Investor Citizenship in the European Union Member States Vs. Citizenship of the European Union

The main goal of this paper is to examine and classify the legal provisions that may result in the direct acquisition of citizenship or residence rights through a pecuniary contribution in all the 28 EU Member States, and to discuss the implications of investor citizenship and residence programs on the notion of European Union (EU) citizenship.  The paper starts by a theoretical examination of membership in national and supranational polities in order to discern the links between national and EU citizenship. This is followed by an empirical classification of the different investor and residence programs in the 28 Member States of the European Union, aimed at comparing how different countries regulate access to membership on grounds of wealth. The conclusion to the paper discusses of the effects of investor citizenship and golden residence programs in the broader EU context, taking into account the unique characteristics of European citizenship