FAMAGUSTA GAZETTE – Malta’s citizenship-by-investment program, known as the “golden passport” scheme, has been deemed contrary to European law by the EU’s top court.
The ruling follows a 2022 lawsuit filed by the European Commission.
The scheme allows foreigners to obtain Maltese citizenship—and with it, the right to live and work across the EU—by investing at least €600,000, securing property of a specified value, and donating €10,000 to charity. The EU’s Court of Justice criticized the program as reducing citizenship to a “commercial transaction.”
Malta’s government has yet to issue a formal response. Former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat dismissed the ruling as “political.