The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled on Tuesday that Malta’s controversial “golden passport” program, which allows individuals to purchase citizenship, is illegal. The court described the scheme as a form of “commercialisation” of citizenship.
Malta’s program, which granted foreign nationals a Maltese — and by extension, European Union — passport in exchange for an investment of at least €600,000 and a period of residence in Malta, came under scrutiny by the European Commission in 2022. The Commission filed legal action against Malta, arguing that the scheme violated EU law by undermining “good faith” and “mutual trust” among EU member states.
In response to the ruling, Malta’s government announced that it would comply with the decision and amend its laws accordingly. The government clarified that past recipients of the passports would not be affected by the ruling and noted that the scheme had raised hundreds of millions of euros.
A spokesperson for the European Commission welcomed the decision, stating, “European citizenship is not for sale,” and called for similar schemes across the EU to be abolished. Cyprus and Bulgaria have already ended their own golden passport programs.
