Malta’s ‘Golden Passport’ Once Let People Buy Citizenships, Now EU Wants It Gone

Malta is home to the lush scenery of the Mediterranean, idyllic beaches, and the infamous ‘Golden Passport’. 
 
A golden passport, for those who don’t know, is an investment citizenship scheme that the wealthy can buy into to become a citizen of Malta. 
 
Instead of jumping through hoops and waiting to find a job or sponsor to get a green card for a country, you could buy your way in. But, of course, such a program carries a hefty price tag. It initially cost US$677,800 to be a citizen of Malta, but since 2013, the number has risen to almost a million dollars. 
 
Most of those utilizing the scheme came from the Gulf, the Far East, and Russia. 
 
For a brief moment in time, it served as a win-win situation. People from outside Europe could purchase citizenship and then move to wherever they liked on the continent. In addition, passport sales had reached up to US$780 million over the years, which helped the island keep afloat during the pandemic. 
 
And when the war began, the country prevented Russians and Belarusians from participating in the program. 
 
However, the European Union was unhappy with the scheme and decided it was time to step in. According to Reuters, Brussels mentions that allowing people to buy their way in does not incentivize them to contribute to the economy. Malta was also apparently breaching EU laws on immigration. 
 
There were other significant risks that the golden passport put the country and the continent in. In one case, Cyprus—which also conducts the same scheme—found that 30 individuals moving into the country between 2017 and 2019 were under criminal investigation. 
 
This comes after years of the EU trying to wrangle with the country to amend its golden passport project. Unfortunately, though, no real, fundamental changes have been made. 
 
Over the years, Brussels has also put pressure on Cyprus and Belarus, which eventually led them to demolish the venture altogether. 
 
As of now, there are no known repercussions or penalties that will be placed upon the country if the EU wins the dispute other than Malta needing to find a new way to make money. 
 
 
 
[via Reuters and The Hustle, Photo 210683061 © Andrii Shevchuk | Dreamstime.com]