Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/213780
10 News maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 20 NOVEMBER 2013 No refugees naturalised as Maltese citizens, minister tells House Marriage to Maltese, EU citizens is faster process to get Maltese citizenship REFUGEES and other persons granted some form of protection by the Maltese state are not granted citizenship, the Home Affairs Minister has precised in parliament. Manuel Mallia replied to a parliamentary question by Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi that refugees or other asylum seekers who have been granted some form of protection – subsidiary or temporary humanitarian – are entitled, like other non-Maltese nationals, to apply for citizenship when they marry a Maltese spouse. In such cases, citizenship through marriage is granted after five years of marriage and of living together. Refugees and other people granted international protection in Malta, can also apply for naturalisation after living continuously in Malta for five years. But granting citizenship in such cases is entirely up to the discretion of the minister, and is not subject to any timeframes. No statistics are available as to how many refugees were made Maltese citizens after marrying a Maltese spouse. Refugees are given a residence permit of three years and keep enjoying refugee protection even after marrying a Maltese, or another EU citizens. Since 2009, Malta recognised 218 refugees, which is the highest degree of protection enjoyed by an asylum seeker and granted when there is a real fear of persecution if they are returned to their country of origin. The rules governing the award of refugee protection are part of Maltese and European law, and are informed by international law. Malta grants citizenship by naturalisation to a very small number of people. A total of 6,805 people acquired Maltese citizenship through regis- PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAY ATTARD MATTHEW VELLA Refugees and other people granted international protection in Malta, can also apply for naturalisation after living continuously in Malta for five years, Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia (inset) said in parliament tration or naturalisation between 2004 and 2012. But the bulk of new citizens were either married to Maltese spouses or could trace descent to Maltese parentage. In fact, only 339 migrants were naturalised as citizens due to their duration of residence in Malta in the last eight years. The total number of new Maltese citizens by both registration and naturalisation increased from 584 in 2004 to 1,142 in 2012. The highest number of citizen- ships was awarded in 2012, while the 'lowest' numbers of citizenships were awarded in 2006, totalling 474. The bulk of acceded requests for Maltese citizenship by registration was on the basis of descent from Maltese nationals. Between 2004 and 2012, 3,988 individuals acquired Maltese citizenship by this type of registration. 2,359 individuals acquired Maltese citizenship on the basis of marriage (registration). EPP chairman to take up Malta's citizenship sale scheme in plenary EUROPEAN People's Party chairman Joseph Daul has expressed incredulity at the Maltese Individual Investor Programme, and said the matter would be discussed in detail during a forthcoming plenary session of the European Parliament in December. "I find it a bit strange," Daul said of the IIP, "so I asked the EC what the procedure was exactly... and I will be taking up the matter in the coming weeks." "I call on Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to listen to Opposition leader Simon Busuttil, to listen to the Maltese people, to listen to civil society and to our EU partners who are consistent in their dismay at the scheme and at the way it was bulldozed through Parliament last week," Nationalist MEP David Casa said in a statement. Casa said that attracting new forms of investment to Malta was vital, and that a scheme that is based on real investment would be a positive step forward. The IIP will charge applicants "Turning EU citizenship into a commodity for cash is wrong" – Joseph Daul EPP chairman Joseph Daul on the Individual Investor Programme: "I find it a bit strange" €650,000 to purchase Maltese citizenship. The PN says the citizenship sale should be tied to real in- vestment amounting to €5 million. "Turning EU citizenship and access to Schengen into a commodity to be sold for cash is wrong," Casa said. "Our EU counterparts won't have it. The only reason that it is not illegal under EU law, is because at the time of drafting the Treaties it was not envisaged that an EU member state would behave so irresponsibly. "Change this scheme in a way that it is connected to real investment, and do it now, before you embarrass yourself and your country further," Casa said.