On Tuesday, April 29th, the EU Court of Justice declared Malta’s “golden passport” scheme unlawful, siding with the European Commission in a long-standing legal battle over whether citizenship can be sold to the highest bidder. The European Commission welcomed the ruling. “It’s now for Malta to implement the court’s judgement,” said EU spokesperson Markus Lammert.
“The acquisition of Union citizenship cannot result from a commercial transaction,” the EU’s highest court ruled, concluding that Malta had violated EU law by offering its citizenship to non-Europeans in exchange for pre-defined payments or investments. The binding decision now requires Malta to shut down the program or face significant penalties.
“A member state cannot grant its nationality—and indeed European citizenship—in exchange for predetermined payments or investments, as this essentially amounts to rendering the acquisition of nationality a mere commercial transaction,” the court wrote. It also noted that Malta’s actions “infringe the principle of sincere cooperation and jeopardise the mutual trust between member states concerning the grant of their nationality.”
The legal action, initiated in 2020 and escalated in 2022 when the Commission brought the case to the Court of Justice, has now reached a decisive conclusion. The island nation’s controversial program allowed wealthy individuals—many of them Russians and Chinese—to buy their way into EU citizenship and thereby access all the rights and privileges of the bloc.
Malta had previously defended the scheme, pointing out that “Significant investments were made in key sectors to improve the quality of life for the Maltese and Gozitan people,” the government noted, stating that the program had brought in 1.4 billion euros since its launch in 2015.
