Citizenship by Merit Initiative

Through this novel initiative to the Maltese legislation, a process will be adopted which will provide the possibility to grant Maltese citizenship to individuals who have rendered an exceptional service to the country of Malta or to humanity or whose naturalisation is of exceptional interest to Malta. These individuals will be required to satisfy the requirements prescribed under the Citizenship by Merit Act, which is yet to be published.

The word “Exceptional”, which is mentioned in the consultation document issued by the Government of Malta, means excellent and, or superior at a local level and refers primarily to contributions by scientists, researchers, athletes, sports people, artists and cultural performers.

Therefore, the exceptional service rendered within the country has to relate to one of the following five sectors:

1. Science
2. Research
3. Sport
4. Art
5. Culture

The Citizenship by Merit initiative also provides for the granting of citizenship to personnel whose naturalisation is of exceptional interest to Malta and whose granting of Maltese citizenship would be expected to result in substantial benefit to the Maltese Republic. Again, the substantial benefit must be in relation to the abovementioned five sectors.

Requirements for a prospective individual to be eligible to apply for citizenship on the exceptional service rendered, under the Maltese Citizenship Act, Cap. 188 of the Laws of Malta, shall be that such a person:

1. Is at least eighteen years of age;
2. Meets the application requirements;
3. Provides proof that he has resided in Malta for at least twelve months in the period preceding the application;
4. Provides proof of title to residential property in Malta; and
5. Provides proof of exceptional services rendered to the Republic of Malta or to humanity, or if the individual claims that his naturalisation is of exceptional interest to the Republic of Malta, providing an endorsement of such by the competent authority assigned.

The competent authority assigned depends on the applicant’s activity. The University of Malta or the Malta Council for Science and Technology are assigned to applications relating to science and research. Arts Council Malta or the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage relates to applications dealing with Culture and Arts. National Sports Associations registered with Sports Malta conjunctively with Sport Malta are to deal with applications depending on Sports.

The application also requires a number of eligibility criteria which must be satisfied in order for citizenship to be awarded. These criteria include the attestation that the applicant is fit and proper following a due diligence process carried out by Identity Malta; that the individual is not indicted before any International Criminal Court; that the individual is not a potential threat to national security; and that the individual has not been found guilty or has charges against him regarding sexual criminal offences.

The proposed system also involves in-built protective mechanisms that ensure only truly deserving personnel would qualify for citizenship under this initiative.

These mentioned protective measures include:

1. Due diligence checks to be performed by any internationally recognised due diligence agencies approved by Identity Malta.
2. Evaluations of each Citizenship by Merit application by an appointed Evaluation Board, with all of its decisions being accompanied by reasoned opinions.
3. The right of the Minister to withdraw the citizenship of an individual who obtained Maltese citizenship under this initiative should the individual become a threat to national security.
4. The obligation of the Minister to publish the names of the individuals awarded citizenship in the Government Gazette.

Such novel initiative may benefit the Maltese islands as a whole in a way that not only would Malta be acquiring a certain class of personnel, with a very high intellectual level or sporting career, who would be establishing themselves in the Maltese jurisdiction, but also a mention must be made to the wealth of knowledge and experience such personnel would eventually be passing on to the local individuals and Malta as a whole