In London, Muscat says Maltese citizenship is based on ‘collective relationship’

Maltese citizenship is "not a transaction" but the relationship of building together a unique and special nation, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat told an audience of London financial services practitioners today.

Muscat today addressed one of the first stops in his international roadshow to promote the Individual Investor Programme, a scheme that will sell Maltese citizenship for €650,000. He will go as far as Miami next month to attract what he described as "extremely highly talented and networked people from around the world".

While only a day earlier Opposition leader Simon Busuttil said he would repeal passports issued under the IIP, claiming the €650,000 price tag is not a tangible enough investment, Muscat today extolled Maltese charity and volunteerism in his pitch on what citizenship meant.

In his speech delivered before a packed audience, Muscat said a traditional "support for charities and volunteering in NGOs" was evidence that citizenship in Malta was based on relationships.

"This relationship is a collective one, being able to rely on each other in difficult times and being there to celebrate the good times together. It means making individual sacrifices for the greater good, and knowing that no matter what happens there is a safety net - Maltese society that will always help you get back on your feet."

Muscat said his government was intent on reducing tax burdens and instead offer Maltese citizenship as part of the package of financial and residence schemes the government launched in the past.

He said newly-naturalized citizens would be contributing with "the most precious and limited commodity that any of us has - time. The time that new Maltese citizens will share with their newfound home will allow us to build together a stronger and more prosperous nation. Our gift to each other will be the willingness to share our paths."

Muscat said that without any natural resources, the island's talent "was its gold and people its treasure."

"My government recognises that more than any other resource, this is the one thing that we cannot have enough of, and we realise that all things being equal, this talent will be pivotal in the success of our nation."

Although Maltese naturalisation is still an arbitrary process that gives wide discretionary powers to the home affairs minister, the prime minister said the IIP would "take citizenship laws into the 21st century" and offer "the most straightforward access to high net worth individuals who seek a better way of life."

He said that the through application process for the IIP would be backed by rigorous and independent due diligence agents and a government agency, Identity Malta, to protect Malta's international reputation. "We will continue not only to protect it but also develop it... We will continue to support our thriving and stable financial services industry since they will be an essential component in the investment mix of our future growth."

Muscat was accompanied in London by parliamentary secretary Edward Zammit Lewis, chief of staff Keith Schembri, spokesperson Kurt Farrugia. Among the Maltese financial services practitioners present for the conference were John Huber, who was attending another conference.