Malta’s permanent representative not included in Commission talks

The Commission's legal services have sanctioned an amendment to the legal notice for Malta's Individual Investor Programme, which will sell passports for €650,000, after meetings held with senior government officials in Brussels.

Although a joint statement on Thursday announced an agreement on introducing a residency clause for applicants purchasing citizenship, the legal notices has yet to be published. The Nationalist Party has called for the immediate publication of the amendment that should lay down the conditions for applicants to be resident in Malta, before being awarded citizenship.

The legal notice will be published in the Government Gazette tomorrow, or latest Tuesday, government sources said.

Government officials remain tight-lipped about the exact duration of the 12-month residence for IIP applicants: Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has already said they do not need to be physically present for 365 days in Malta.

The Commission meetings were led by a high-powered delegation tha included parliamentary secretary for justice Owen Bonnici, Muscat's chief of staff Keith Schembri, the deputy prime minister's chief of staff Jonathan Cardona, and the Attorney General

But Malta's permanent representative Marlene Bonnici was not present for the meeting, and not even involved in any of the discussions - a far cry from the authority imbued in her predecessor Richard Cachia Caruana, who served as the former administration's point man in Brussels.

The European Commission's legal services have green-lit the amended IIP, a government source confirmed, having sanctioned the residency amendment and approved the new passport scheme.

Although it is not yet clear what the changes to the legal notice will specifically entail, the Maltese government on Wednesday agreed to the introduction of a one-year residency period following negotiations with the EC.

The government also informed the Commission of its intentions to evaluate whether an increase would be made to the current capping of 1,800 main applicants.

Malta has become the first member state to have its citizenship-by-investment programme sanctioned by the European Union.

The amendments to the regulations issued under the Maltese Citizenship Act would confer full rights, responsibilities and full citizenship status.

The Commission also claimed the introduction of "effective residence status" would serve as a genuine link between applicants and the State granting citizenship - a bone of contention for Brussels.

According to EC statement, no certificate of naturalisation will be issued unless the applicant provides proof that he or she has resided in Malta for a period of at least 12 months immediately preceding the day of issuing of the certificate of naturalisation.

But it is unclear what proof is required to grant an applicant an effective residence status. MaltaToday is informed the Maltese government and the European Commission's agreement on effective residence could be based on the 183-day residency from the so called 'international tax law model'.

The Prime Minister, on the other hand says the residency is already defined in national legislation.

According to Christian Kalin, immigration and citizenship law specialist at Henley & Partners - the concessionaire for the Individual Investor Programme - it is up to the government to decide what is acceptable proof of effective residence status.

"Certainly, owning or renting a home in Malta will be an important element," Kalin said, when asked whether purchasing or renting a property would be considered proof enough.

The legal expert said leasing or purchasing a property was in fact a precondition.

The government has now called on the Opposition to withdraw the judicial protest filed against both the government and Henley & Partners, which forewarns IIP applicants that if the PN is in government, the scheme will be cancelled and all passports issued under the scheme will be revoked.

Opposition leader Simon Busuttil has reserved his position until he sees the amended legal notice and ensures it is in line with what has been agreed with the EC.

Technically speaking, a judicial protest cannot be withdrawn and that once it is lodged in Court, it becomes a document of the Court Registry. The PN would have to commit itself to a public statement to clarify its intentions.

"The PN must declare that they will not nullify or take measures to try and nullify the citizenship of an individual who has successfully qualified the due diligence tests and other conditions of the IIP Programme," lawyer Mark Attard Montalto explained.

Kalin says the PN's legal protest is "futile".

"Legally, it is nonsense of gargantuan proportions, something I have never seen before in my entire legal career... it shows a severe lack of judgement by those who signed off on this. It also contains very dangerous statements for a democratic country and reflects poorly on its authors," Kalin said.

"Whoever pushed for this kind of action within the Opposition should resign because it shows a severe lack of respect for democracy and the Rule of Law - the very principles on which all the member states and the EU are founded."