Vienna’s famous Hotel Sacher displayed a prominent Malta flag and posted ceremonial guards outside during President George Abela’s State visit to Austria. Photo: Ian ParkerAustria is denying ever operating a citizenship-by-investment programme, insisting that sections of the Maltese media and public officials are “misinterpreting” its laws.
“The Republic of Austria has never had such a programme and, consequently, we have never had to stop it,” Erik Dreymann, consul at the Austrian Embassy in Malta, said.
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Labour ministers, parliamentary secretaries and MEPs have repeatedly insisted Austria has such a programme during interviews, press conferences and debates.
The government has cited Austria in defence of its own Individual Investor Programme, which grants outright Maltese citizenship in return for a €650,000 fee, plus an investment of €150,000 in government bonds and the purchase of property worth at least €350,000.
The only ‘programme’ Austria has is a provision in the Citizenship Act stating that citizenship can be granted to someone who has performed, and will continue to perform, “extraordinary services” to benefit the State. This provision – article 10, paragraph 6 – has been in place since 1965, about 30 years before Austria joined the EU. Since summer 2011, the procedure has been under revision so no citizenships have been granted in this way for two-and-a-half years.
Distorted information about the acquisition of Austrian citizenship
Mr Dreymann said “extraordinary services” could be classified as “exceptional performances which can’t be provided by others of the same education level and serve the public interest to a certain degree”.
He added that, although not specifically mentioned, the provision primarily applied to scientists, researchers, athletes, recognised artists and cultural performers. “Only in very exceptional circumstances does it apply to entrepreneurs.”
Times of Malta sent the Austrian Embassy links to the websites of several companies claiming to assist applicants in applying for Austrian citizenship through an investment of €2 million to €3 million. Officials were astounded that one of the sites used the country’s official emblem.
“Unfortunately, the ongoing practices of questionable ‘business consultancies’ based outside Austria have resulted in distorted and incorrect information about the acquisition of Austrian citizenship,” Mr Dreymann said.
The Austrian authorities in Vienna provided figures showing that 39 citizenships were granted under article 10 (6) of the Citizenship Act in 2008, 40 in 2009, 30 in 2010 and 29 in 2011.
Under its cash-for-citizenship scheme, Malta plans to grant 1,800 citizenships (not including family members of main beneficiaries) to raise in excess of €1 billion for a national development fund.
Malta was singled out in a European Parliament resolution last week condemning the sale of EU citizenship. The resolution was overwhelmingly supported by MEPs.
The Maltese government circulated a comparison chart to MEPs before the vote, which claimed that Austria offered immediate citizenship in exchange for more than €3 million in direct investment.
In a Reuters article published in February 2012, Henley & Partners – the concessionaire of Malta’s Individual Investor Programme – said investing large sums of money constituted an “extraordinary service” needed for Austrian citizenship.
Henley’s brochure at the time said Austria extended citizenship for those who invested at least $10 million, the news agency reported.
According to Reuters, Christian Kalin, a partner at the firm, said during a conference in London that his clients had successfully obtained Austrian passports in this manner.
In that same article, Henley CEO Eric Major was quoted as saying that candidates could obtain Austrian passports through investment if they had “all the right trimmings”. “It’s been done. It’s possible but it’s fairly rare,” Mr Major was quoted as saying. The Austrian Embassy in Washington DC was quoted in the same article as saying Henley’s claims were “baseless”.
Mr Major did not respond to questions sent via e-mail by this newspaper on Tuesday. He was asked, among other things, whether the Maltese government’s references to Austria were a fair reflection of the advice Henley had given it on Austria’s citizenship laws.
Henley’s website says Austria gives citizenship to foreign investors who also “make an extraordinary contribution alongside his investment, such as bringing new technologies to the country or creating a substantial number of new jobs”.
President George Abela defended Malta’s programme in a press conference in Vienna during a state visit to Austria, according to Chinese news agency Xinhua.
Austria’s ‘scheme’
The Austrian Citizenship Act of 1965 stipulates that citizenship should be granted under Article 10 (6) if the applicant can demonstrate “extraordinary services” in the interest of the republic.
If the Council of Ministers confirms the services/ achievements and all other requirements have been met, citizenship is granted after the applicant swears an oath to the Republic of Austria.
How many people have been granted Austrian citizenship under article 10 (6) of the Citizenship Act?
2008 - 39
2009 - 40
2010 - 30
2011 - 29
2012 - 0
2013 - 0