Daphne is 100% right about this, David.

I gained my Maltese citizenship three years ago.

http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/2007/08/26/amallia.html

[Daphne – David, this is an anonymous and quite hysterical opinion piece in Malta Today, published six years ago. Why are you showing it to me?]

It seems the 5 year requierment was not a requirement before the year 2000. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maltese_nationality_law

[Daphne – Indeed it wasn’t. Before 1987, not only did foreign men who married Maltese women not have a right to apply for citizenship AT ALL, but they were not even permitted to live and work in Malta. Any Maltese woman who married a non-Maltese man had to leave Malta with him. Maltese men were, however, allowed to keep their foreign wives in Malta. Haven’t you ever wondered why, growing up (if you are that generation, but something tells me you’re a lot younger) you had friends with foreign mothers but no friends with foreign fathers? That’s the reason why. But Labour decriminalised sodomy, so they were liberal and progressive.]

When the due diligence on a number of EU nationals who are resident in Malta, working in Malta and paying taxes in Malta, appears to be taking closer to a year, if their changing of their ‘A for resident Alien’ ID cards to whatever these new ID cards are called, is anything to go by.

Hmm, maybe that why they’ve outsourced this work. Mr Drug Lord is not going yo be too impressed if it takes a year to get his citizenship.

David may be getting confused with “freedom of movement” which is what marriage to a Maltese citizen got you back in the day, marked by a little rubber stamp in your non-Maltese passport, and a letter of confirmation.

That’s nothing to do with citizenship.

I remained British for over ten years after marrying my Maltese wife, and only became Maltese on application, once laws were amended to allow me to hold dual citizenship, rather than having to completely renounce my birthright for ever and ever, Amen, so to speak.

To be honest, by then there wasn’t much point in switching (forgive the pun) as we were heading into the EU, which I was already “in” anyway.

No one is gonna stop you if you’ve got €650,000.

Thankfully the system has meanwhile been changed and I don’t need all those certificates anymore from my parents as otherwise I would never get it.

Having said that, I’m sure they would invent an excuse not to grant it to me for some other sundry reason.

[Daphne – Total bollocks, David. Maltese citizenship was never automatic on marriage. You had to wait five years, then apply. Automatic citizenship would be undemocratic in any case. You can’t foist citizenship on those who might not want it. They have to apply for it.]