Malta: the golden passport and the 2025 EU Court ruling
EU citizenship for a contribution from €600,000 plus a property purchase from €700,000 — a program the EU Court ruled unlawful on 29 April 2025, and the last citizenship-by-investment scheme in the Union.
- Press release: the Maltese investor citizenship scheme is contrary to EU law (Case C-181/23) — Court of Justice of the European Union, 2025-04-29
- EU Court of Justice puts an end to harmful citizenship-by-investment schemes — Transparency International EU, 2025
Background
Malta — an EU member state — offered naturalisation for investment from 2014, formalised in 2020 as "citizenship by naturalisation for exceptional services by direct investment" (MEIN). A Maltese passport confers full EU-citizen rights, which made the program Europe's most expensive and prestigious.
The European Commission challenged the scheme for years, arguing it undermined the very nature of Union citizenship.
Problem
Demand for golden passports comes from the wish for a reliable backup document, freedom of movement and EU-citizen rights. But selling citizenship directly collides with a basic principle: Union citizenship should not be a commercial transaction.
Solution
Under MEIN, an applicant had to contribute to a state fund — from €600,000 with 36 months of residence, or from €750,000 with 12 months — plus buy property from €700,000 (or rent from €16,000 a year for five years) and make a charitable donation of at least €10,000.
On 29 April 2025, the EU Court of Justice in Case C-181/23 (Commission v Malta) ruled the scheme incompatible with EU law: granting nationality "in exchange for predetermined payments or investments" turns it into a "commercial transaction" and breaches the principle of sincere cooperation (Art. 4(3) TEU). The ruling ended the last citizenship-by-investment program in the Union.
Result
EU citizenship for a contribution from €600,000 plus a property purchase from €700,000 — a program the EU Court ruled unlawful on 29 April 2025, and the last citizenship-by-investment scheme in the Union.
Lessons learned
- Citizenship and residency are different products: the EU Court hit passport sales, not residence-permit programs.
- Legal risk is real: a program can be shut by a court at EU level, not only by a national decision.
- "Predetermined payment" is the key phrase: it was the direct "money → passport" link that proved incompatible with Union law.
Frequently asked questions
Does the EU Court ruling affect passports already issued?
The ruling requires Malta to stop the scheme going forward. The fate of citizenship already granted is a matter of subsequent implementation and national law; the judgment itself concerns the program's incompatibility with EU law, not an automatic revocation of issued passports.
Are there still citizenship-by-investment programs in the EU?
No. The Maltese scheme was the last in the EU; after the 2025 ruling no direct citizenship-by-investment programs remain in the Union. Residence-by-investment programs (golden visas) continue in several EU states.