Government wants to award Maltese citizenship to people ‘of exceptional talent’

Justice minister Owen Bonnici, together with parliamentary secretary for sport Chris Agius this morning launched a public consultation on a new initiative for granting citizenship based on merit.

The proposal is intended to allow citizenship to be granted to individuals that have given exceptional service to the country or humanity or to people whose naturalisation is in the national interest, according to the minister.

“It involves an amendment to the Citizenship Act, that will be followed by a Legal Notice, that will relate exclusively to five sectors that are of particular interest to Malta: science, research, sport, art and culture,” said the minister, adding that the initiative will allow the further strengthening of these sectors.

On his part, Agius said that what is being proposed in the White Paper is common in other countries, especially in the sport sector. He added that individuals that will benefit from this initiative will not only be able to help themselves and the country, but will also be injecting healthy competition to local athletes and researchers.

The minister explained that the proposal will include a number of mechanisms that will ensure that only deserving individuals can qualify for citizenship under this initiative. This will include a requirement that the individual resides in Malta and that they have “genuine ties” to the country.

“Identity Malta will be obliged to carry out a due diligence based on four phases that will be carried out by specialised and well-known international agencies,” added Bonnici.

Moreover, he said that the application will also need to be evaluated by an evaluation board that will give its recommendation to the minister responsible.