Following the recent ruling of the European Commission of justice against Malta’s Citizenship by Investment Programme, Malta Government has announced its plans to replace its citizenship by investment offering with a reformed Citizenship-by-Merit opportunity. This is very encouraging. Although new terms and conditions will be put in force, the opportunity to become European/Maltese Citizens is still available.
Home Affairs Minister, Byron Camilleri, said the changes to the Citizenship Act would eliminate any transactional elements, meaning that citizenship can no longer be acquired solely through financial investment (donation). Instead, Maltese citizenship will be granted on the basis of ‘exceptional services by merit,’ which includes significant achievements in fields such as science, entrepreneurship, sports, culture, philanthropy, and job creation.
The Citizenship by Merit opportunity will be aimed at attracting individuals who demonstrate exceptional talent or contribution to the country therefore creating a better link with Malta.
An evaluation board will be set up by Government, which will review applications and consult experts before making recommendations to the Minister.
The government maintains that this shift respects national sovereignty while aligning with European legal obligations, following the judgment by the ECJ in April this year. Existing citizenships granted under the previous Citizenship by Investment offering, remain unaffected. The Citizenship-by-Merit has existed in some form since 2017, offering non-Maltese nationals a route to citizenship through exceptional contributions or services.
Under the newly proposed amendments to the Citizenship Act, the opportunity will be expanded, making philanthropists and technologists eligible to apply.
Legal amendments to the Citizenship Act have been tabled in parliament, with further debate expected as early as next week. This means that details related to current applications in progress and future ones are still unknown to us as your agents. We are following very closely and will revert as soon as we are better informed.