The European Union (EU) court has ruled that Malta's so-called 'Golden Visa' system, which grants citizenship to foreigners who invest at least €600,000 (about 10 billion won), is illegal.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ), the highest court in the EU, ruled on the 29th (local time) in a lawsuit filed by the EU Commission seeking to prohibit the implementation of Malta's investment immigration system, siding with the Commission.
The court stated, 'EU member states must not grant nationality and citizenship in exchange for a predetermined amount of investment.' It further ordered the Maltese government to comply with the court ruling immediately. If the Maltese government fails to comply with the order, the Commission may file an additional lawsuit seeking financial sanctions against Malta.
Malta revised its citizenship law in 2020 to grant citizenship to foreigners who invest at least €600,000, allowing them to live and work in Malta. As Malta is an EU member state, holding a Maltese passport also provides the benefit of being able to reside and work in any EU member country.
The Commission argued that this system violates the EU treaty, which stipulates the 'principle of sincere cooperation,' and filed a lawsuit against the Maltese government in September 2022. At the time, concerns were raised that the Russian wealthy class might exploit the Maltese system to evade Western sanctions due to the outbreak of the Ukraine war.
According to the dpa news agency, other EU member states such as Cyprus and Bulgaria had similar systems but have since revoked them. Therefore, Malta is currently the only EU member state with a Golden Visa program.