GRANT OF CITIZENSHIP FOR EXCEPTIONAL SERVICES REGULATIONS *

SERVICES REGULATIONS

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 188.04

GRANT OF CITIZENSHIP FOR EXCEPTIONAL

SERVICES REGULATIONS *

28th November, 2017

LEGAL NOTICE 335 of 2017, as amended by Legal Notice 213 of

2019.

The title of these regulations is the Grant of Citizenship

for Exceptional Services Regulations.

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise

requires -

"Act" means the Maltese Citizenship Act;

"applicant" means the person who applies or on whose behalf

it is being applied to be naturalized as a citizen of Malta under article

10(9)(c) of the Act;

"application" means an application made under these

regulations;

"application requirements" means the formal and substantial

requirements which each applicant must meet, as set forth in these

regulations;

"authenticated translation" means a translation done by either a

professional translator who is officially accredited to a court of law, a

government agency, an international organization, or similar official

institution, or if done in a country where there are no official

accredited translators a translation, done by a company whose role or

business is professional translation;

"certified copy" means a photocopy of an original document

certified to be a true copy of the original by a duly licensed lawyer, a

notary public or a Maltese consular or diplomatic officer;

"designated competent body" means the locally registered

entity in Malta, specified in the First Schedule, that is capable to

determine whether an individual is recognised in a particular field as

a leading talent, or has demonstrated exceptional promise and is

likely to become a leading talent;

"Evaluation Board", hereinafter referred to as "the Board",

means the group of individuals appointed in accordance with these

regulations to evaluate applications made under article 10(9)(c) of the

*Repealed by Legal Notice 437 of 2020. See Regulation 31 of the same Legal Notice.

SERVICES REGULATIONS

Act and to prepare a reasoned opinion with regard to each application

to be referred to the Minister responsible for Citizenship;

"exceptional" means unusually excellent or manifestly superior

at a local level, and refers primarily to contributions by scientists,

researchers, athletes, sports people, artists and cultural performers;

"Identity Malta" means the agency established by the Identity

Malta Agency (Establishment) Order;

"Minister" has the same meaning as assigned to it in the Act;

"police certificate" means a certificate of conduct, report or

statement from a national law enforcement authority or other public

authority in charge of criminal records on the status of an applicant’s

criminal record.

The aim of these regulations is to prescribe the

requirements and to administer the grant of citizenship for exceptional

services to the Republic of Malta or to humanity, or on the basis of

exceptional interest to the Republic of Malta, in accordance with

article 10(9)(c) of the Act.

(1)

The qualifications and general requirements for a

person to apply for citizenship under article 10(9)(c) of the Act shall

be that any such person

(a)

provides proof that he resided in Malta for at

least eight months in the period preceding the date of

application;

(b)

except in the case of an applicant who is a minor,

or subject to the proviso of sub-regulation 4(2)(d), provides

proof of title to residential property in Malta;

(c)

provides proof of the exceptional services

rendered to the Republic of Malta or to humanity, or if the

individual claims that his naturalisation is of exceptional

interest to the Republic of Malta, provides an endorsement by

the designated competent body.

(d)

be recommended by two people who are

qualified to act as sponsors for persons that apply for Maltese

citizenship by naturalisation.

(2) Applications shall be made on the form prescribed under

the Citizenship Regulations and shall be accompanied by the originals

or certified copies of the following

(a)

documentary evidence certified by the competent

body established of the exceptional services rendered to the

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Republic of Malta or to humanity, or if the individual claims

that his naturalisation is of exceptional interest to the Republic

of Malta, an endorsement in the form of a written report by the

designated competent body attesting that the individual is

recognised in a particular field as a leading talent, or has

demonstrated exceptional promise and is likely to become a

leading talent;

(b)

a certificate in the form prescribed by Identity

Malta from a reputable health system to the satisfaction of

Identity Malta that the applicant is not suffering from any

contagious disease and that the applicant is otherwise in good

health;

(c)

a police conduct certificate;

(d)

where the applicant is not a minor, proof that the

applicant has purchased or taken on lease immovable

residential property in Malta

Provided that where the applicant is still a

member of the household of his family, the Minister may, if he

is satisfied that the applicant is not in a position to purchase or

take on lease such property, waive this requirement;

(e)

any other document as may be required from

time to time by notice issued by Identity Malta.

(3) All applications shall be submitted by the applicant in

person to Identity Malta.

(4) Application forms and other accompanying documents

shall be completed in English or, if the original language of the

document is not English, the document shall be accompanied by an

authenticated translation.

(5) If an applicant makes a false statement or omits

information requested, the application may be declined solely on that

basis.

(6) Applications shall only be accepted and processed on

condition that all forms are properly completed, dated and signed,

and accompanied by all required documents and fees.

