EU COURT RULES AGAINST MALTA’S GOLDEN PASSPORT SCHEME- The court said the scheme eroded mutual trust between member states
The European Court of Justice on Tuesday said Malta needs to end its golden passport program that allows wealthy foreigners to buy citizenship, as it is an infringement of EU law.
The EU Commission in 2022 took Malta to court over the scheme, which grants foreigners a passport and thereby the right to live and work in any EU country in return for an investment of around 1 million euros.
The court said that although member states can determine how they grant or withdraw nationality, Malta’s scheme eroded the principle of mutual trust between member states upon which the common area is based.
Malta has repeatedly insisted that it was correct in its interpretation of EU treaties as it continued to operate the scheme for other nationalities.
