'A big thank you to Maltese migrants'

Nationalist MP Mario Galea yesterday said Malta owed a debt to the many thousands who had been constrained to move abroad. Most of these migrants had turned out to be worthy ambassadors of Malta and the Bill to extend dual citizenship to generations of Maltese abroad therefore constituted "a big thank you" to them all.

Gozo Minister Giovanna Debono said the Bill would be appreciated by many migrants for many years.

The Bill, amending the Citizenship Act, will grant Maltese citizenship, by registration, to second and subsequent generations of persons of Maltese descent born abroad.

Tourism Minister Francis Zammit Dimech, who spoke earlier in the debate, said this Bill would also be removing anomalies which had existed in the Citizenship Act.

For example, Maltese citizenship would henceforth be possible by registration to persons born abroad before Independence to mothers born in Malta. To date, this facility had only been available to those having fathers born in Malta.

Registration for citizenship would be possible even when the parents of the applicants would themselves not have sought citizenship but had been eligible for it.

This was the third reform of the citizenship laws moved by Nationalist administrations and further reinforced the link between Malta and all people of Maltese descent all over the world.

Labour MP Noel Farrugia said the decisions being taken through the enactment of this law were mature. Only last year he had explained to the Attorney General the need to create the structures and legislation giving these people the sort of citizenship rights now being provided for.

With the world becoming more of a village, such legislation strengthened links with other Maltese the world over.

Passports were nowadays even issued for dogs and other animals.

All measures to improve the life of the Maltese, including those abroad, deserved support. Citizenship issues needed to remain under constant review. For example, there were people in Malta, mainly Libyans, who had been living here for the past 25 years along with their families, employing people and generating business, but they still did not have Maltese citizenship.

Permanent residents in Malta should be given a Maltese identity card, which would also be valid abroad. It was understandable to give illegal immigrants an ID card only valid in Malta, but permanent residents who were employers and who paid their taxes should not be treated in such a manner.

Parliamentary Secretary Tony Abela said he did not think that any foreign businessmen resident in Malta had problems to operate here, and Mr Farrugia's argument to give these people citizenship did not hold water. Citizenship was something which, once given, could not easily be taken away.

What made sense was to do what this Bill provided for, giving the descendants of Maltese born abroad the right to citizenship. These people would thus have the right to work in Malta and the EU.

This was important because people were Malta's only resource, and they were making their presence felt all over the world, particularly in activities related to information technology. But the Maltese had also done their country proud in many other fields, including the medical sector.

Parliamentary Secretary Edwin Vassallo said that in the past there had been two types of Maltese - those in Malta and those who emigrated and lost their Maltese citizenship. The latter were considered foreigners by their own country.

The government had therefore rightly introduced dual citizenship and was constantly improving this legislation, now also incorporating second and subsequent generations of Maltese.

At the same time, the PN government was raising the living standards of the Maltese in Malta so that they would not feel like second-class citizens when compared to citizens of other countries. Malta was now also part of the EU, and the benefits of EU membership would be shared with migrants who acquired Maltese citizenship.

Gozo Minister Giovanna Debono said the amendments contained in this Bill would be appreciated by many people for many years. Maltese migrants had long shown that despite the oceans that separated them from Malta, they continued to hold their country of origin close to their hearts. The need to extend dual citizenship to second and subsequent generations of Maltese had long been felt, and it was now being made possible. All this was also in keeping with promises made by the Nationalist Party in its electoral programme.

Indeed, these amendments would apply not only to migrants to Australia, Canada, the US and the UK, but also those who had emigrated earlier, to Egypt and other North African countries and Gibraltar.

Furthermore, there would no longer be any distinction as to whether it was the father's or the mother's lineage which could be traced back to Malta.

Communications Minister Censu Galea welcomed the fact that both sides of the House were backing this Bill.

He referred to earlier amendments to the Citizenship Act and recalled that in order to discourage marriages of convenience, it had been laid down that spouses must have lived together for five years after marriage before Maltese citizenship could be granted to the foreign spouse. Mr Galea said that when the Maltese spouse in a marriage died before the five years elapsed, the foreign spouse should still be eligible for Maltese citizenship once the two had been living together.

He augured that in future more Maltese migrants would return to Malta, possibly investing in the economy. Indeed, one of the first amendments moved by a PN government had allowed freedom of movement and freedom to work for foreign spouses married to Maltese. Before that, mixed couples had suffered untold problems if they wanted to live in Malta, a situation which had even led to marriage breakups. The situation now was radically different.

Mario Galea (PN) paid tribute to the staff at the Citizenship Department for their work. He underlined the benefits of Maltese citizenship for migrants, not just because of their link with the country of their forefathers but because of the doors it opened for them in the EU, notably for employment.

Mr Galea said Malta owed a debt to the many thousands who had been constrained to move abroad. Most of these migrants had turned out to be worthy ambassadors of Malta. This Bill, therefore, constituted "a big thank you" to them all.

Labour MP Anglu Farrugia said that while Nationalist speakers boasted about the Citizenship Act reforms moved by their governments, it was also worth remembering that it was under previous Nationalist governments that the largest number of Maltese had migrated from Malta.

Mr Farrugia said legislation such as this needed to be backed by measures to help the Maltese abroad, particularly through assistance for the teaching of Maltese.

This Bill, Mr Farrugia said, will at last do justice to the many Maltese who had emigrated to Algeria and when they were evicted following the revolution, they were not accepted back in Malta and settled in France. In France alone there were 250,000 people with Maltese surnames.

By and large the Maltese abroad had done Malta proud, an exception being those who lived around Soho in London.

Were one to count the Maltese of all generations in Malta and abroad, one would find that there were now some 2.2 million.

With the passage of this law, it was important that Maltese migrants were informed about it.

The debate was concluded by Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg, who said it was unfair for Dr Farrugia to have tried to blame former Nationalist governments for the migration of the Maltese. Migration was a worldwide phenomenon at the time. The highest number of migrants, 11,200, left from Malta in 1952 when Malta was a colony.

Dr Borg also spoke on how the law would function, stressing that offspring of persons of Maltese descent who would have died would still be eligible for dual citizenship. What was important was to prove that lineage went back to Malta. There would be no deadline for applications. But if those who were still alive three years after this law came into force did not seek dual citizenship and subsequently died, their children would not be eligible for dual citizenship by registration. People of Maltese descent who died before these three years expired would be considered as having been eligible for citizenship even if they did not apply, and their children would be eligible too.

Dr Borg said he expected some initial problems because of an influx of applications, and steps would be taken to meet this demand. The plan was for this Bill to come into force on August 1 so that preparations could be made.

Dr Borg said the government remained open for suggestions to further improve this Bill, if that was at all possible. But it was felt that dual citizenship should not be automatic for second and subsequent generations of Maltese abroad, but by registration from those who showed an interest.

The Bill was then given a second reading unanimously.