As of April 2016, a total of 143 applicants for Malta’s Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP) have completed the process. The revenue for the country’s government from property purchase through the programme amounted to 25.5 million euros, 12.3 million from rentals, and national philantrophic associations received almost 0.8 million through donations. 

In the meanwhile, the opposition in Malta has raised the issue of voting rights for beneficiaries of IIP.The Nationalist Party (PN) maintains that the majority of IIP citizens  were given right to vote without having spent six months in the last 18 months in the country – a prerequisite for enfranchisement. Issues surrounding the number of voters are particularly salient in small countries, such as Malta, where the 2008 national elections were won by an advantage of 1,580votes.

Read more in Malta Today and Independent, and check out our country profile page for further information on citizenship and electoral rights in Malta. 

For the debate on investment-based citizenship read our forum debate and Jelena Dzankic’s Working Paper. 

For an overview of electoral rights in Malta, consult our new Conditions for Electoral Rights.