- The CJEU ruled in April 2025 that Malta's investor-citizenship programme breached EU law.
- Malta has suspended MEIN — its Citizenship by Naturalisation for Exceptional Services route.
- The replacement framework is merit-based; financial contributions, real estate and donations no longer qualify.
- Cyprus, Bulgaria and Malta are all now closed for direct investor citizenship.
- The realistic 2026 paths to an EU passport run through Portugal, Greece, Italy or Ireland — all long-route residency-to-citizenship.
What the CJEU actually said
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled in April 2025 that selling EU citizenship through investment violated the principle of a "genuine link" between a state and its citizens.
The ruling specifically targeted Malta's EU residency programme, but it set a clear direction across the bloc. The decision didn't only suspend Malta's programme — it removed any expectation that other EU member states could open similar investor-citizenship routes.
How Malta replaced its programme
Malta has now suspended MEIN — the Maltese Citizenship by Naturalisation for Exceptional Services by Direct Investment — for new investor-style applications. A merit-based naturalisation pathway has been introduced in its place, recognising people who have provided or could provide outstanding contributions in science, innovation, the arts, culture, entrepreneurship and other fields aligned with Malta's Vision 2050 strategy.
What's gone: financial contributions, real estate investment, and donations as qualifying routes to a Maltese passport. Ministers retain the discretionary power to grant citizenship, but the routes available now look fundamentally different.
Where the real action moves
For anyone who held Malta as their target route to an EU passport, the recalibration matters. Cyprus closed its CBI in 2020.
Bulgaria's investor citizenship route was scrapped. And now Malta. The realistic 2026 paths to EU citizenship for investors are all long-route residency-to-citizenship plays.
Portugal sits at ten years for most foreign nationals after its 2026 nationality reform — seven years for EU and Lusophone-country nationals. Italy is faster where ancestry qualifies, running at four years for descent claims.
Greece sits at around seven years from initial residence, and Ireland is in a similar range. None of these are a shortcut, but all are routes that EU law has explicitly endorsed.
What this means for your planning
If you came to investor citizenship expecting a five-year window to a passport, that window is now closed everywhere inside the EU. For Indian families and US H1B visa holders we speak with, this often shifts the conversation from "which programme is fastest" to "which residency stack gives the right balance of optionality, tax position, and family logistics".
It also matters who you bring along. Residency-to-citizenship clocks usually tick for each family member individually, with physical-presence requirements that scale with family size. The country you pick determines whether spouses and children get treated identically to you or run on different timelines.
That's a planning question worth answering before you choose a programme.
A residence permit acquired in 2026 means you're starting your citizenship clock now — and the earlier that starts, the sooner the optionality opens up.
If you'd like to think through how the post-Malta landscape changes your second-citizenship plan — including the family-clock implications — book a consultation.
