Citizenship rights to be greatly extended

Second and subsequent generation Maltese born abroad will soon be able to apply for Maltese citizenship, Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg said yesterday.

Speaking at a press conference, Dr Borg said a Bill he will be piloting through Parliament would enable children whose father or mother were of Maltese descent to become Maltese citizens.

To date, citizenship was limited to Maltese born abroad when at least one of their parents was born in Malta.

Dr Borg said that under the new law, even third or subsequent generations would be able to apply as long as one of their parents had gained Maltese citizenship. Citizenship can be also granted after the parents' death.

Citizenship would also be extended to those born abroad before 1964 to a Maltese mother born in Malta and a non-Maltese father. In this category, to date, only those persons with a Maltese father could apply for citizenship unless they had resided in Malta for at least five years. Their children will also be able to apply.

The law also removes the residence requirement in previous legislation which means applicants can continue to live in another country.

Dr Borg said, however, the government did not expect "an invasion" of applicants.

"When amendments were made to the citizenship law in 1989, over 12,000 people applied. It is anticipated that the number this time round will be lower because second and third generation Maltese are more removed from Malta.

"Yet for those not living in a EU country, Maltese citizenship would be attractive because those living in Australia, the US, Canada, Egypt and Tunisia, would be able to travel, study or live and work in any EU country."

Citizenship is a very emotional issue and people of Maltese descent have long been clamouring for such a change.

"Successive Nationalist governments have brought about big reforms in citizenship law and we feel the time is ripe for such a reform," Dr Borg said.

The debate on the issue is expected to start next week and the law will be on the statute books by summer, Dr Borg said, adding he did not anticipate any major objections.

"If anything, there will be demands, I think, to make it even broader."