120万欧元成为欧洲公民

Malta Offers Citizenship and All Its Perks for a Price

120万欧元成为欧洲公民

VALLETTA, Malta — As wealthy foreigners rush to get citizenship in Malta under a new program, the residency requirement is taking many forms.

马耳他瓦莱塔——富有的外国人争相通过一个新计划获得马耳他公民身份，采取不同方式满足居住要求。

Russians rent high-end villas, then stay in five-star hotels when they visit.

俄罗斯人租下高档别墅，不过他们来访时依然是下榻五星级酒店。

An American financier plans to live in Switzerland but occasionally vacation in Malta.

一位美国金融家打算在瑞士生活，不过偶尔来马耳他度假。

One Vietnamese businessman, eager to start the clock ticking on the 12-month timetable for residency, sent the necessary paperwork on his private jet to expedite renting a property he had never seen.

一名越南商人为了尽快满足12个月的居住要求，用私人飞机送来必要的文件，以方便租下一块他从没见过的地产。

“They come twice, once to get a residency card and once to get a passport,” said Mark George Hyzler, an immigration lawyer at a firm here.

“他们只用来两次，一次是获得居住卡，另一次是获得护照，”瓦莱塔一家公司的移民律师马克·乔治·希兹勒(Mark George Hyzler)说。

Malta’s citizenship program, which offers a passport to those willing to pay 1.2 million euros, about $1.3 million, has been controversial since it was introduced more than a year ago. But the residency requirements, meant to make the program more palatable, are only increasing the consternation among critics, who say the program has resulted in the sale of citizenship to the global 0.1 percent.

一年多前，马耳他推出公民身份计划，为愿意支付120万欧元(约合130万美元)的人提供护照。该计划一推出就引发争议。不过，旨在让该计划更易于为人所接受的居住要求反而增加了批评者的恐慌，他们认为该计划实际上是向全球0.1%的富豪出售公民权。

Applicants must show they have rented a property in Malta for 12 months. But they do not necessarily have to spend any time in this Mediterranean island nation, raising the question of what genuine links they are establishing.

申请者必须证明他们已在马耳他租赁地产达12个月，不过他们不必在这个地中海岛国居住，因此让人质疑他们是否能与该国建立真正的联系。

“It is questionable how the residency requirement is being applied,” said Tonio Fenech, a member of Malta’s Parliament

“居住要求如何实施令人怀疑，”马耳他议员托尼奥·费内克(Tonio Fenech)说。

Lawyers, accountants and real estate agents say the citizenship program has catapulted Malta onto the radar of the global elite. Applications are pouring in, and the program aims to raise €2 billion, more than a quarter of Malta’s gross domestic product.

律师、会计和房地产代理人们说，公民身份计划让马耳他一下子引起了全球精英的注意，出现了申请热潮。该计划旨在筹集20亿欧元，这个数字超过马耳他国内生产总值的四分之一。

“We want to attract individuals who can add value to our country because of their ideas, and their networks and their businesses and their talent,” said Jonathan Cardona, chief executive of Identity Malta, which administers the Individual Investor Program.

“我们想吸引那些有创意、人脉、生意或才能的人，希望他们能给我们的国家带来价值，”身份马耳他(Identity Malta)的主管乔纳森·卡多纳(Jonathan Cardona)说。该部门负责监管这个个人投资者项目(Individual Investor Program)。

Housed in a sprawling, fortresslike 16th-century building once used as a hospital, the Malta citizenship program nods to the country’s multicultural past, punctuated over the years by invasion. The Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Byzantines, Fatimids, Normans, Sicilians, Spanish, French, a European lay religious order and the British all tried to conquer or rule Malta, and many succeeded. Maltese, the official language with English, looks and sounds Arabic, but its speakers are primarily Roman Catholics who pray to Allah, or God.

马耳他公民身份计划的办公地点位于一个庞大的、堡垒般的16世纪建筑里，这里曾用作医院。该计划是向该国多文化的过往致意，它曾不断遭到侵略。腓尼基人、迦太基人、罗马人、拜占庭人、法蒂玛王朝、诺曼人、西西里人、西班牙人、法国人、一个欧洲世俗宗教修道会和英国人都曾想征服或统治马耳他，其中很多成功了。马耳他的官方语言是马耳他语和英语，前者的写法和发音都像阿拉伯语，不过讲这种语言的人主要是向安拉或上帝祈祷的罗马天主教徒。

The citizenship program also reflects Malta’s present. Malta, which covers 122 square miles and is about 50 miles south of Sicily, has few natural resources and a population of just 424,000, about half that of South Dakota. Malta counts on the reliable sun and shimmering blue sea to attract tourists. Beyond that, it has had to be creative to keep the country’s coffers filled.

