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。