He'd spent a dozen years working for this outcome, but Manuel Delia couldn't quite believe the  European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling on April 29.

"I screamed a little," he told DW. "I was expecting bad news."

Delia, an anti-corruption blogger and executive officer of the Maltese civil society organization Repubblika, had long campaigned against the Maltese government's program offering citizenship to foreign investors.

Malta was the last EU country to offer these so-called "golden passports", with other cash-for-citizenship schemes in Bulgaria and Cyprus ending in recent years.

The decision, he says, vindicates the work of his colleague and friend Daphne Caruana Galizia, the murdered Maltese anti-corruption journalist who was among the first to highlight the dangers of the program.

Golden passports merely a "commercial transaction"

In 2022, the European Commission brought action against Malta due to its practice of granting citizenship based largely on real estate investments, arguing EU citizenship recipients must show a "genuine link" with the country granting the passport, not just a financial commitment.

But Delia's expected a different result because an opinion published by the ECJ's advocate general in October 2024 favored the Maltese government's position.

The ECJ often follows the opinions of its advocates general, but not this time.

It found Malta's policy made nationality a "mere commercial transaction" and that the "practice does not make it possible to establish the necessary bond of solidarity and good faith between a member state and its citizens, or to ensure mutual trust between member states."

Having the Commission's case upheld felt good, said Delia, because it was based on a "value, a principle, solidarity" between EU member states since anyone with a Maltese passport has access to the rest of the bloc.

Where did Malta's passport buyers come from?

Delia said the court's decision had "truly vindicated what we've been trying to say, that this scheme is not justified by the fact that it makes money."

"You cannot put a price to citizenship. It's much more valuable than money," said Delia.

Since the start of the program, Delia and other observers raised questions about how closely residence requirements were checked by Maltese authorities, as many investors didn't seem to be present in the country for the required period.

In some cases, it wasn't even clear their purchases were liveable accommodations.

Data acquired by the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation found Chinese investors accounted for 9 in 10 golden visas. But these outnumbered the number of Chinese nationals reported as living in Malta according to census records.

That, the Foundation said, suggested "at least half of them are not using their golden visa to reside in Malta."

One door closes, others remains open

After the ruling, Malta's Prime Minister Robert Abela defended the scheme, in a statement saying it had earned Malta over €1.4 billion ($1.6 billion) and would rework the system to align with the court's decision.

"As always, the Government of Malta respects the decisions of the courts, while at this moment the legal implications of this judgment are being studied in detail, so that the regulatory framework on citizenship can then be brought in line with the principles outlined in the judgment," he said.

While purchased passports are now ruled out, there are other ways to buy one's way into the passport-free Schengen zone — and plenty of interest in doing so.

"Golden visas" operate on many of the same principles as the passport programs did, allowing residence permits for real-estate purchases or other major investments.

Henley & Partners — which facilitated the Maltese passport program — currently lists 31 countries among its clients offering "residence by investment" schemes. Almost half are in the EU.

"It still gives you access to many freedoms in the EU," notes Anna Terrone, a policy officer at the global anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International.

 

Following the court ruling, European Commission spokesperson Markus Lammert emphasized"serious concerns" with golden visa programs.

"Such schemes raise security, money laundering, tax evasion and corruption risks for the union as a whole," Lammert said,

He said the EU's anti-money laundering laws "require member states operating these schemes to respectively monitor risks and to put in place mitigating measures."

A 2022 European Parliament resolution said "residence-by-investment" schemes should include EU-level "standards and procedures for increased due diligence and rigorous background checks for applicants and for the source of their wealth" and cross-checks against national, EU and international databases.

But enforcement is left in the hands of member states.

Momentum for change

Terrone hopes the momentum from ending "golden passports" will carry forward

"The reasoning can perhaps also be extended to golden visas program," Terrone said.

Regarding solidarity and security between EU countries, she said a shared effort was needed to keep out "corrupt and wealthy individuals who got their money in shady ways."

For Delia, the court decision is personal as a Maltese citizen, and vindicates the work of his friend Caruana Galizia.

He said it clarifies that citizenship is "recognition of the contract that there is between individuals and the state, that unit of community, that unit of solidarity that we share together for living together on the basis of laws.

"And when you put a price to that, you cheapen it."

Edited by: Matthew Ward Agius