Malta and the European Commission have struck a deal on the country’s controversial citizenship scheme, under which a Maltese passport and European Union citizenship can be bought for €650,000.  

The main change to the Maltese government’s scheme, which was agreed yesterday (29 January), is to the minimum residency requirement, which will be increased from six months to 12 months, after which citizenship would be granted. The 12-month period will begin when the applicant buys or rents a property in Malta. The Commission also agreed that the Maltese government can raise the current cap on the number of applicants, which had been set at 1,800.  

The two sides have been holding talks on the issue for the past week.   Viviane Reding, the European commissioner for justice, fundamental rights and citizenship, said on Twitter: “Glad that thanks to support from European Parliament, constructive co-operation with the Maltese, we found a solution on the Maltese citizenship issue.”  

Although citizenship is a national competency, the Maltese scheme has come under attack in recent weeks. During the January plenary session in Strasbourg, MEPs from across the political spectrum were united in condemning the scheme. “I think it’s completely crazy, I don’t even understand how it can come into the mind of somebody,” Guy Verhofstadt, leader of the Liberal ALDE group in the Parliament, said during a debate on 15 January.  

Malta’s centre-right opposition Nationalist Party, led by former MEP Simon Busuttil, had threatened to scrap the scheme if in power. Speaking after yesterday’s deal with the Commission, Busuttil said that the changes showed that the Nationalists were right to criticise the scheme.  

Maltese media have reported that a former Formula 1 world champion, a famous pop singer, and a prominent member of a royal family from the Gulf states are among those interested in applying for a Maltese passport.     

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