Dozens of wealthy Gulf residents, including

royalty, have expressed their interest in signing up for a controversial

Maltese scheme offering European citizenship in return for investment of about

$1.3m, firms involved have revealed to Arabian Business.

Under the Malta Individual Investor Program, which

was announced and signed into law by the Maltese government in November last

year, applicants must make a one-time, lump sum contribution amounting to at

least €650,000 ($885,906) and, assuming they pass all necessary security checks,

would be given a Maltese passport within a number of months.

Malta joined the European Union in 2004, therefore

the citizenship would give successful applicants access to visa-free travel

access to more than 145 countries including Canada, the United Kingdom,

Switzerland, and free access to all 28 EU-Schengen countries.

The scheme received a lot of interest from

potential wealthy applicants in the region, Yann Mrazek, managing partner of

Dubai-based law firm M Associates of Law, which is offering the scheme, told

Arabian Business.

“I don’t know overall but from our practice we have

at least 20 or 25 people in the pipeline ready to go... they are already

convinced. Of course, that depends on the fine print but the money is not the

issue

“We anticipate the €650,000 for one application but

I also anticipate for the country to request a real estate investment of no

less than €350,000... So roughly a total of around €1m for due diligence and

processing. It is not small change but... it looks like a good proposal,” he

said.

Applicants can also apply for their spouses and

family to be part of the scheme, with an additional cost of €25,000 per spouse

and child under 18 years old and €50,000 for children aged over 18 to 25 years

old or parents aged over 55.

Newspaper reports in Malta confirmed that in

addition to Gulf-based high net worth individuals, a former Formula 1 world

champion, an international pop singer, a high profile Gulf royal family member a

South American footballer, an American press magnate, a Singaporean business

tycoon and a Chinese billionaire are among those who already have either

expressed interest or applied for the scheme.

The program is likely to be popular among wealthy

Gulf locals as it gives unlimited travel access among the Schengen Area of

Europe. Last summer, the UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al

Nahyan claimed Emiratis faced issues travelling within the region.

“Too often, Emirati citizens are stopped at

European borders and turned away because of unclear, complex, and restrictive visa-regulations,”

he said.

While the EU announced late last year it was

pushing ahead with plans to allow UAE citizens visa-free access to the Schengen

Area, the Malta Individual Investor Program would give applicants citizenship

of the island state and free visa-free access to the whole of the EU and

beyond.

The scheme has proved hugely controversial in Malta

and faced opposition from the European Commission leaders.

"You cannot put a price tag on EU

citizenship," a spokesperson said on behalf of EU Justice Commissioner

Viviane Reding.

In a damning resolution, the European Parliament heavily

criticised the scheme and said "EU citizenship should never become a

tradable commodity", urged Malta to "bring its current citizenship

scheme in line with the EU's values" and demanded changes be made “in

order to prevent such schemes from undermining the values that the EU has been

built upon".

Maltese opposition political parties have

campaigned against the scheme.

“Citizenship is not something which is to be

treated lightly... We oppose the selling of citizenship outright and think it

is demeaning that a discrimination has been created between rich and normal

people. There is a the legal problem that selling Maltese citizenship is also

selling European citizenship,” Arnold Cassola, chairperson of Alternattiva

Demokratika, the Maltese Green Party, told Arabian Business.

While Cassola said the scheme could be financially

lucrative for Malta, he called on the government to hold a referendum on the

matter.

“The plan is to get over a billion euro and that is

the stated goal. Around €200m a year would be a big injection into the Maltese

economy... [But] as Greens we say there should be a referendum for the people

to decide,” he said.

While the scheme was due to be rolled out in

February, meetings took place between the European Commission and the Maltese

government this week, amid concerns from commissioners about the long-term

impact of the scheme.

In a joint statement issued by the European

Commission and the Maltese government, it was decided that some form of

residency would be added into the terms and conditions for the scheme.

“On 29 January 2014, representatives of the

European Commission's services and of the Government of Malta met on the issue

of the Individual Investor Programme of the Republic of Malta... with a view to

clarify that this Programme will confer full rights, responsibilities and a

full citizenship status,” the statement, issued by the office of Commissioner

Viviane Reding, confirmed.

“The amendments include genuine links to Malta

through the introduction of an effective residence status in Malta prior to the

possibility to acquire Maltese naturalisation. No certificate of naturalisation

will be issued unless the applicant provides proof that he/she has resided in

Malta for a period of at least 12 months immediately preceding the day of

issuing of the certificate of naturalisation.”

It is currently

unclear how the new residency criteria will impact demand for the scheme, but

Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat last night described it as just “a minor

change” and vowed to push on with the implementation of the scheme.