Maltese citizenship gets Vietnamese lawmaker dismissed

A Vietnamese businesswoman was dismissed from the National Assembly on Sunday after she was discovered to be in possession of Maltese citizenship.

Nguyen Thi Nguyet Huong, 46, was unanimously found guilty of breaking the Law on Vietnamese Nationality, which prohibits Vietnamese citizens from having dual citizenship, Nguyen Hanh Phuc, chief of staff of the National Election Council, said.

Phuc explained that as a deputy of the 12th and 13th National Assembly, Huong should have known well about the regulations but failed to declare her Maltese citizenship in her election nomination profile.

The fact only came to light Saturday, prompting an emergency meeting Sunday to vote on her dismissal.

It was unclear why Huong had dual citizenship although the dtinews portal reported that Nguyet Huong’s entire family had dual Maltese citizenship.

Nguyet Huong is the chair of TNG Holdings Vietnam investment group, which has invested in several urban area and apartment projects in Hanoi. She is also chairwoman of the Hanoi Industry and Trade Association.

She was among 495 candidates to win National Assembly seats in the general elections in May.

In 2014, Malta introduced the Individual Investor Programme, through which successful applicants are granted citizenship in Malta by a Certificate of Naturalisation, which can also be extended to include their families.

Once a candidate is awarded Maltese citizenship, which includes EU citizenship, they have the right of establishment in all 28 EU countries and Switzerland.

They also have the ability to set up business in Malta, and can get a Malta passport enabling them to enjoy visa-free travel to more than 160 countries across the world including the United States.