The European Commission has endorsed Malta’s Individual Investor Programme after the government accepted to introduce a one-year residency requirement for applicants, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat announced this evening.

This endorsement was confirmed in a joint statement issued by the Commission and the government following talks which were concluded this afternoon. The Commission was left satisfied that the amendment – described as “minor” by Dr Muscat when he addressed the press at the Auberge the Castile – guaranteed that those obtaining Maltese citizenship through the programme had forged genuine links to Malta.

Another legal notice will have to be published as a result of the agreement, which will lead to the third iteration of the programme in as many months.

The first was approved with parliament last November, only for the government to announce talks with the opposition in the face of international criticism. But the government forged ahead with an amended plan after these talks break down, only to face a European Parliament motion condemning the sale of citizenship and mentioning Malta by name.

While the government insisted that citizenship is an issue of national competence, it did give in to pressure from the European Commission – which was preparing a legal challenge – and enter talks on the programme.

Dr Muscat stressed that the government maintained its stance, but was ready to talk to the Commission as a lot of misinformation had come out about the programme. He insisted that the positions of the government and the Commission were actually very close at the outset, and that ultimately, it took only a few hours to reach an agreement.

The Commission confirmed that Malta does not need to cap the number of applicants, Dr Muscat announced. But he added that at present, the government had no intention of lifting the existing cap of 1,800 applications.

He also said that the Commission recognised that the programme provided successful applicants with all the rights granted to Maltese and EU citizenship – and that this citizenship could not be revoked. The PN has insisted that it would revoke applicants’ citizenships if elected to government.

Another issue raised by Dr Muscat was the citizenship programmes of other countries, which he has long insisted, over their objections, are very similar to Malta’s own. He said that in light of its agreement with Malta, the Commission will now call on other member states to amend their programmes.

Malta insisted that what applied to it should apply to other countries, he said, “even though no MEPs complained about them.”

‘One minor change’ secures agreement

The Prime Minister also insisted that “one minor change” to the law was all that was required: applicants will now have to wait a minimum of 12 months before acquiring citizenship, as opposed to the 6-month period established in the present iteration of the programme.

While the joint statement with the Commission states that “no certificate of naturalisation will be issued unless the applicant provides proof that he/she has resided in Malta for a period of at least 12 months immediately preceding the day of issuing,” Dr Muscat clarified that this did not mean that applicants had to spend 12 months in Malta.

But he did not provide a clear answer on the period of time that applicants would actually have to spend in Malta, beyond pointing out that they would have visit the country at some point and – as already established in the present regulations – purchase or rent a residence.

Pressed further, he said that Maltese laws did not establish any periods of time. In contrast, for instance, recipients of a British investor visa cannot be outside of the UK for more than 180 days in any 12 consecutive months before they apply for permanent resident status.

But Dr Muscat also stressed that Malta entered into the agreement with a “spirit of genuineness.”

“We are not trying to be clever,” he maintained.

He was subsequently asked whether a 1-week holiday would suffice to meet residency requirements, and while he objected to the term, neither did he rule out that such a short stay would be sufficient.

Opposition clearly wrong, Muscat insists

During the press conference, a triumphant Dr Muscat also devoted some time to dismissing the opposition’s intense criticism over the scheme, insisting that the Nationalist Party has been wrong-footed by the Commission.

He noted that in contrast with the PN, the Commission entered negotiations in good faith, and sought more reasonable conditions than the party did. He noted that while the PN wanted a 5-year residency requirement and a restrictive cap of a few dozen applicants a year, the Commission was satisfied with a 1-year residency and no cap whatsoever.

The Prime Minister also noted that while the PN has insisted that the programme breached EU law, “the only illegal action is revoking citizenships.”

He called on the PN to revoke its “frivolous” judicial protest and its parliamentary motion over the issue, and said that it was clear that party leader Simon Busuttil had driven his party into a corner.

“[Dr Busuttil] insisted that the programme will have to be scrapped; but only his plans will have to be,” the Prime Minister said.