Wang, Nasr and Liu among the most common ‘new Maltese’ in 2024

Malta granted citizenship to 3,062 non-Maltese-born individuals in 2024, according to the latest Government Gazette published on Boxing Day, as the country continued to rely on naturalisation and investment schemes to offset a slowing native population growth.

An analysis by The Shift shows that the surnames most frequently added to the voter register in 2024 are Wang, Nasr and Liu, reflecting the predominance of Asian and Middle Eastern applicants among new citizens. The figures highlight the continuing impact of Malta’s controversial “cash-for-passports” programme, first introduced by the Labour government in 2014.

More than 3,000 individuals received citizenship in 2024, the final year in which the scheme operated.

The sale of Maltese passports was outlawed by the European Union last year, prompting a government review of its citizenship procedures.

Families from China, Russia, the Middle East and North Africa acquired multiple passports before the programme’s closure.

Data indicates that 22 passports were issued to applicants with the surname Wang, while Nasr and Liu families received 16 and 15, respectively. Sources suggest these figures largely represent extended family networks.

In 2025, following a protracted legal battle, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that Malta’s citizenship-by-investment programme breached EU treaties and constituted an abusive practice.

Introduced by disgraced former prime minister Joseph Muscat, the scheme allowed non-EU applicants to acquire citizenship with minimal residency requirements.

Applicants were required to make a government contribution of €700,000 and either purchase property valued at at least €350,000 or lease property with annual payments of at least €16,000.

Maltese lawyers and accountants who facilitated the transactions made the most out of the scheme, earning hundreds of thousands in commissions.

The programme was explicitly aimed at high-net-worth individuals seeking access to the EU and freedom of movement under the Schengen rules. Despite repeated warnings from Brussels, the Maltese government continued to operate the scheme until the ECJ ruling.

Similar schemes introduced in Portugal and Cyprus were also discontinued following EU warnings.

Investigations and media reports have repeatedly highlighted allegations of financial impropriety linked to the scheme.

A 2019 report by the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) cited claims of payments to Keith Schembri, former Chief of Staff under Muscat.

Prime Minister Robert Abela was also implicated in facilitating property arrangements for foreign applicants, including Russian nationals who never physically resided in Malta but leased his uninhabited ODZ villa, which he acquired together with his wife in Zejtun.