Labour MP Manuel Mallia has denied his Romanian wife acquired Maltese citizenship on the strength of her marriage to him as implied by the Opposition.
The former home affairs minister, who was responsible for citizenship affairs between 2013 and last year when he was removed, said his wife’s application was for citizenship by naturalisation since she satisfied other legal provisions.
He said his wife had been living in Malta for 10 years, had three children who were Maltese citizens and was married to a Maltese citizen. These criteria, he said, made her eligible for citizenship under Article 10 of the Citizenship Act and not on the strength of her marriage to him.
He also denied examining her request for citizenship while he was minister. Elena Codruta Mallia acquired Maltese citizenship in 2013. “Indeed the certificate of citizenship was not signed by me but independently without my intervention. There was, therefore, nothing improper in the acquisition of citizenship by my wife,” Dr Mallia said in a statement released by the Department of Information.
Dr Mallia said foreigners could submit an application for citizenship by naturalisation if they had been residing in Malta for five years prior to the date of application. “My wife satisfied this condition.”
He said applications for citizenship like his wife’s were mainly considered under policy guidelines. “In this respect during the previous legislature it was the established policy that requests, by persons who have been residing in Malta for a period of 10 years and who have children, who are citizens of Malta, even if such persons are not married, would be considered favourably – obviously if such persons are of good conduct and there are no issues that go against the public interest.” Dr Mallia said this policy was retained by the current government and several foreigners were granted citizenship on the basis of these criteria over the years.
The Opposition has cried foul over Ms Codruta Mallia’s citizenship after it latched onto a story that appeared in The Malta Independent on Sunday, which claimed she was granted citizenship after two years of marriage and not five years as stipulated at law. Opposition leader Simon Busuttil described this as an “abuse of power” and Nationalist Party deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami upped the criticism yesterday when he insisted Dr Mallia was guilty of a “serious abuse of power, nepotism and breaking of the country’s citizenship law”. Dr Fenech Adami asked the Prime Minister to shoulder responsibility.
Justice Shadow Minister Jason Azzopardi said current Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela was trying to cover up the abuse of his predecessor by saying Ms Mallia was granted citizenship because she was already a citizen of an EU member state.
“This excuse does not make sense as the fact that one is an EU citizen does not entitle anyone to automatic Maltese citizenship,” he said.
Dr Azzopardi said the government was starting to look like a family fiefdom, where ministers made backhanded deals to favour their wives. He referred to Konrad Mizzi’s wife, made an ambassador with a €13,000 monthly income, and the wife of Gozo Minister Anton Refalo, employed in the Gozo Ministry.