Nie łatwo zostać Maltańczykiem - rezydencja
Temat bardzo mnie intersuje bo sam myślę by aplikować. Jestem tu już 11 lat, pracuję w bardzo rozwojowej i ważnej branży ale nie jest lekko z tego co czytam ...
Polish couple has been left frustrated after their quest to obtain Maltese citizenship hit a brick wall without any explanation provided by the authorities.
Lucy Kajda told Lovin Malta that she and her husband Piotr moved to Malta some eight years ago after graduating from university and made the island their home.
“We got married here, bought an apartment and garage and made loads of Maltese friends,” she said. “We feel so connected to the country that nowadays when we speak about home, we refer to Malta and not Poland.”
After speaking to friends of theirs who had moved to the UK and managed to obtain British citizenship, the Kajdas decided to try and get naturalised as Maltese citizens through a scheme offered by the government agency Komunità Malta.
“We think it’s natural to want to be part of a society and we feel we’ll be a good addition to Maltese addition,” she explained.
Prerequisites for Maltese naturalisation specified in the Komunità Malta scheme
The Komunità Malta scheme allows foreigners to become Maltese if they had resided on the island throughout the 12 months immediately preceding the application date and had lived in Malta for at least four years during the six years preceding the above year.
Applicants must also have adequate knowledge of the Maltese or English language, must be a “person of good character”, classify as a “suitable citizen of Malta” and pay €550 as an application fee.
The Kajdas applied for Maltese citizenship in July 2021, submitting several documents, including their employment history, proof of all taxes paid in Malta, proof of property ownership, a marriage certificate complete with an English translation, bank statements, clean police conducts from Malta and Poland, and two statements from Maltese citizens testifying to their good character.
They weren’t given a language test because it was clear that their English was up to par.
However, on November 2021, Komunità Malta mailed the Kajdas to inform that while their applications had been “given careful consideration”, their request for naturalisation had regretfully been rejected.
No further explanation was provided, stumping the Kajdas, who believed they had rigidly kept to the letter of the law.
From Komunità Malta itself to the Ombudsman, the Office of the Prime Minister and even the Office of the European Parliament President, the Kajdas tried several different avenues to find out exactly why their application was rejected over the following months but no one could give them a clear answer.
“I work in the payments industry and used to work in banking so I’m aware there’s a due diligence process, but I just want to understand why we were rejected in case we would like to reapply. My first full-time job was in Malta, we always paid our taxes and did what was necessary, so what was wrong with our application?”
“I am extremely sad and frustrated that the basic right to information isn’t respected here and that I got rejected just like this, without any clear reason.”
Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation? Feel free to reach out at timdiacono@lovinmalta.com
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