Minister's wife granted Maltese citizenship in under nine months

The wife of former home affairs minister Manuel Mallia was granted Maltese citizenship within a period of less than nine months after applying for naturalisation in 2014.

A redacted version of the application by Elena Codruta Cristian was obtained by MaltaToday under a Freedom of Information request.

The naturalisation application of Elena Codruta Mallia, dated 21 March, 2014

But apart from the deletion of her personal data, Identity Malta has also cancelled out the name of the sponsor. MaltaToday has filed a complaint to Identity Malta requesting the publication of this information as well as indicating how and who green-lit the citizenship application.
At law, a sponsor for a person seeking naturalisation must be an MP, a member of the judiciary, a legal or medical professional, a high-ranking police or army officer, or a parish priest certifying that the applicant is of good character.

Mallia’s Romanian-born wife – the couple were married on 21 July, 2012 – applied under Article 10 of the Maltese Citizenship Act, to request citizenship on the ground of having resided in Malta for at least seven years preceding the application.

Mallia has denied having examined the request of his wife for citizenship during the time he was minister responsible for citizenship.

In their reply, Identity Malta said MaltaToday’s FOI request was exempted under the law’s provisions on documents with personal data.
“However, as Mrs Mallia is the wife of the former minister responsible for citizenship matters, whereby it is to be remarked that Dr Mallia did not decide on his wife’s request for citizenship, for the sake of transparency a copy of her application for naturalisation is attached… with the personal details contained therein, however, deleted…”

Mallia was recently accused by the PN of having fast-tracked his wife’s application for citizenship.

But the former minister, dismissed after his security driver fired his service gun at a motorist in a hit-and-run collision with the parked ministerial car, has declared there was “nothing improper” about his wife’s citizenship application.

“I did not examine her request and it was not approved by me. The certificate of citizenship was not signed by me but independently without my intervention,” Mallia said back on 4 May.

Identity Malta did not release the supporting documentation requested by MaltaToday showing who green-lit his wife’s citizenship application.
MaltaToday was told by two EU nationals married to Maltese citizens – on condition of anonymity – that they had been exhausted by the bureaucracy at Identity Malta in obtaining naturalisation. In both cases, they have been living in Malta since before its accession to the EU in 2003, and married for over seven years.

They are still waiting for naturalisation, having applied over two years ago.

The allegations about Mallia’s wife’s naturalisation came about after MaltaToday first reported that the chief medical officer had obtained a garnishee order against Elena Codruta Cristian – still an unmarried Romanian national living in Malta – for €3,657.11 in outstanding bills from Mater Dei Hospital claimed between 16-21 December, 2008.

Although an EU citizen, it would seem Codruta Cristian was still liable for national health fees.

Mallia has stated that his wife applied for naturalization under article 10(1) of the Citizenship Act, and not on the strength of her marriage to him.
“My wife satisfied this condition [of residence],” he said, saying his wife had already resided for 10 years prior to her application and that she had three children, Maltese citizens, at the time.

Despite his denial, controversy centres around whether Mallia’s wife benefited from undue favouritism by the citizenship and expatriate affairs department owing to her spouse.

“The minister responsible for citizenship matters has the discretion to grant or refuse such applications,” Mallia said of the home affairs minister’s overweening power in granting citizenship.

“Applications for citizenship under such a provision are mainly considered under policy guidelines. In this respect during the previous legislature it was the established policy that requests, by persons who have been residing in Malta for a period of ten years and who have children, who are citizens of Malta, even if such persons are not married, would be considered favourably – obviously if such persons are of good conduct and there are no issues that go against the public interest.

“Such a policy was retained by the current government. Several foreigners have been granted citizenship on the basis of these criteria both in the previous legislature and under the current government,” Mallia had said.

PN deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami has claimed that Codruta Mallia’s naturalisation was a breach of the law and an abuse of power. “There are rigorous rules in place in the granting of citizenships and Mallia’s decision is a case of abuse of power,” Fenech Adami had said.

He also accused current home affairs minister Carmelo Abela of “covering up” for Mallia’s abuses and misleading the media by stating that Mallia’s wife was granted citizenship given her already existing EU citizenship.