120萬歐元成爲歐洲公民

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

馬耳他瓦萊塔——富有的外國人爭相通過一個新計劃獲得馬耳他公民身份，採取不同方式滿足居住要求。

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

俄羅斯人租下高檔別墅，不過他們來訪時依然是下榻五星級酒店。

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

一位美國金融家打算在瑞士生活，不過偶爾來馬耳他度假。

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.

一名越南商人爲了儘快滿足12個月的居住要求，用私人飛機送來必要的文件，以方便租下一塊他從沒見過的地產。

“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.

“他們只用來兩次，一次是獲得居住卡，另一次是獲得護照，”瓦萊塔一家公司的移民律師馬克·喬治·希茲勒(Mark George Hyzler)說。

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，馬耳他推出公民身份計劃，爲願意支付120萬歐元（約合130萬美元）的人提供護照。該計劃一推出就引發爭議。不過，旨在讓該計劃更易於爲人所接受的居住要求反而增加了批評者的恐慌，他們認爲該計劃實際上是向全球0.1%的富豪出售公民權。

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.

申請者必須證明他們已在馬耳他租賃地產達12個月，不過他們不必在這個地中海島國居住，因此讓人質疑他們是否能與該國建立真正的聯繫。

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

“居住要求如何實施令人懷疑，”馬耳他議員託尼奧·費內克(Tonio Fenech)說。