Citizenship By Merit
On the 24 July 2025, the Maltese Parliament pass through amendments to the Maltese Citizenship Act, Chapter 188 of the Laws of Malta, with the aim of establishing a renewed legal framework for the granting of citizenship based on exceptional merit within the naturalisation process. This initiative follows the landmark judgement delivered by the Court of Justice of the European Union on the 29th of April 2025, which held that Malta’s Citizenship by Naturalisation for Exceptional Services by Direct Investment amounted to commercialisation of EU Citizenship, thereby contravening EU Law.
According to Parliament, the proposed amendments seek to achieve three principal objectives:
- To ensure that the Maltese Legal Framework complies with EU Law;
- To strengthen merit-based citizenship in line with Vision 2050; and
- To uphold the principal of national sovereignty.
New Article 10(9)
“Notwithstanding the provisions of this Act or any other Act, the Minister may grant a certificate of naturalisation as a citizen of Malta by merit to an alien or stateless person, namely to a person who renders exceptional services or who makes an exceptional contribution, including through job creation, to the Republic of Malta or to humanity, or whose naturalisation is of exceptional interest to the Republic of Malta.
Provided that for the purposes of this sub-article, “exceptional” means manifestly superior or adding value, and “exceptional services” and “exceptional contributions” shall refer to services rendered and contributions made by scientists, researchers, athletes, sports persons, artists, cultural performers, entrepreneurs, philanthropists and technologists, amongst other persons of interest to the Republic of Malta from time to time or to humanity and “exceptional interest” shall refer to any person who shall be deemed by the Minister to possess the necessary skills, profile, qualities, talents and expertise that are considered to significantly advance or benefit the national interest of the Republic of Malta:
Provided further that the Minister may also grant a certificate of naturalisation to an eligible dependent of an alien or stateless person as referred to above:
Provided further than an application is submitted by such person in such manner as may be prescribed and upon taking the oath of allegiance in Malta”.
The Act is seeking to amend Article 10(9) empowering the Minister to grant Citizenship on the basis of merit to foreign nationals or stateless persons. Eligibility will be limited to those who provide exceptional services or make exceptional contributions to Malta or Humanity, and are of exceptional interest to the Republic.
The law would list eligible fields of contribution, including but not limited to:
- Scientists
- Researchers
- Athletes
- Sports Persons
- Artists
- Cultural Performers
- Entrepreneurs
- Philanthropists and Technologists (these roles are newly recognised)
In any of these cases, the contribution must be manifestly superior, beneficial to Malta, and recognised as such by the Board and the Minister.
The Procedure for obtaining citizenship under this merit-based scheme is as follows:
- The Applicants must have Maltese Residency prior to initiating an application;
- The Application has to be lodged with the competent national authority, being Komunita’ Malta;
- This Authority will then proceed to conduct a due diligence review to assess all relevant circumstances;
- An independent board will analyse and evaluate the demand and provide a recommendation to the Minister of Justice;
- The final determination rests with the Minister, who has the power to grant such Citizenship.
This means that there is an elimination of the investment-based pathways which were originally in force. There is no fixed investment threshold associated with naturalisation.
It is important to note that individuals who previously acquired citizenship under the prior investment scheme will retain their status in accordance with the legal provisions applicable at the time of acquisition.
For more information contact any of our Team Members from our Immigration Law Department.