公民身份计划也反映出马耳他的现状。马耳他在西西里岛以南约50英里，国土面积122平方英里，几乎没有自然资源，人口只有42.4万，大约是南达科他州人口的一半。马耳他依靠长时间的日照和波光粼粼的蓝色大海吸引游客。除此以外，它得另想办法充实国库。

The tax system, in particular, has been a boon. Some foreign companies can be structured to pay 5 percent in corporate taxes. Malta also has double taxation treaties with 65 countries, allowing individuals and businesses to avoid being taxed in two places.

马耳他的税收政策尤为诱人。有些外国公司只需支付5%的公司税。马耳他还和65个国家签订了避免双重征税协定，以免个人和公司在两国重复缴税。

Significant tax advantages and a pro-business regulator have created a booming financial services industry. It now represents 12 to 15 percent of the country’s G.D.P., up from 6.3 percent in 2004. Online gambling companies have flocked to the island, as have hedge funds.

显著的税收优惠和利商政策促使该国的金融服务业蓬勃发展。如今，金融业占该国国内生产总值的12%至15%，比2004年的6.3%大为增长。在线赌博公司和对冲基金公司纷纷涌向该岛。

With a strong corporate base, Malta sailed through the economic crisis relatively unscathed. The economy grew 3.5 percent in 2014. Unemployment is 5.8 percent, the fourth-lowest in Europe.

凭借强大的公司基础，马耳他平稳度过经济危机，几乎未受影响。2014年，该国经济增长了3.5%。失业率为5.8%，为欧洲失业率第四低。

Malta was looking to expand that economic growth through the citizenship program. Under the initial plan in 2013, the newly installed Labor Party government proposed selling passports for €650,000, with few other requirements for citizenship.

马耳他期望通过公民身份计划促进经济增长。在2013年的最初计划中，新成立的工党政府提出以65万欧元出售护照，对获取公民身份几乎没有其他要求。

Almost immediately, it drew protests. The country, critics argued, was not an economic basket case like other European nations trying similar programs. They also worried that the program would damage its reputation as an attractive place to do business.

该计划几乎立即引发抗议。批评者称，与其他尝试类似计划的欧洲国家不同，马耳他在经济上并非一团糟。他们还担心，该计划会损害马耳他的名声，使其失去商业吸引力。

“We do not want to form part of a law which prostitutes Malta’s identity and its citizenship,” Mario de Marco, a vocal member of the opposition, said during the debate.

“我们不想通过出卖马耳他身份和公民权的法律，”反对派成员马里奥·德·马尔科(Mario de Marco)在辩论中直言不讳地说。

The opposition took the program to the European Parliament in an effort to block it. While the Parliament condemned the program, it could do little else, because citizenship is controlled by national governments.

为了阻止该计划，反对派把它提交给欧洲议会，后者谴责了该计划，但也无可奈何，因为公民权由国家政府控制。

To placate the Parliament and the opposition, the government raised the bar for citizenship. Strict due diligence standards were set to weed out money launderers and criminals. It also raised the cost and adopted a residency requirement. In addition to the €650,000 fee to the government, applicants must now invest €150,000 in government bonds, buy property for at least €350,000 or rent a place for at least €16,000 a year — all of which must be held for at least five years.

为了安抚议会和反对派，政府提高了获得公民身份的门槛，设定了严格的尽职调查标准，以剔除洗钱者和犯罪分子。它还提高费用，并设立居住要求。目前，除了向政府缴纳65万欧元的费用，申请者还必须投资15万欧元的政府公债，购买不低于35万欧元的地产或租赁年租金不低于1.6万欧元的地产——所有这些必须至少持有五年。

“This is not ‘tick the box,’” said Mr. Cardona, the chief of the program.

“这不只是打勾填表那么简单”，该计划的主管卡多纳说。

Mr. Hyzler, the lawyer, and others note that the newcomers are establishing real links to Malta. They are setting up bank accounts and buying health insurance, both of which are required. They are also joining country clubs and donating to local charities, which is encouraged.

