On 29 April 2025, the European Court of Justice ruled that Malta’s ‘Golden Passport’ scheme, which allowed foreigners to acquire EU citizenship through a significant financial investment, was contrary to EU law. The court ruled that such programs constitute a commercialization of citizenship, thereby undermining trust and cooperation between EU Member States. Under the ruling, Malta is obliged to end this practice. The Court’s ruling could set a precedent for other EU Member States with similar schemes. The analysis looks at both of discontinued and still available similar international schemes offering citizenship and residency in return for financial compensation.
The full text of the analysis is available in Hungarian here
