MALTA: Golden passports to be replaced with broader citizenship-by-merit

Updated with PN reaction

Malta’s so-called golden passport scheme will be scrapped, while a citizenship-by-merit system will be expanded and strengthened, the government has announced.

The proposed amendment to the Citizenship Act – Chapter 188 of the Laws of Malta – follows a ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union in April, which decided that the Maltese scheme was in breach of EU law, as acquiring EU citizenship cannot be the result of a commercial transaction.

As it stands, the golden passport scheme gives wealthy foreigners the chance to obtain Maltese citizenship by making financial contributions ranging from €600,000 to €750,000, alongside property investments and donations.

In a briefing to journalists on Wednesday afternoon, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri said the transactional element of the process was being completely removed from the scheme, as was the role played by agents.

Instead, acquiring citizenship will now be open to those deemed to have provided “exceptional services” and “exceptional contributions” to Malta.

“We will honour the judgement of the EU and conform with its ruling” the minister said. “However, the court also confirmed that the granting of citizenship is a national competency. We will be expanding and strengthening the way in which citizenship is granted by merit,” he said.

Malta has had a citizenship-by-merit scheme in operation since 2017, when it was introduced with bipartisan backing.

Until now, it gave non-Maltese nationals a path to citizenship by providing an “exceptional contribution or service” in fields including science, research, sports, art and culture, job creation, investment and entrepreneurship.

Now, the Citizenship Act will be amended to also allow “philanthropists and technologists” to be eligible for the citizenship-by-merit scheme, and to explicitly cite “job creation” as one of the ways in which applicants can be deemed to have provided an exceptional contribution to the country.

The changes also give the minister greater leeway in deciding who can be granted citizenship, stating that those “whose naturalisation is of exceptional interest to the Republic of Malta” will also be eligible.

Citizenship is granted on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of the relevant minister, following a recommendation by an evaluation board.

While the board previously only gave its opinion on applications, it will now be required to provide a recommendation, based on the advice of an authority in the relevant sector. It will also be given the opportunity to interview applicants.

Camilleri emphasised that there will no longer be a set amount of money which applicants will have to pay to acquire citizenship. They must instead prove they can provide a valuable service to the country in line with its goals, or are already doing so.

The minister gave the hypothetical example of a foreign surgeon who could provide a medical service that was not currently available in Malta.

Safeguards on both the granting and removal of citizenship will also be strengthened.

Those who acquired citizenship before the proposed laws come into force will be subject to the same rules and requirements by which they previously acquired it.

The names of those who successfully gain citizenship will continue to be public.

The government was assisted in drafting the amendments by law firm Ganado Advocates, and following consultation with stakeholders and the EU.

The proposed amendments will be discussed in parliament later on Wednesday.

‘Maltese citizenship should never be for sale’
In a reaction later on Wednesday, the Nationalist Party said it “welcomes with satisfaction” the decision to scrap the citizenship-by-investment scheme, which it said it had not supported from the start.

“The Partit Nazzjonalista was from the outset clear, consistent and unwavering in its position: that Maltese citizenship should never be for sale,” the party said.

The PN said the EU Court of Justice ruling had “cast a shadow over our country”, arguing “we would never have reached the point of condemnation had the Labour Government not been so hard-headed”.

“It is a positive development that the Labour government has finally committed to recognising the importance that our country’s citizenship should not be for sale – even if it only did so after a European court ruling.”