U-turn on the sale of EU Passports by Malta, 1-year reasidence now needed

The agreement reached after intense negotiations between the European Commission and the Maltese government

€650,000 no longer enough, but a raise of the current 1,800 cap for issuances is possible

Malta has finally surrender to European pressures and made an U-turn on the sale of Maltese passports. As requested by the European Parliament, Malta’s government has introduced a new clause for the passport issuance: unlike its first decision, it is now no longer enough to pay €650,000 for getting Maltese citizenship (and consequently the European one). It will be necessary to be resident in the country: “No certificate of naturalisation – reads a Joint Press Statement by the European Commission and the Maltese Authorities – will be issued unless the applicant provides proof that he/she has resided in Malta for a period of at least 12 months.”

The Government of Malta has also “informed” the Commission’s services about its intention “to evaluate whether an increase would need to be made to the current capping of main applicants.” Currently, the calling is fixed at 1,800 new potential citizens, to whom spouses and children could be added  paying a €50,000 and €25,000 fee respectively.

The EU Commissioner for Justice, Viviane Reding, tweeted her satisfaction: “Glad that thanks 2 support from @Europarl_EN & constructive cooperation w/ the Maltese, we found a solution on the Maltese #citizenship issue”.

A.B.