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29 March 2024

Expat alert: Malta passport not for sale, for now

Published
By Majorie van Leijen

The proposed Malta Investor Programme where wealthy foreigners would be able to gain Maltese citizenship in return for their investment in the country will has been postponed indefinitely due to fierce criticism and controversy.

End-2013, the Maltese government made the aspiring announcement that it would introduce the Individual Investors Programme (IIP), a Maltese economic citizenship programme within a matter of weeks, after the proposition was approved by the Maltese Parliament.

It was not so much the concept itself as the details of the programme that instigated excitement as well as controversy, as it would have become the most straightforward programme towards a European citizenship, for sale for no more than Dh3,200,000.

For the single financial contribution of €650,000, the investor would be granted a Maltese passport. The applicant would not be required to reside in the country, or actively follow up with the investment, nor would there be any criteria other than the 18 years minimum age limit.

After having ‘bought’ the Maltese passport, the new citizen would be able to reside or move to any of the 28 EU countries. In addition, the citizen would be permitted to grant the same citizenship to his family for the price of €25,000 (Dh124,000).

It was too good to be true. As soon as the announcement was made, fierce criticism arose nationally as well as internationally. Within Malta, opponents described the programme as cheap, and expressed their concern that the straightforward sale of Maltese citizenship would reflect negatively on the country.

Meanwhile, various EU leaders were of the opinion that the programme would undermine their more competitive citizenship programmes, and as the programme would lead to unrestricted access to all EU countries, the move was considered a cheap sale of EU citizenship.

The criticism eventually led to the indefinite postponement of the programme, reportedly giving the Maltese government and opposition time to discuss amendments to the programme. Whether the programme will be put back on the table is unclear at this point.

[Image via Shutterstock]