In addition to the qualifications and general

requirements as set out in regulation 4, the minimum eligibility

criteria shall be as follows

(a)

a proper background verification of the

applicant, through a due diligence process carried out by

Identity Malta, attesting that the applicant is a fit and proper

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person to hold Maltese citizenship;

(b)

a police certificate issued by the Malta police as

well as a police certificate issued by the competent authorities

in the country of origin and in the country or countries of

residence where the applicant has resided for a period of more

than six months during the last ten years, or in exceptional

cases where it is proved to the satisfaction of Identity Malta

that such a certificate is not obtainable, a sworn affidavit made

by the applicant, declaring a clean criminal record;

(c)

the applicant is not an individual indicted before

an International Criminal Court or who appeared at any time

before an International Criminal Court, irrespectively of

whether such person has been found guilty or otherwise by

such Court;

(d)

the applicant shall not be a person listed with the

International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) at the

time of application;

(e)

the applicant is not, or may not be, a potential

threat to national security, public policy or public health;

(f)

the applicant shall not be an individual who, at

any time, had pending charges related to crimes of terrorism,

money laundering, funding of terrorism, crimes against

humanity, war crimes, or crimes that infringe upon such

Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms as

established by the European Convention on Human Rights, or

who has been found guilty of any such crimes;

(g)

the applicant shall not be an individual who has

been found guilty or has charges brought against him regarding

sexual criminal offences, which criminal offences include,

without limitation, the following

(i)

paedophilia,

(ii)

defilement of minors,

(iii)

rape,

(iv)

violent indecent assault,

(v)

inducing

persons

under

age

to

prostitution, and

(vi)

abduction;

(h)

the applicant shall not be an individual who at

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any time was found guilty, or, at the time of the application, is

being interrogated and suspected, or has criminal charges

brought against him for any criminal offence, other than an

involuntary offence, punishable with more than one year

imprisonment. The applicant shall attach with his application a

sworn declaration before a commissioner for oaths, lawyer or

notary public that the said information that he has provided is

true and correct;

(i)

where a document is required to be produced

under these regulations in support of an application

(i)

such document must be an original

document or if not an original, it must be a certified

copy; and

(ii)

the person certifying the document shall

provide the full name, capacity in which the person is

acting, residential or business address, telephone

number and email address.

An applicant who -

(a)

provides false information on his application;

(b)

has a criminal record;

(c)

is the subject of a criminal investigation;

(d)

is a potential national security threat to Malta;

(e)

is, or is likely to be, involved in any activity

likely to cause disrepute to Malta; or

(f)

has been denied a visa to a country with which

Malta has visa-free travel arrangements and has not

subsequently obtained a visa to the country that issued the

denial,

shall not be approved for citizenship under article 10(9)(c) of the Act,

unless the Board is satisfied that the applicant is still worthy of being

considered for approval due to special circumstances to be

demonstrated either by the applicant himself or by the designated

competent body. In such case, Identity Malta shall refer the

application to the Board, and the Board in its reasoned opinion shall

explain why such applicant should still be considered for approval.

The Minister will ultimately have the sole authority to grant such

approval.

(1)

The Board shall evaluate applications made

under article 10(9)(c) of the Act and prepare a reasoned opinion with

regard to each application to be referred to the Minister responsible

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for Citizenship.

(2) The composition of the Board shall vary in accordance

with the nature of the application to be evaluated, and shall

comprise -

(a)

a Chairperson to be appointed by the Minister,

who shall be a person who has practiced the profession of

advocate for at least seven years; and

(b)

two members to be selected by the Chairperson

from amongst the members of three panels to be appointed by

the Minister, which panels shall include persons having

knowledge of sport, culture and the arts, and science and

research respectively.

(3) The Chairperson and the appointed panel members of the

Board shall hold office for a term of three years and under such

conditions as may be set out in their letter of appointment, and shall,

on the expiration of the term of their office, be eligible to be

reappointed.

(4) The Chairperson and the panel members of the Board

shall, before commencing to execute their duties, take an oath in the

form set out in the Second Schedule. Such oath shall be taken before,

and shall be deposited with, the Attorney General.

(5) When any vacancy in the Board occurs, the Minister

shall, as soon as practicable, appoint another person to fill the

vacancy.

(6) A member of the Board may be removed from office by

the Prime Minister, but such member may be removed only for proved

inability to discharge the functions of his office (whether arising from

infirmity of mind or body or any other cause) or for misbehaviour.

(7) The Chairperson and any member of the Board may

abstain from sitting or may be challenged for any of the causes

mentioned in article 734 of the Code of Organization and Civil

Procedure.

(8) Save as otherwise expressly provided by these

regulations, the Board may make its own rules and otherwise regulate

its own procedure.

(9) The Minister shall appoint a Secretary to the Board and

such other officers as may be necessary from time to time and shall

determine their duties.

(10) The Board shall have the power to request such technical

advise as it may deem necessary for the proper performance of its

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functions.

