A proposal to ban golden passport and residency schemes similar to the one found in Malta will be overwhelmingly approved by the European Parliament, lead rapporteur Sophie Int’ Veld has revealed.

Speaking in a press conference ahead of a crucial vote, Int’ Veld said that the amendments to the wide-ranging legislative report have already been approved by political groups and expected a significant majority of MEPs would be voting in favour.

The report calls for golden passports, like Malta’s citizenship-by-investment scheme, to be phased out by 2025.

Golden residency and visa programmes will also be addressed through specific measures targetting anti-money laundering and regulating the intermediaries, who Int’ Veld said are vulnerable to corruption.

Third countries who have visa-free travel to the EU and are employing the schemes will also be addressed.

She also rubbished claims by Maltese authorities that the country’s IIP scheme is not a “golden passport”, stressing that people were still buying citizenship and that officials were engaging in spin.

“People are going there to buy passports. It is not legitimate investment,” she said.

Int’ Veld did have some harsh words for the Commission, urging the crucial EU institution to act on the report and present legislative proposals to the parliament so that it can be implemented throughout the bloc.

“The issue was first raised in 2017, with assassinated journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia among those who reported on corruption in connection to the scheme in Malta. Still, the Commission has done little to nothing. There has been no coherent approach,” she said.

“President Von der Leyen, when she was a candidate, promised the European Parliament that the Commission would treat reports as if they were a full right to legislative initiative. The final result of the vote should be a very strong incentive to act.”

The MEP said that the Commission is hoping that countries will phase the scheme out on their own accord, but she insisted that legislative action is the only way to curb the controversial practice.

Golden passports have fallen under the microscope once again following the Russian government’s invasion of Ukraine, given the high number of Russian nationals who have made use of the scheme. Malta has since suspended its programme to Russians and Belarussians.