Changes to Malta’s golden passports scheme in the pipeline

Malta’s citizenship law is going to be amended to bring the golden passports scheme in line with the principles of a judgement from the European Court of Justice.

Two months after the judgement was delivered, the Home Affairs Ministry has tabled a motion in parliament to amend the Maltese Citizenship Act.

The bill is at its first reading, with no details on what will be amended. This is normal practice when a bill is in its first reading.

However, sources told MaltaToday that the bill will amend the citizenship laws to bring it in conformity with the principles of the ECJ’s judgement.

In April, the ECJ ruled that Malta’s citizenship-by-investment scheme infringes EU law and amounts to “the commercialisation of the grant of nationality of a member state”.

It said the bond of nationality with a member state is based on a “relationship of solidarity, good faith and the reciprocity of rights and duties between the State and its citizens.” By granting citizenship in exchange for payments and investments, Malta infringes these principles according to the binding ruling.

Malta’s golden passport scheme was launched in 2014 and gave wealthy individuals the chance to obtain Maltese—and by extension, EU—citizenship in exchange for hefty payments and investments. 

The programme had attracted criticism from many, most notably the European Commission, which launched infringement proceedings against Malta. The commission argued that the sale of EU citizenship “is incompatible with the principle of sincere cooperation”.