Residence permits would be given to foreigners against a gradual investment of €250,000 but this would be a “privilege not a right”, Economic Growth Parliamentary Secretary José Herrera said yesterday.
He was giving details of new regulations for a residency-through-investment scheme, which, despite having been in the pipeline for several months, was largely overshadowed by last week’s residency permit scam.
Speaking to the Times of Malta after a press conference on the new scheme, Dr Herrera said he would not let abuse in the existing residence permit system come in the way of what could be a very lucrative investment programme.
“In any programme you will find a bad apple but we can’t let this stop us. What we need to do is address the problems and move forward,” he said, adding that a similar investment programme had reaped more than a billion euros in Portugal since 2012.
In any programme you will find a bad apple but we can’t let this stop us
Dr Herrera was reacting to the arraignment of former Labour Party treasurer Joe Sammut who, last week, was charged with setting up companies with fake stocks to help Libyan nationals obtain a residence permit.
Asked about the case, Dr Herrera said the matter did not fall within his portfolio. However, measures had been taken to ensure that what happened would not repeat itself in the new programme and “security” had virtually been doubled, he was quick to add.
Permits, he pointed out, would only be issued after due diligence was carried out by certified professionals, lawyers, legal procurators and management operators. This would then be cross-checked by the authorities. Professionals found to have falsified any applications would have their warrants revoked and face legal action, Dr Herrera warned.
A legal notice was published last week, setting out the new residence programme regulations.
Besides a staggered acquisition of €250,000 worth of interest-free government bonds, investors would also have to purchase property valued at up to €320,000, or €270,000 if located in the south of the island or in Gozo. They will have the option to rent an accommodation worth up to €12,000 a year instead.
According to the legal notice, the localities defined as being in the south are Birżebbuġa, Cospicua, Fgura, Għaxaq, Gudja, Kalkara, Luqa, Marsascala, Marsaxlokk, Mqabba, Paola, Qrendi, Safi, Santa Luċija, Senglea, Siġġiewi, Tarxien, Vittoriosa, Xgħajra, Żabbar, Żejtun, and Żurrieq.
Asked if this was a “residence for sale” scheme, Dr Herrera said he preferred the term “investment”. “Any investment programme is part of sales but I wouldn’t call it selling residency. We are giving privileges but these are tied to obligations,” he noted.
The scheme allows spouses, children and other relatives (including parents and grandparents) who may be financially dependent on the applicant to also benefit from residency. However, Dr Herrera said once these were no longer reliant on the applicant they would have to enter into a fresh programme to obtain their own permit.
In a statement, Nationalist Party deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami said the system would not solve institutional corruption. What the government needed to do first was to fix what had already been broken by acting against those responsible, he said.
“It makes no sense for the government to announce a new visas and permits scheme when the institutions are still being eroded by the same people who allowed Joe Sammut to do whatever he liked,” Dr Fenech Adami said.
The government replied and, in a statement, pointed out that the Opposition had participated in a lengthy consultation process and some of its suggestions had been taken on board.