Meanwhile, my Asian friend who has lived and worked in Malta for 15 years and is now also married to a Maltese citizen has been waiting for his citizenship application to stop being ignored since he applied 10 years ago, after he had been in Malta for five years.

What a disgusting nation.

Of course it isn’t right for a citizenship minister to use his discretion under the law to make his own new wife a Maltese citizen.

It is legal, yes, but still wrong.

I had a friend who had lived in Malta since early childhood (she was at school with me), whose entire family lived in Malta, whose father was an investor here, and who went through the entire education system in Malta, including university. She applied for Maltese citizenship repeatedly and never got it. As a result she was forced to leave Malta on graduating because she wasn’t allowed to work here, and eventually got Maltese citizenship many years later, after she had been married for the legally-stipulated length of time to a Maltese citizen.

The crucial point here is that it is not automatic or by default. Each case is treated on its own merits and