Labour spokesman for Home Affairs Gavin Gulia opened Tuesday’s debate in Parliament by saying that the opposition has not only been reactive but proactive in that it had proposed amendments to the Maltese Citizenship Act. Dr Gulia analysed the amendments proposed and categorised the principles involved in the amendments. While the father used to be the connecting factor in the transmission of citizenship, now the mother is in an equal position.

Dr Gulia encouraged the Deputy Prime Minister to make the Department of Citizenship and Expatriate Affairs more efficient by providing the appropriate human resources necessary.

He then focused on the long-term residence permit, which establishes that a person who has legally resided for a continuous five-year period has the right to reside in a EU member state under certain conditions. The Department of Citizenship and Expatriate Affairs has been inundated by such requests and Dr Gulia urged the minister responsible to monitor what is going on.

Residence permits can be issued on the basis of work

permits, although the person has not been in the country for a continuous legal period of five years. The body that processes work permits is now the Employment and Training Corporation and no longer the department. A one-stop shop would be the most recommendable solution, according to Dr Gulia. A law cannot be properly administered by different departments when those departments do not even fall under the same ministry.

Dr Gulia noted that there are people in the department who are hard workers but they also need the proper support. He remarked that “one could do a better job” in this area.

He concluded his speech by focusing on the subject of visas. The Common Visa Policy will affect the relationship between Malta and non-European member states, such as countries like Libya, which have a strong political and economic relationship with our country.

Before joining the European Union, Malta built a barrier with Libya and the latter did not welcome such a position. Dr Gulia said that going to Libya has now become a problem. Malta has not yet started applying the Schengen visa criteria. At present we are not obliged to consult Schengen when a Libyan national applies for a visa and in normal cases such a visa is issued in just three days. This situation may change when joining the Schengen visa policy. Dr Gulia asked Deputy Prime Minister Tonio Borg whether Malta had to use CIS 140 or could just use CIS 2, as Cyprus will be doing. Dr Borg replied that Cyprus is not using CIS 140 because they were not yet prepared to enter into Schengen. He said the software had been given to Malta by the Portuguese government.

Nationalist MP Frederick Azzopardi spoke about migration and its effects on society. Migration has existed since the existence of humankind, he said, but the migration of many people from one place to another has not always had positive results. He said that in order to fully appreciate the amendments proposed to the Maltese Citizenship Act, it is worth mentioning the laws relating to citizenship and how they have contributed to such a development.

In 1989, dual citizenship was introduced in our system and for the first time a mother could transmit her citizenship to her offspring. After mentioning the reforms brought about in 2000, Mr Azzopardi said that these proposed amendments will solve a number of problems.

Labour foreign affairs spokesman Leo Brincat said that the opposition will vote in favour of the amendments because it feels that it has to secure the interests of Maltese who have emigrated and their offspring. The Labour Party is conscious of the sacrifices that these people have made and the contributions that they are giving to the country in which they are residing.

Mr Brincat said that reforms are important, but one has to be careful that such reforms are not merely aesthetic. He insisted that if was necessary to be careful not to complicate the laws too much in order to appear nice. Once the Labour Party is in government, said Mr Brincat, it will make sure that the concept of citizenship is extended.

Concluding the debate, Nationalist MP Mario De Marco said that the government is extending the concept of citizenship. People who have left Malta will not feel that they have lost their Maltese identity because they have left the country. Dr De Marco said that the Prime Minister should have the discretion to authorise the minister to bestow citizenship on those who have made an exceptional contribution to the country.