now gone. More and more people are choosing Bulgaria as their gateway to EU residence, because of this very low regulatory attitude towards new firms expanding into Bulgaria.

EU immigration via Bulgaria through investment is the most reliable way of getting an permanent residence permit. But applicants must be aware that they will not be granted a residence permit in Bulgaria on the basis of wanting to leave the country and  travel throughout Europe without a visa. Remember, the client is getting EU residence on the basis of expanding their overseas business into Bulgaria. So the investment is a vital part of being granted the initial long term residence permit.

There are 3 ways of gaining EU residence through investment.

The first is by investing a minimum sum of 50,000 euros. The client receives long-term resident status which allows them indefinate stay within Bulgaria, as well as allowing them to travel to ANY other EU country and seek work there. After 5 years, they are then granted permanent resident status.

The second is by investing 512,000 euros (1 million lev). This takes the client directly to permanent resident status by immediately giving them a permanent residence permit, and therefore skipping 5 year long-term residence stage.

And finally, by doing a very large investment of 8,000,000 euros. This takes the investor directly to citizenship. Within a few weeks of making this massive investment, clients receive their Bulgarian passport. It is important to note here that citizenship doea NOT have any significant advantage over an EU residence permit(as in the first and second scenarios above). The only additional rights clients receive from citizenship as oppoed to a permanent residence permit is the right to vote and the right to join the Bulgarian army and police force.

In the last couple of years, several immigration advisory services have sprung in the Czech Republic offering European immigration and permanent residence permits. BEWARE!

1. The vast majority are very new in this field and have very little experience of the processes involved,  having been formed very recently. This lack of experience in European Union immigration has lead to a very high proportion of these Czech applications being delayed and rejected. A number of them have also been reported to Interpol for taking clients’ money and then vanishing, giving the whole industry a bad name.

But even for well established immigration consultancies from the Czech Republic, there are still many problems with their  offerings.

2. To begin with, to become a Czech permanent resident, you must first pass a stringent Czech language test, something the vast majority of them never mention on their websites and only tell their clients AFTER they have paid the whole sum. If clients do not pass this test, they are deported.

3. Also, income tax in the Czech Republic is one of the highest in the whole of Europe. Therefore, any savings made on the initial payment to obtain permanent residence are quickly wiped out.

4. In addition, Non-EU residents are often lured into getting their residence permits through the Czech Republic because of the low prices. But what these companies fail to tell them is that after initially getting their visas to enter the country, they must wait more than 2 months before being granted EU residence – often in the expensive capital Prague, where most of these companies are based.

This means that EU immigration through the Czech Republic is in fact the most expensive and least reliable in the whole of Europe.

EU immigration departments must be mindful of the law when deciding if someone can become a permanent resident or not. When an EU country rejects a Visa or an EU residence permit, they MUST have legal grounds for doing so, or they can be taken to court! There are European and International laws guarding against this kind of discrimination, even if it is carried out by governments. If ANY EU foreign ministry is caught giving written or verbal orders to their embassy staff to deny visas or EU residence to applicants from particular countries, then this will inevitably lead to legal action.

Thankfully, European immigration is not blighted by many cases such as these, as immigration departments are aware of the legal threat if they were not is issue a residence permit on discriminatory  grounds. If  the documents submiited are correct and the applicant’s answers in interview are consistant with these documents, then a permanent residence permit MUST be issued.

Granting EU resicence permits to clients who to entrepreneurs and skilled workers from outside EU is now viewd by the majority of top economists as the one of the most important factors in helping EU countries grow after the global recession. European Union immigration and the granting of EU residence to the right people is now seen as the main source of entrepreneurship. It it this entrepreneurship that is leading to new businesses being created,  many of which are growing repidly and creating new jobs. And all economist agree – it is only the creation of jobs that will finally drag their respective countries out of this recession.

Governments have begun to grant resident permits to ambitious non-EU residents looking to start their own companies with new business ideas. Making such people permanent residents in the EU is quite simply the best thing for their economies, as well as being the best criteria for controlling EU immigration.

The number of Indian nationals getting EU residence permits through investing in Bulgaria is sky rocketing.  No sooner had a small handful of individuals from Mumbai obtained EU residence in this manner, the word quickly spread among friends and family.

Indians on the whole are very shrewd investors. Their return on investment has meant that many have basically made money out of becomming an EU resident, rather than having to pay like everyone else. Very clever…

The most favoured investments to facilitate EU immigration are currently real estate(especially agricultural land), and the catering business(particularly restaraunts).

All the top immigration advisory services are offering EU residence permits through investment. However, some are very greedy, and are targeting high net worth individuals for millions of Euros so they can line their pockets with a percentage of that investment.

The reality is that you can be granted almost immediate permanent residence by investing as little as 50,000 euros in certain EU states. If you are to chose this route to EU immigration, always pick a company that has strong affilliations with good investment firms with a good track record. That way your investment is more likely to make money, and you will effectively ge your European Union immigration for free!

If you have around 50,000 to invest, as long as the proposed investment is solid, then this is something you should seriously consider in order to become a permanent resident in the EU….

A residence permit allows the holder to stay indefinately in that initial EU country where they applied for EU residence, as well as travel and seek work in all other EU countries. However, many immigration advisory services in the EU mis-sell to their client base, claiming that they can stay in the EU indefinately without advising their clients properly.

Hence, just to clarify – when travelling, holders of long term residence can stay up to 3 months in EACH European country before requiring a work permit in that country. So, for eample, if the holder travels to the UK and cannot find work there, then they can travel to Germany. If they cannot find work there after 3 months, then they can travel to France for 3 months, then Norway, then Spain, then Belgium etc.  

European Union immigration is quite straight forward, but clients should be advised correctly, so that there are no misunderstandings .