• Southern towns back scheme, while Gozitans are sceptical
• Middle-aged are passport scheme’s biggest backers
• Support declines with higher levels of education

Malta is split on whether the controversial cash-for-passports scheme should be scrapped, a survey commission by Times of Malta has found.  

The survey found that while 38% of respondents support selling passports to wealthy foreign investors, 37% do not. 

A quarter of respondents meanwhile, did not give a final position on the matter, either saying they are unsure (12%), don’t know enough about the subject (10%), or don’t want to say (3%).  

These non-responses, one in every four people when grouped together, could skew the final result, should the matter be put to a national vote.  

Some 600 people were asked for their views on the controversial passport scheme as part of a wider survey commissioned by Times of Malta. 

Malta’s golden passports scheme, launched in 2014, has generated some €1.5 billion over six years.

The funds have gone towards financing an overall upgrade of Malta’s public infrastructure – and, more recently, to help cushion the country from the economic blow of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the EU has repeatedly raised concerns over the scheme, saying there is a risk of infiltration of non-EU organised crime groups, as well as money laundering, corruption and tax evasion possibilities.

In April, an investigation carried out by Times of Malta as part of the international investigative journalism project, the Passport Papers, exposed how much of the scheme’s mandatory residency requirements were a sham and how, in some cases, the rules were completely flouted by applicants. 

The so-called Individual Investor Programme, has since been replaced by a new scheme with stricter residency requirements and higher prices.  

However, despite revising the conditions of the program, Brussels last month took the first step in the road to legal proceedings against Malta over the matter.  

Opposition to scheme rises with education

The survey found that support for the scheme was greatest among those who either stopped their schooling at secondary level or else attended a trade school. 

Some 44% of these respondents backed the scheme, while 31% did not.  

Likewise, 35% of those who stopped going to school at primary level backed the scheme, and 30% do not.  

However, those who attended post-secondary schooling or university are more likely to oppose the sale of passports.  

Some 46% of those who went to post-secondary school would stop the program, while 31% would not.  

And as for those who went to university, 45% think the scheme should be scrapped, and 35% do not.  

On the other end of the educational scale, those who say they never went to school were split between either wanting the scheme removed (40%), or being unsure, also 40%.  

North vs South: An island split in half

A closer look at the respondents’ demographics shows a clear geographic split in support for the scheme.  

The survey found that respondents from the south of the country back the scheme, while residents in the north are more likely not to. 

The south harbour region is where the scheme has the most support. The survey found 46% of respondents from this region think the scheme should be retained, while 33% do not.  

In the south and south-eastern district 36% say the passport scheme should be kept, while 30% say it should be removed.  

Moving to the north harbour region, 42% believe it is time to stop selling passports.  This is 7 percentage points more than those who want to keep the scheme, 36%.  

In the northern region 43% say it should be scrapped and just 32% say it should stay. 

Gozo is where opposition to the scheme is most pronounced. 

The survey found that 42% of Gozitans are against selling passports, while 29% think Malta should keep the controversial program. Finally, in the western stretch of Malta, respondents are evenly split.  While 37% back the scheme, 40% do not. 

Older Maltese more likely to support passport sales 

Middle-aged Maltese are the most likely to support the passport scheme. 

The survey found that the greatest support for the scheme came from those aged between 45 and 54 years old. 

Here, 47% are in favour of the scheme, while 36% are not.

In fact, people of this age from the south overwhelmingly support the scheme, with 67% in favour and just 13% against.  

The gap is less pronounced in the next age category. Some 45% of those aged 55 to 64 years old are in favour of the scheme, while 37% are in favour.  

As for those aged 65 and older, 39% are in favour and 33% are against the scheme.  

On the other end of the age scale, the youngest respondents, aged 16 and 17, were split evenly between those who think Malta should keep selling passports and those who don’t know anything about the scheme.

Those aged 18 to 24 are most likely to be against the passports program. 

Some 45% think the scheme ought to be scrapped, while just 23% want it to be kept in place. 

It is respondents in their mid-20s to mid-30s that are most divided over the issue, with 34% either in favour or against. 

Respondents aged 34 to 44 have a clearer position, with 47% thinking the program ought to go, compared to 31% who think the scheme needs to stay.  

The fieldwork ran between July 17 and July 21 and it has a margin of error of 4%. The survey questioned 600 respondents based on a representative sample of the population.