The sale of citizenship remains a stain on Malta’s reputation.

Following an amendment to the Maltese Citizenship Act in November 2013, Malta introduced its first investor citizenship programme in 2014. The 2014 Scheme was subsequently replaced in 2020 by the ‘Maltese Citizenship by Naturalisation for Exceptional Services by Direct Investment’ programme’.

Back in 2022, the European Commission announced that it was taking Malta to the European Court of Justice over the matter, and it did. The case, according to the European court’s website, is still pending.

Regardless of the outcome of this case, Malta really should stop selling citizenship for a number of reasons. Firstly, it has tarnished Malta’s reputation, and continues to do so. Secondly, it’s unethical. Thirdly, it is not just our citizenship that we are selling.

The Maltese government, when defending Malta’s citizenship by investment programmes, has argued that citizenship is a national competence of individual member states.

Speaking with The Malta Independent on Sunday, MEP Jeroen Lenaers from the EPP party, who sits on the EU Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs makes a counter-argument.  Those who receive such citizenship or passports are not only restricted to Malta. “You get a European passport, European citizenship through Maltese citizenship. So that makes it a problem for the EU.” He’s right.  “It is unethical, it is risking the security of the whole of the EU and it should stop,” he said.

The argument in favour of selling citizenship is that it brought in quite a bit of money to the country. But is that worth the reputational damage? People buying citizenship probably don’t have real ties to the country and are using it for EU citizenship. Its different than someone who has physically lived in the country for years acquiring it through naturalisation. Those have a real link to Malta.

Then there is also the question of whether the sale of citizenship applications have a part to play in the high cost of property or rent, given that applicants have to purchase an immovable residential property in Malta having a minimum value of €700,000 or a lease on a residential immovable property for a minimum annual rent of €16,000. More information on this is needed.

MEP Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield from the Greens party, who had formed part of a rule of law delegation to Malta, was also asked questions on the sale of citizenship. She said information they had gotten was that Malta has made huge progress on monitoring, “so at least it seems that the worst is not there, but there is no questioning of the system, which is not our position. We do think that it is not normal that you can buy a citizenship for Malta, which gives you European citizenship.”

So even if applicants are rigorously monitored now, and on this we only have the word of the regulatory authorities to really rely on, our European partners are against the system. While there are likely business persons interested in acquiring EU citizenship by purchasing it, there might also be powerful disreputable individuals. Are we ok with this risk?

"The day Malta joined the EU, it received EU citizenship, and EU citizenship has a number of advantages that local Maltese citizenship doesn't have. When you join the EU you have duties that go with it,” Delbos-Corfield said.

How ok are we with allowing people to buy Maltese citizenship, whose aims might not be to do any good for Malta, but rather just use us to get a foothold in the EU?

The European Commission has clearly said it is not happy with the situation and is concerned. We should listen.