Former civil service head Godwin Grima would be nominated by the Government to serve as regulator of the new citizenship scheme, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said yesterday.

He made the announcement shortly after Parliament approved the second reading of a Bill amending the Citizenship Act to introduce the scheme. The Opposition voted against.

Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil said the Nationalist Party would today be moving a number of amendments at committee stage to link the sale of citizenship to investment and a minimum term of residency.

The changes being proposed to the law will provide for the setting up of a so-called Individual Investor Programme whereby citizenship would be granted to foreign individuals and families who contribute to the economic development of Malta.

Eligible people will be required to pay €650,000 and €25,000 for spouses and children.

Dr Muscat stressed he wanted to ensure that the scheme was transparent. “We are ready to enter the market but we are also ready to listen. We want to put people’s mind at rest on the issue of governance and that there will be no tampering,” Dr Muscat said, adding that at committee stage today, he would be recommending the appointment of Dr Grima as regulator.

Dr Grima had been appointed head of the civil service by the Nationalist Government and had also served in other roles, Dr Muscat noted.

We are ready to enter the market but we are also ready to listen. We want to put the people’s mind at rest

He said he would also be recommending the setting up of a monitoring committee to oversee the regulator and the scheme.

The committee would be made up of the Prime Minister, the Home Affairs Minister and the Leader of the Opposition.

He said his Government was confident that the scheme would be successful and he was critical of the Opposition for delaying it. This only worked in favour of Malta’s competitors, he said.

Dr Busuttil said the PN had done its utmost to resist the scheme and would now try to improve it by proposing changes to the draft law moved by the Government.

“Whoever is truly proud to be Maltese has been insulted in the worst manner possible by a Government which wants to sell Malta’s citizenship that does not belong to Joseph Muscat but is ours as a nation,” he added.

The amendments being proposed by the Opposition include the possibility of extending the entities which can market the scheme rather than limiting it just to Henley & Partners, the company chosen by the Government.

Dr Busuttil said the scheme should also be marketed by companies in the financial services sector in Malta.

Moreover, the Opposition wanted to add a minimum residency of five years as a criteria that would make people eligible for citizenship. Also, the scheme should be linked to investment and job creation on the island rather than purchasing a passport through a donation.

In addition, Dr Busuttil said, the party aimed at improving the scrutiny process including the obligation to publish the names of people who would have acquired citizenship through the scheme rather than these remaining “a secret”.

Asked about the party’s position on Dr Grima’s nomination as regulator of the scheme, Dr Busuttil replied: “His appointment would not change anything. It is useless having a good regulator or moderator if the scheme itself stinks and this is why we are proposing changes, to improve what is being proposed.”

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.