希兹勒律师等人指出，这些新来者正在与马耳他建立真正的联系。他们开立银行账户，购买健康保险——这两项都是法律要求。他们还加入乡村俱乐部，给本地慈善机构捐款——这些是政府鼓励的行为。

“Clients genuinely want to do more than just make the investment,” said Mark Stannard, managing director of the Maltese office of Henley & Partners, a residence and citizenship planning firm. He said a Saudi national with a Lebanese passport who had applied for Maltese citizenship had recently returned with a delegation of 12 to consider setting up businesses in aviation, life sciences and real estate.

“客户们不只是投资，他们真的想做更多，”居住权和公民权规划公司亨利合伙公司(Henley & Partners)马耳他办事处的总经理马克·斯坦纳德(Mark Stannard)说。他表示，一名持有黎巴嫩护照的沙特公民申请了马耳他公民身份，前不久他带来一个12人代表团，考虑在马耳他设立航空、生命科学和房地产方面的公司。

My. Hyzler said some of his Chinese clients wanted to invest more than the €150,000 in government bonds and were weighing establishing businesses.

希兹勒说，他的一些中国客户想投资超过15万欧元的政府公债，并考虑设立公司。

But critics have taken aim at the rollout.

不过，批评家们根本不买账。

Henley & Partners was initially awarded the exclusive rights to market the program and process the applicants, collecting fees in two ways. A family of four with two minor children and two grandparents pays Henley about €135,000 to apply; the government pays Henley €26,000 to handle that application.

亨利合伙公司最初获得了推广该计划和处理申请的专有权，向双方收费。它向包括两个小孩和两个老人的一家四口收取约13.5万欧元的申请费，向政府收取2.6万欧元的申请处理费。

Henley also makes money from ancillary services. The company can rent and sell property through Henley Estates and manage that property for those who are not living in Malta. “If there is a broken toilet seat, we will get it fixed,” Mr. Stannard said.

亨利合伙公司还能从辅助服务中获利。该公司可以通过亨利地产公司(Henley Estates)租赁或出售地产，为那些不在马耳他居住的人管理物业。“甚至马桶座圈坏了，我们都会找人修好，”斯坦纳德说。

In January 2014, before the program officially started, Henley gave up the exclusive rights, sharing half of the business with other private companies. But critics still bristle at the outsourcing of such activities by the government.

2014年1月，该计划正式实施前，亨利合伙公司放弃了专有权，与其他私营公司共享其中一半业务。不过，批评家们仍为政府的外包行为感到愤怒。

“There’s no reason Malta should engage a private company to sell its citizenship,” said Daphne Caruana Galizia, a columnist at The Malta Independent newspaper and the author of a well-read blog on the island. “It’s absolutely insulting.”

“马耳他没理由雇佣私营公司出售公民权，”《马耳他独立报》(The Malta Independent)的专栏作家达芙妮·卡鲁阿纳·加利齐亚(Daphne Caruana Galizia)说。她的博客在该国拥有众多粉丝。“这绝对是一种侮辱。”

The tax advantages are also raising concerns. Maltese citizens typically pay income tax of up to 35 percent. But foreigners who become Maltese citizens under the new program may be able to enjoy tax benefits awarded to foreigners.

税收优惠也引起了人们的担忧。马耳他公民通常要缴纳高达35%的个人所得税。但是通过这项新计划成为马耳他公民的外国人也许能享受外国人的税收优惠。

The globally mobile have taken note.

全球性流动已经开始。

One American finance professional, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said he moved to St. Kitts and Nevis seven years ago for tax purposes, eventually deciding to give up his United States passport. He then moved his family to Switzerland for the schools, European culture and competitive tax benefits.

一位要求匿名的美国金融专业人士说，七年前为了税收优惠，他搬到了圣基茨和尼维斯，最终决定放弃美国护照。后来，他一家人搬到瑞士，以享受那里的教育、欧洲文化以及有利的税收优惠。

His family is now applying for Maltese passports, attracted by the speed of the program. He would have had to wait 12 years in Switzerland to gain citizenship.

现在，他一家人正在申请马耳他护照，主要是被该计划的申请速度所吸引。要获得瑞士公民身份，他得等12年。

“My kids will have the ability to live and work anywhere in the E.U.,” he said. “It’s an incredibly powerful passport.”

“我的孩子们将能在欧盟的任何地方生活和工作，”他说，“它是个非常有用的护照。”

He does not, however, plan to live in Malta. “We will spend some vacation time there.”

不过，他不打算在马耳他生活。“我们会去那里度假。”