麻豆社

Citizenship has become one of the latest and most controversial global commodities, but should it really be for sale?

The 麻豆社's Simon Tulett visits Malta to find out why it has joined the small but growing number of countries offering passports for cash.

Do wealthy foreign buyers see the tiny Mediterranean island as a back door to the European Union, or will they live, work and invest there? We hear from one woman whose family bought Maltese citizenship and another, originally born in Germany, who got hers the traditional way.

Is it ethical to sell citizenship, and who really benefits from it?

Contributors: Amar Al-Sadi, whose family bought Maltese citizenship; German-born Maltese citizen Helga Ellul; Jonathan Cardona, CEO of Identity Malta; Christian Kalin, CEO and chairman of citizenship specialists Henley & Partners; Victoria Cortis-Bezzina, from maltaprivatehire.com; Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia; and Dr Javier Hidalgo, political theorist from the University of Richmond.

(Picture: A view across the Grand Harbour in Valetta, Malta; Credit: Sascha Steinbach/Getty Images)