(11) Any notice issued by the Board shall be signed by the

Chairperson and counter-signed by the Secretary.

(12) The decisions of the Board shall be taken by a majority

vote, shall be in writing and shall be signed by the Chairperson and

by the Secretary.

(1)

Every application shall be presented to, and

examined by, the Citizenship Unit within Identity Malta.

(2) Identity Malta shall cause due diligence checks to be

performed by one or more internationally recognized specialized due

diligence agents which in any case are to be approved by Identity

Malta, in respect of every applicant. Such due diligence checks shall

be of a four-tier nature. Identity Malta shall in any case be

responsible for the proper carrying out of due diligence tests.

(3) Where a lawyer or notary public certifies a document to

be a true copy of the original, that document must be authenticated by

(a)

an apostille in accordance with the provisions of

the Hague Convention of 5th October 1961 Abolishing the

Requirement for Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents,

in the case of a jurisdiction that is a party to that Convention;

or

(b)

a validation of the certificate of the lawyer or

notary public by the appropriate government department in the

case of a jurisdiction that is not a party to that Convention; or

(c)

a validation of the certificate by a Maltese

consular or diplomatic representation in the case of a

jurisdiction that is not a party to that Convention.

(4) Within ninety days of the presentation of an application

for citizenship, the Citizenship Unit within Identity Malta shall verify

(a)

the application is formally correct;

(b)

all relevant information provided by the

applicant has been verified by one or more independent due

diligence agents;

(c)

the background of the applicant has been

verified by one or more independent due diligence agents;

(d)

an appropriate risk weighting has been carried

out.

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(5) Within thirty days from the date of the completion of the

verification referred to above, the Citizenship Unit within Identity

Malta shall further review the application submitted to it, shall carry

out appropriate further background checks, if it deems necessary, and

shall refer the particular application together with the supporting

documentation and the due diligence report to be reviewed by the

Board.

(6) Within one hundred and eighty days from the receipt of

the documents referred to above, the Board shall review the

application and all documentation and reports submitted in support

thereof and prepare a reasoned opinion to be referred to the Minister

responsible for Citizenship. In order to properly carry out the task

entrusted to it, the Board may interview the applicant in person and,

or the legal representative of the designated competent body

endorsing the applicant. In its written reasoned opinion, the Board

shall indicate whether it deems that a particular application merits

favourable consideration.

(7) Within sixty days from the date on which the Board

submits a particular application and all documentation and reports

submitted in support thereof together with its written reasoned

opinion for the attention of the Minister, the Minister shall determine

whether a certificate of naturalisation as a citizen of Malta shall be

granted to the particular applicant.

Without prejudice to the provisions of article 14 of the

Act, the Minister shall in all cases be deemed to have reserved the

right to deprive a person of his Maltese citizenship if an applicant who

has been granted citizenship has become a threat to national security,

is involved in conduct which is seriously prejudicial to the interests of

Malta or in the case of an individual whose naturalization was deemed

to be of exceptional interest to the Republic of Malta, the said

individual fails to use his skills for the benefit of the Republic of

Malta. In such cases the procedure for deprivation of citizenship

stipulated in article 14 of the Act and in any regulations made under

the Act in respect of such deprivation shall mutatis mutandis apply.

The Minister shall every year publish in the Gazette the

names of all persons who during the previous twelve calendar months

were granted Maltese citizenship by registration or naturalization

including those persons who were granted Maltese citizenship for

exceptional services.

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First Schedule

(Regulation 2)

MALTESE CITIZENSHIP ACT

DESIGNATED COMPETENT BODY

In the case of sports

The National Sports Associations that are registered with

SportMalta

In the case of culture and the arts

The Arts Council Malta or the Superintendence of Cultural

Heritage

In the case of science and research

A recognised tertiary educational institution or the National

Council for Further and Higher Education or the Malta

Council for Science and Technology.

Second Schedule

(Regulation 7)

MALTESE CITIZENSHIP ACT

FORM OF OATH TO BE TAKEN BY THE CHAIRPERSON OR A

MEMBER OF THE EVALUATION BOARD

I, ............................................................................. having

been appointed to be Chairperson/Member of the Evaluation Board

the

period

to

..............................................., do swear/solemnly affirm that I will

faithfully, fully, impartially and to the best of my ability discharge the

trust and perform the duties devolving upon me by virtue of the said

appointment.

So help me God.

Chairperson/Member

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Third Schedule

Added by

L.N. 213 of 2019.

(Regulation 4)

FEES

1. The following fees shall be payable on each application

Dritt

pagabbli

(a)

Application for naturalisation as a citizen

of Malta under these regulations

€1000

(b)

Naturalization certificate issued under these

regulations

€50

2. The fees stipulated in this Schedule shall apply in respect

of applications and grants of citizenship under these regulations

notwithstanding the provisions of any other regulations.