This trend has continued over the past 10 years and these schemes exist to date in 20 Member States35. Their features vary greatly in particular as regards the investment to be made, both in nature and in amount. Five types of investment options can be observed: capital investment36, investment in immovable property37, investment in Government bonds38, donation or endowment of an activity contributing to the public good39, and one-time contributions to the State budget40. These options are not mutually exclusive, some Member States allowing for different types of investment and their combination. In terms of amount, the scale ranges from a very low investment (below EUR 100,00041) to a very high investment (over EUR 5 million42). In addition to these, a non-financial investment such as the creation of jobs or the contribution to the economy may be required43. Procedures differ greatly as well as the conditions linked to physical presence in the Member State granting residence rights44. 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and the United Kingdom. Hungary suspended their scheme in April 2017. For more details on the identification of these schemes, see the accompanying Staff Working Document. Under the capital model, the requirement is to invest a definite sum either (i) in a company irrespective of the role that the investor has in the company or title under which the investor participates in the company – owner, shareholder, manager (Bulgaria, Estonia, Ireland, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, United Kingdom) or (ii) in credit or financial institutions instruments such as investment funds or trust funds (Bulgaria, Estonia, Ireland, Spain, Cyprus, Latvia, Netherlands, Portugal). This model requires to buy, or to rent, a real estate property of a definite value (Ireland, Greece, Spain, Cyprus, Latvia, Malta, Portugal). Renting is possible in Malta and Greece. More details are included in the Staff Working Document. Bonds of a definite value are purchased to the Government by the investors. These bonds imply a repayment on a maturity date, with a definite interest rate (Bulgaria, Spain, Italy, Latvia, Hungary, Malta and United Kingdom). Capital is invested in a public project benefiting the arts, sports, health, culture or education philanthropic donations artistic and research activities (Ireland, Italy, Portugal). This requires paying directly a certain amount of money to the State (Latvia, Malta) and does not entail repayment, contrary to bonds. The minimum is HRK 100,000 (approximately EUR 13,500) in Croatia. In certain cases, such as in Greece for the “strategic investment” option, the amount is not specified by law and left to the discretion of the authorities. Slovakia and Luxembourg. Creation of jobs in Bulgaria, Czechia, Spain, France, Croatia, Latvia, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania and contribution to the economy in Bulgaria, Czechia, Greece, Spain. More precisely, the criterion of “contribution to the economy” has different forms: it must be “specific to an economically disadvantaged region” in Bulgaria; the investment must be made “in the interests of the country or a region” in the Czech Republic; the Greek legislation provides for a “strategic investment” without defining the concept; Spain requires a business project of “general interest”. See the Staff Working Document for an overview of these schemes. 7