Updated - Adds video comments
The Nationalist Party will be presenting amendments in Parliament to the legal notice on citizenship for this to reflect the agreement reached with the European Union.
Addressing a news conference this evening, Opposition leader Simon Busuttil said that although the Nationalist Party was satisfied it won the argument on the scheme, it could still be greatly improved in its detail to really reflect what had been agreed with the EU.
He said when replying to questions that now that the scheme had been accepted by the European Commission, a new PN government would not revoke all citizenships given but only those of applicants who would not have abided by the rules.
Dr Busuttil said the PN would also be following closely the implementation of the scheme and insist that no one is granted citizenship unless they lived here for 12 months.
The Opposition would also form part of the monitoring committee and would continue to insist with the government that the scheme was implemented in good faith.
Dr Busuttil said the Nationalist Parliamentary group met to discuss the newly amended legal notice this evening and was satisfied that the principles it had insisted upon since the very beginning had finally made it to the legal notice. These were the removal of the secrecy clause, the inclusion of real investment, and residency.
However, the notice was not including an effective 12-month residency clause and was not making clear that one had to live in Malta for such a period.
It was also not binding the whole family to live here for 12 months but the main applicant and did not state what kind of proof applicants had to provide to prove residency.
He noted that during a public meeting on the scheme, an Identity Malta official said that one did not need to actually live in Malta but only to acquire a residency permit and provide an electricity bill.
Moreover, the reasons given in the notice as to what could lead one to lose the citizenship did not include the residency issue.
These were serious defects which worried the Nationalist Party. These included that although the government had removed secrecy, the list of those granted citizenship under the scheme would not be published separately but as part of the list of people being granted citizenship. Another problem was that Henley & Partners remained the promoter, administrator and operator of the scheme.