According to a statement on the website of Malta's Green Party, Alternattiva Demokratika, the matter of EU citizenship being effectively put up "for sale" by a number of member states will be debated in the EU Parliament on 15 January, in response to a request the party made for tabling a parliamentary question.
As reported, a scheme put forward by the Maltese government that would permit high net worth individuals from outside the European Union to become Maltese – and thus EU – citizens, in exchange for paying a set fee, set off a storm of controversy on the island last month, and forced authorities there to postpone its implementation.
Last week, the Financial Times reported that the UK’s shadow immigration minister, David Hanson, had expressed “serious concerns” about the Maltese proposal, and was to table questions in the UK parliament to find out what steps the Home Office had taken to oppose it.
In the statement on Alternattiva Demokratika's website, Arnold Cassola, the organisation's chairperson, is quoted as saying that the European Greens had tabled an oral question asking if the European Council "could clarify whether the Maltese Parliament’s decision [to offer of sale of Maltese citizenship in exchange for any bid over €650,000] respected the letter and the non-discrimination principle as laid down in the Treaties and the Schengen Borders Code", which govern the right of EU citizens to move freely across the bloc's borders.
"Moreover, at least five other Member States (Spain, Cyprus, Portugal, Latvia, Greece) have offered to grant residency rights in exchange of business investment, real estates or government bonds, and therefore the Greens asked the Council to comment on the situation in the member states mentioned in relations to the offers made," Cassola added, in the statement, before giving the date of the debate as 15 January.
Tier 1 Visa scheme
The UK has its own scheme aimed at deriving income from wealthy foreigners who are looking to reside in Britain. Its so-called Tier 1 Investor Visa programme allows individuals with at least £1m to invest in the country to remain resident on a long-term basis, and is seen as a stepping stone to British citizenship. The visas were introduced in 2008, and their take-up increased sharply in 2011, when the rules were changed to encourage more people to apply.
From 43 Tier 1 visas issued on 2008, the number soared to 470 last year, around half of which are said to have gone to wealthy Russian and Chinese applicants.
To read a copy of the Green Party's request to table a Parliamentary Question on the matter of EU citizenships being for sale, click here.
