The European Court of Justice (ECJ), the EU’s highest court in Luxembourg, on Tuesday ordered Malta to end its “golden passport” program, saying it violates European Union law.
“A Member State cannot grant its nationality — and indeed European citizenship — in exchange for predetermined payments or investments,” the court wrote in a news release.
“This essentially amounts to rendering the acquisition of nationality a mere commercial transaction,” it added.
A Maltese law that fast-tracks the naturalization of foreign investors has long been criticized by anti-corruption advocates and EU officials for facilitating white-collar crime and sanctions evasion.
What are the conditions of the program?
The European Commission lodged a complaint against the 2020 amendment to the Maltese citizenship law, which allowed investors who meet a list of financial requirements to apply for Maltese citizenship after living in the country for 12 months.
The requirements include owning a property worth €700,000 ($798,000) or paying annual rent of at least €16,000, making a substantial contribution to the Maltese government and donating to a non-governmental organization.
Malta “must comply with the Court’s judgment without delay,” the ECJ said. If the country fails to do so, the European Commission may file another action seeking financial penalties.
What was the reaction of Malta?
The Maltese government said in a statement that it would respect the court’s decision while it studied the “legal implications” of the ruling. It defended the program, saying it had brought €1.4 billion euros ($1.6 billion) to the island nation since 2015.
Joseph Muscat, the former prime minister who introduced the program, posted on Facebook that the ruling was “politically motivated” and that Malta’s program should be reformed rather than scrapped.
Malta is the only EU country that still has a so-called “golden passport” program, which has been challenged by EU institutions for years. Cyprus ended its citizenship-by-investment scheme in 2020. Bulgaria’s parliament voted to end a similar program in 2022.
Transparency advocates welcome the ruling
However, Maltese journalist Matthew Caruana Galizia said the scheme did not benefit Malta. He hailed the ruling as “a win for the people of Malta and for all EU residents who have been unfairly exposed to the whims of money launderers and corrupt criminals buying their way into the EU.”
Galizia is the son of Daphne Caruana Galizia, a Maltese journalist who focused on corruption and was killed by a bomb in 2017.
Transparency International also praised the ruling. “Today’s judgement confirms that member states cannot commodify EU citizenship and operate reckless golden passport programmes… The ruling stops not only Malta from selling EU citizenship, but will also prevent other member states from doing the same,” the organization’s chief Maira Martini said.
The court ruling also comes shortly after US President Donald Trump said he plans to launch a “gold card” visa program that includes a potential path to US citizenship for $5 million.
Edited by: Jenipher Camino Gonzalez
