EU Court rules Maltaʼs ʼgolden passportʼ scheme illegal

The EUʼs top court has ruled illegal Maltaʼs controversial "golden passport" scheme, which allows foreigners to buy EU citizenship in exchange for investments of more than €690 000.

The relevant decision is published on the courtʼs website.

The complaint was filed by the European Commission, which believes the scheme violates EU citizenship rules. The scheme allowed people to obtain Maltese citizenship (and with it the right to work throughout the EU) even if they had no family ties or residence in the country.

The Court of Justice of the EU agreed with the European Commission, recognizing that such a scheme “constitutes the commercialization of the granting of the status of citizen of a Member State”, and therefore it is “incompatible with the understanding of this fundamental status as it flows from the EU Treaties”.

Why is this important?

Malta’s “golden passport” scheme was the last remaining in the EU, after Cyprus scrapped its program in 2020 and Bulgaria in 2022. Other countries offer “golden visas”, a more limited system that grants residency permits to those willing to pay. But these programs are also under scrutiny.

In 2023, Portugal cut its golden visa program by removing the property investment requirement to reduce speculation in the housing market. The Netherlands followed suit, ending its program in January 2024. Spain has also promised to eliminate golden visas for those who invest in property.

These programs raise serious concerns from a security and money laundering perspective — especially after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, as obtaining an EU passport or residence permit could allow wealthy Russians to circumvent sanctions.

The Financial Times reported on April 27 that at least seven Russians who were sanctioned over the Russian invasion had received Maltese “golden passports”. This allowed them, for example, to partially bypass the EU entry ban.

For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine please follow us on X.