Austria: citizenship by investment. But in cryptocurrency!
Wealthy cryptocurrency owners are very actively interested in immigration projects, especially when it comes to the possibility of acquiring a passport. Austrian citizenship is among the top positions.
It only remains to answer the question: are the Austrian authorities ready to treat the owners of cryptocurrencies and investments using crypto favorably or, alas, not?
According to authoritative sources, the Austrian state has a generally neutral "crypto position". Since there is currently no relevant legislation, a "technology neutral" supervisory approach to its regulation has been adopted by the financial regulator (Austrian Financial Markets Authority).
The overwhelming majority of projects that can be "nominated" for an Austrian passport "are reduced for a foreign investor to participation in a company such as a GmbH, created specifically for the project, which in the future will be" responsible for its implementation ", and which conditionally has two shareholders - a representative of the local business and the actual investor - a passport applicant.
Since the project must ensure the creation of jobs and sustainable tax revenues, and must also pass approval, at least at the level of the government of the federal land (province), on the territory of which it will be implemented, it hardly makes sense to link the project with crypto. If we add crypto volatility to this, then it is advisable to convert crypto into euros and only after that transfer funds, thereby fixing the amount with which the investor entered the project in ordinary currency. This will greatly simplify further conversation with officials.
Now on the agenda is the disclosure of the source of the investor's funds. Do not forget about the unshakable requirement: an impeccable reputation.
Since we are talking about several million euros, it is important to have documents that reflect the real picture of the applicant's income in recent years. How deeply would the authorities want to look into history? Formally, this period is limited to 20 years.
Who is the guarantor that the project is worthy of consideration and can be carried out? Applicant's partner under the project, he will have to represent the project at all levels ...
Is the approval of the project by the federal land government a sufficient condition for obtaining a passport? No, the final decision is with the federal authorities. But the feds are quite supportive of multi million investment.
