On Tuesday evening, the Bill to amend the Citizenship Act was approved on the third and final reading in Parliament. There were 37 votes in favour and 30, with Ministers George Vella and Evarist Bartolo absent for the vote as they are abroad.

The Bill, through which foreigners will be able to purchase Maltese citizenship, now only requires the signature of the President of the Republic to become law.

The Nationalist Party Leader Simon Busuttil said that this was a “black day for democracy and the Opposition would challenge the related legal notice in Parliament once it was published.”

He added that the Opposition was not excluding anything at this stage including the possibility of an abrogative referendum.

Dr Busuttil did not rule out the possibility that citizenship granted under this programme could be withdrawn.

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