A bill was tabled in Parliament on Monday by the government, which aims to bring Malta's citizenship by investment scheme, also known as the golden passport scheme, in line with a recent ruling by the European court of Justice.

Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri tabled a Bill which will amend Malta's citizenship laws for its first reading. At this stage, the details of the bill or how the law will change are not known, which is normal for Bills that are at first reading stage.

A spokesperson for the Home Affairs Ministry, when contacted, said: "This marks the first reading in Parliament, paving the way for amendments that will comply with the European Union Court's judgment in Case C-181/23, Commission v. Malta, honoring the judgment."

Last April, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that Malta's golden passport scheme had been found to be in violation of European Union law. In its ruling, the ECJ agreed with the European Commission, saying that Malta's scheme amounts to "the commercialisation of the granting of the nationality of a member state and by extension that of union citizenship." The ECJ ruled that Malta had failed to fulfil its Treaty of the EU obligations.

After the ruling, the government had said it was studying the European Court of Justice judgment to bring the citizenship-by-investment scheme "in line with the principles outlined in the judgment".