‘Fewer than 10’ rich investors have taken advantage of a Dutch scheme to give residency permits to people pledging to put at least €1.25m into an innovative Dutch company, according to research by Trouw.

The scheme was launched in 2013 but has not proved popular because of the stringent checks and due to competition with other countries, the paper said. The rules were relaxed in 2016 by the then junior immigration minister Klaas Dijkhoff in an effort to boost take-up.

At a time when the much more generous scheme in Malta is under scrutiny, MPs are now raising concerns about the Dutch programme, the paper said.

‘It may be less of a problem here than in other EU member states but I think we should beware of the wrong people and bad money,’ D66 parliamentarian Maarten Groothuizen said.

A year ago, the European Commission urged the Netherlands and 22 other countries to halt schemes granting ‘golden’ visas and passports to foreign investors because of the risk they could involve criminal cash.

Bulgaria, Cyprus and Malta grant foreign investors citizenship without requiring them to live in those EU countries in return for hefty fees, although Bulgaria has said it will stop the process.

The Netherlands is one of 20 countries offering a residence permit in return for payment.