Cape Town - South Africans with a second citizenship of Malta may be batting on a losing wicket as the EU has taken the Mediterranean island offshore tax haven to court over its so-called golden passport programme.
Malta has recently been advertised to high-net-worth individual South Africans as an “investment migration destination” that provides a gateway to some of the world’s best schools and universities.
Henley & Partners Private Clients Group head Dominic Volek said that the European golden visa programmes were extremely attractive for investors looking to secure premium education and employment opportunities for their children across the EU.
“Malta is also an attractive option as its regulations provide for a residence path.”
Last Thursday, the European Commission announced that it would refer Malta to the EU Court of Justice for its continued refusal to end its golden passport investor citizenship scheme.
Transparency International said the commission maintained that the programme was at odds with EU treaties, which require citizenship to be based on a “genuine link” to the country, such as a physical residency requirement.
The Maltese government said citizenship was a matter of strictly national competence, while continuing to grant citizenship to applicants not residing there.
EU pressure has led to the suspension or abolition of golden passport schemes in other EU countries, with Cyprus and Bulgaria being the latest.
A recent survey by InfoQuest/TrendER, a South African online research company, showed about 5% of working South Africans claim that they are ready to leave the country.
Meanwhile, SA Institution of Civil Engineering president Marianne Vanderschuren said an estimated 20 civil engineers were emigrating each month.
mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za