Geoff J Says:
Could creating a corporation, in Montenegro or some such locale, serve as a workaround to allow me to stay in the EU longer than 90 days without having to do the “Schengen Hop” or obtain a European passport?
Global Diversification Expert Ted Baumann Says:
Hi Geoff,
Most European countries offer long-term residency visas for people who create or invest in businesses in those countries. The threshold amounts are typically higher than those for residential property-based visas. Some countries, such as Portugal, base the visa on how many jobs are created rather than the amount of the investment.
There is one exception to this, which is Italy. The country offers a residency package based on the creation of an Italian “representative office” of a foreign corporation. The representative office is not supposed to be conducting business in Italy but rather doing marketing and promotional activities, research, et cetera.
The representative office must be created by a foreign company with limited liability status like an LLC. Once the Italian representative office is open, it can appoint a local representative, which can be the founder of the foreign company.
Frankly, this is one of those things that is getting hyped on the Internet by purveyors of residency facilitation services, but I don’t really see it as a viable option for most people.
For one thing, it’s not going to work if you create an LLC in the US, for example, just in order to be able to open a representative office in Italy so you can live there. The Italians are going to want to see full details of the company’s operations and finances.
The bottom line is that any European country is going to require that the corporation that you create, whether as an active business or a representative office, is an actual operating business and not just a shell so you can get residency. Anybody who tells you otherwise is leading you down the garden path.
The best way to ensure you’re making the smartest decisions about overseas diversification is with my Global Citizen Prosperity Blueprint.
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