Malta's controversial gold passport program, allowing foreigners to buy EU citizenship in exchange for investment of more than € 690,000, was deemed illegal by the high level court of the EU on Tuesday.
The commission brought in legal action years ago, arguing that the gold passport regime had violated the duty of Malta to cooperate sincerely. He offered people the opportunity to win the citizenship of Malta, and therefore the right to work through the EU, even if they had no family ties or a house there.
The EU Court of Justice agreed with the Commission, concluding that such a program “is equivalent to the marketing of the national status of a Member State and, by extension, to the citizenship of the Union, which is incompatible with the conception of this fundamental status which stems from the treaties of the EU”.
Payments or investments have supported the Maltese regime, according to the court, adding that “it can only be considered real residence on this territory was considered by the Republic of Malta as constituting an essential criterion for the granting of the nationality of this Member State within the framework of this regime”.
The court said that by establishing and exploiting his gold passport scheme, Malta did not fulfill his obligations under EU treaties and ordered Malta to pay the costs of the case.
The decision went against the grain of a non -binding report by defender General Anthony Collins last October, which ruled out the European Commission for Concerns that the program compromised the integrity of the EU.
“The Member States have decided that it was for each of them to determine who has the right to be one of their nationals and, consequently, who is an EU citizen,” suggested the opinion of Collins.
The judges of the Court of Justice are not obliged to follow the opinions of defenders general, although in the majority of cases.
Malta was the last gold passport scheme remaining in the block, after Cyprus canceled its procedure in 2020 and that Bulgaria in 2022. Other countries offer “golden visas”, a narrower system which offers residence permits to those who have to pay, although they are also under the spotlight.
Portugal reduced its gold visa system in 2023, removing a real estate investment condition in order to reduce real estate speculation. The Netherlands followed suit, ending its gold visa program in January 2024, and Spain also promised to abolish gold visas for those who invest in real estate.
The programs have raised significant security and money laundering problems – especially since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, because the acquisition of a passport or an EU residence card can let the rich Russians escape the sanctions.
In 2022, MEPs called for more strict rules on gold visas and the ban on investment citizenship, claiming that it was “reprehensible from an ethical, legal and economic point of view”.
This story will be updated with Malta reactions.
