Malta reported a 5.8% fall in the number of people applying for its ‘golden passport’ scheme, between 1 July 2018 and 30 June 2019.
It received 311 applications; with October 2018 and March 2019 the busiest months, reporting 41 and 40 applicants, respectively.
This compares with 330 submissions for the previous 12-month period.
The regulator in charge of the Individual Investors Programme, who took on the role in February 2016, criticised the “bad publicity” the scheme has received as one of the main reasons for the “downward trend”.
“[The decrease persisted] in part as a direct consequence of competition from similar [citizenship-by-investment (CBI)] programmes operated by other countries, a couple of which saw the light of day during this same period,” said Carmen De Gabriele.
“[Additionally, it was due] to the consistent and highly inconsiderate bad publicity, which has continued to prevail unduly both nationally and internationally towards such programmes – particularly and quite unreasonably the Malta programme.
“[Lastly, it was also] in part to the attempts made by a number of influential international organisations and institutions to deal a fatal blow to such programmes based on totally unfounded pretexts and pretentions.”
Critics both ways
Last year, the European Commission urged all member states to “phase out” and repeal any citizenship- and residence-by-investment schemes, as it said they undermine EU-wide co-operations.
The EC added that at least 6,000 passports – 5,000 of which went to non-EU nationals – and 100,000 residence permits have been handed out through such schemes.
Malta came under fire as well for allowing around 700 passports to be given to Russian citizens.
But De Gabriele hit back at the Commission.
“None of the fact-finding missions which came over to Malta from both the European Commission and the European Parliament, as well as other institutions, that have decided to criticise the running of this programme, have ever bothered to request a meeting with [me]; or any of the members of my office; or seem to have at least carefully studied any of this office’s past annual reports before expressing, in one way or another, their deep concerns over this programme and have, to-date, continued to do so,” he said.
Arguably, issues such as the common reporting standard (CRS) and the newly introduced European directive Dac6, which makes the reporting of cross-border transactions including at least one member state mandatory, could have had a part to play in the decreasing figures.
De Gabriele added, however, that he has reason to believe that numbers are going to pick up to better levels for the next reporting period – 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020.
Engagement needed
Paddy Blewer, group public relations director at global citizenship and residence advisory firm Henley & Partners, told International Adviser: “We see significant ongoing demand for new applicants for Malta’s IIP from across all global markets. Demand remains extremely strong for what is the gold standard of citizenship by investment.
“However, we share the frustration communicated by the IIP regulator that many stakeholders have made limited meaningful attempt to engage with any industrial experts. We are not aware of many attempts to engage with specialist civil servants, or the individual companies involved, or even the recognised trade association, the Investment Migration Council.
“One could therefore suggest that certain stakeholders are not interested in any sort of objective analysis.
“We believe that a well managed program such as Malta IIP, where effective due diligence is at its core can be seen as ‘sovereign equity’, whereby investors buy into a sovereign state and create significant ongoing sovereign and societal value – over 2% of GDP before the wider benefits are considered,” he added.
