EU golden passports for the rich are getting a legal boost at the bloc’s highest court

The tiny island nation’s cash-for-citizenship offer, which grants citizenship to the wealthy, including Russian oligarchs, celebrities and millionaire sports stars, has been wrongly attacked by the EU’s executive arm, according to Anthony Collins, advocate general at the EU Court of Justice. of Justice.

He said European Commission lawyers had “failed to demonstrate” that EU law requires there to be real links between a member state and a passport applicant. He said it was up to EU countries to “determine who has the right to be one of their citizens and, consequently, who is an EU citizen”. Its opinion will guide the Luxembourg court’s final decision, which will come in a few months.

Malta’s investor citizenship program allowed people to obtain citizenship so they could live and work there with a minimum donation of €600,000 ($661,590). The necessary investments also include buying a house, and voluntary donations are encouraged.

As an EU nation, Maltese passports give holders the freedom to live and work anywhere within the 27-member bloc.

Mediterranean The island is one of the few European countries to offer visas and golden passports in recent years, which gained popularity during the European debt crisis when nations began selling residency to attract foreign investment.

Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Hungary along with Malta were among those that launched such programs for the wealthy to get their hands on the EU’s much-cherished freedom of movement. But the bids drew fire from the commission, which argued that cash-for-citizenship schemes exposed the bloc to money-laundering and security risks.

In September 2022, the Brussels-based regulator filed a legal challenge against Malta’s program, arguing that “granting EU citizenship in exchange for predetermined payments” is “not compatible with the principle of sincere cooperation enshrined” in the bloc’s rules.

The move came after a European Parliament report a year earlier said the so-called investment migration industry had proven profitable for Europe, with participating countries earning more than €21 billion between 2011 and 2019.