Hi all, it’s been difficult to find applicants that have gone the Arts & Culture investment route (€250,000 regular/€200,000 in low-density areas), so I’m posting to see if anyone would be willing to share their stories.
Additionally, even if this is not the route you took, what are your thoughts on it in 2024, given the recent legal/electoral changes in the country? For context, I’m a US citizen looking for a long-term option for an EU residency and citizenship. If the process takes 5-9 years, I don’t mind, as long as it works out in the end.
The question, of course, is if the Arts & Culture pathway is at all realistic for these purposes. If you have any lawyer recommendations for this specific pathway, I’m all ears too!
I don’t see why you’d throw your money away if you have the option between this and the investment option. Plenty of relatively good open ended funds available, I think. More monetary commitment but you get something out of it, rather than essentially burning all that money
We used EDGE because of their experience with the cultural pathway, but I haven’t been super impressed with them. Granted, most of that disappointment is probably with ARI itself, but I have had better lawyering experiences (all in the USA and not flat-rate, however.)
Mostly because I’ve struggled to find even a single person who managed to get a residency through it, coupled with some mentions of the path being not well-trodden and the process for it thus not being established. Would be great to know they exist, even if they aren’t online!
I suppose this depends in large part whether the latest immigration law change RE: residency application wait time counting toward residency requirement for citizenship covers GV applicants (and from the moment the application is actually filed, not biometrics)?
It’s mostly about locking up 2x the capital. I won’t say that by saving EUR 250-300k I’ll fully make up the EUR 200-250k loss because of some sagacious investments, but once you factor in today’s taxes to be paid on liquidating enough capital to get ~500k liquid, it ends up being at least a wash. (I’m on the younger side and in a higher tax bracket atm).
As for the EDGE recommendations, thanks folks, seems like a worthwhile start!
I’ve read through your comments and I would love to hear the story of your GV process and where you are now with it. It seems like you are not happy with the Cultural Investment option and I’d like to hear why since I am considering that option. Thanks.
Why would anyone be happy with giving away 250k and receiving absolutely nothing that was promised, over two years later?
That isnt to say I might not still end up happy eventually, but all the uncertainty makes me wish I had an opportunity to at least recover some of the money via investment fund or real estate.
Not sure why anyone would choose this route now, knowing what a shit show ARI has become.
If you have any lawyer recommendations for this specific pathway, I’m all ears too!