Much fewer Russians were granted Maltese citizenship in 2018 than in previous years, and Saudi Arabians completely disappeared from the scene.
According to data released by Eurostat, the overall numbers of Maltese citizenships granted that year also dropped dramatically to 1,044.
This was half the number recorded in 2017 at 1,973, and a third less than in 2016 at 1,495.
Around 1 in 20 people gaining a Maltese passport in 2018 were Russian (55), a dramatic drop from the previous year in which the figure stood at 1 in 4 (464), and 2016 when the figure stood at 1 in 3 (493).
Similarly, there were no Saudi Arabians to gain citizenship in 2018, a steep fall considering 342 received a passport the previous year, and 78 the year before that.
In 2018 the most common nationalities to receive Maltese citizenship became British nationals (295) and Italians (74).
An agent of the Individuals Investors Programme, said a drop in the number applicants of the programme could account both for a decrease in citizenships granted and the drop in Russians and Saudis gaining Maltese citizenship in 2018.
When the IIP was first launched, there was more a push to promote it overseas, and like with anything new there was more hype surrounding it, he said.
As it became more mired in controversy, it became less popular, he explained.
"The fact that the European Commission became critical of it began to put potential applicants off."
In addition to that, he pointed out that in 2018 the due diligence checks surrounding the scheme became more and more robust causing prospective applicants to consider other such programmes such as the Cypriot and Caribbean ones instead of the Maltese one.
“It was never the case that they let everyone in. It had been a very diligent programme from the start but over the years it became more and more refined and more and more complex,” he said.
Regarding the rise in UK nationals applying for Maltese passports in 2018, he said the British were preparing for a Brexit scenario, adding that very few would have applied for citizenship through the IIP but would have sought naturalisation through other routes.
In Europe
Overall, in 2018, around 672,300 persons acquired citizenship of one of the EU-27 Member States of the European Union (EU), down from 700,600 in 2017 and 843,900 in 2016.
Germany and Italy were the top citizenship-granting countries that year both accounting for 17% of new citizenships granted.
Malta was the country to grant the second-highest number of citizenships to people aged over 55 in the EU at 23%, following closely after Bulgaria at 24%.