Excerpt on Malta's citizenship "by investment" programme
Excerpt on Malta's citizenship "by investment" programme
The elephant in the room, of course, was that as a member state of the EU, Malta’s citizenship was a buy-one, get-26-for-free package: All EU nationals have the right to move freely within the bloc, as well as live, work and transact in all of its jurisdictions. And, after years of pressure.., the European Commission — the EU’s lawmaking body — dragged Malta to court, promising to put an end to the matter.
The lawsuit has not gone according to plan. The ECJ has yet to make a final decision on the case, but on Oct. 4, Malta scored a big point in convincing the court’s Advocate General — whose advice parties typically follow — to urge the Commission to drop its case. There was no EU directive that defined what it meant for a person to have meaningful ties to their passport’s nation, let alone one requiring them to prove it, wrote the advocate, Anthony Collins. States had sold access to their territory before.
This attitude stinks, but it's not new or just Malta. Wealth makes them the right people. Doesn't matter if their wealth comes from selling guns or drugs, doesn't matter if their network is of...
This is the next big thing in getting the right people,” he told me in 2013. “We want high-net-worth individuals, and highly networked individuals
This attitude stinks, but it's not new or just Malta. Wealth makes them the right people. Doesn't matter if their wealth comes from selling guns or drugs, doesn't matter if their network is of criminals. That's the right kind because they supposedly spend money, maybe gentrify neighborhoods with real estate investments, maybe even build private schools and further privatize everything. At the very least they're not here to collect benefits.
I remember my family dealing with this decades ago. To get a green card, they needed to see we had a certain amount of money in the bank. And when we chose Canada, we were also aware that investment applicants were granted far more frequently than the kind we qualified for.
And the reverse has also been true forever: anchor babies and mail ordered brides. People, both rich and poor, have always taken advantaged of large bureaucracies to improve their lives. Citizenship as a right isn't some paradise either: some of these people put a huge strain on the local population and local resources without putting in a single cent of taxes and have no sense of belonging to the new country.
Excerpt on Malta's citizenship "by investment" programme
This attitude stinks, but it's not new or just Malta. Wealth makes them the right people. Doesn't matter if their wealth comes from selling guns or drugs, doesn't matter if their network is of criminals. That's the right kind because they supposedly spend money, maybe gentrify neighborhoods with real estate investments, maybe even build private schools and further privatize everything. At the very least they're not here to collect benefits.
I remember my family dealing with this decades ago. To get a green card, they needed to see we had a certain amount of money in the bank. And when we chose Canada, we were also aware that investment applicants were granted far more frequently than the kind we qualified for.
And the reverse has also been true forever: anchor babies and mail ordered brides. People, both rich and poor, have always taken advantaged of large bureaucracies to improve their lives. Citizenship as a right isn't some paradise either: some of these people put a huge strain on the local population and local resources without putting in a single cent of taxes and have no sense of belonging to the new country.
Mirror: https://archive.is/I4Pqx