Austria and Cyprus do not want Malta’s ‘citizenship for sale’ scheme to be compared with schemes of their own, representatives for the two governments have told RTK.

A top official from the Cypriot Foreign Affairs Ministry told the Maltese radio station that Malta’s scheme cannot be compared to that of Cyprus because the Cypriot scheme binds applicants to invest €5 million in the country, create jobs and employ Cypriot nationals.

Applicants for Cyprus’ citizenship programme also have to pay taxes in the country, buy property and invest in government and private bonds. Furthermore, the final decision is in the hands of the entire cabinet and not just one ministry. The government official said that the scheme came into force after a cabinet decision on 24 May, and since then 36 people have been granted Cypriot citizenship.

RTK also spoke to a spokesperson for the Austrian government, who insisted that an application for Austrian citizenship has to be deemed as a benefit to the country to be considered. “This is a lengthy process and, in contrast with other schemes, the applicant has to be a resident of the Austria for a number of years and invest substantially in the country’s economy. Applicants are required to create jobs, rather than investing in passive government bonds.” The spokesman also said that the scheme was discussed in the Austrian Parliament before it was approved.