change in dual citizenship policy in 2000 led to a sharp increase in registrations. 1,062 people registered for Maltese citizenship in 2001. Though this dropped somewhat lower in the 2000s, the extension of citizenship eligibility to more generations of Maltese born abroad contributed to a further increase in registrations. In the early 2010s, just under 1,000 people per year acquired citizenship by registration. Relinquishment and deprivation Maltese citizenship can be relinquished by making a declaration of renunciation, provided that the declarant already possesses another citizenship. Renunciations cannot be made during wartime and are subject to final approval by the Minister of Home Affairs. Citizenship may be involuntarily removed from naturalised or registered persons who: fraudulently acquired the status, committed an act of disloyalty against the state, aided an enemy nation with which Malta is at war, have been sentenced to incarceration for longer than 12 months within seven years of acquiring citizenship, or permanently reside overseas (other than those employed in the civil service or supranational organisation that Malta is a member state of) for a continuous period of seven years without registering their intention to retain Maltese citizenship. References Citations Sources External links Community Malta Agency, government agency responsible for citizenship Nationality law Law of Malta Foreign relations of Malta Malta and the Commonwealth of Nations Malta and the European Union