18 RAMADAN v. MALTA JUDGMENT and his limited freedom of movement as a result of his not having a valid passport – a matter which also impinged on his ability to make a living, given his trading business. Nor could the applicant afford to pay the exorbitant fees to acquire Maltese citizenship in accordance with the Individual Investor Programme of the Republic of Malta Regulations, 2014. He further submitted that whilst the Government sold Maltese citizenship to third-country nationals who had little or no connection to Malta, he had been deprived of his citizenship even though he was connected only to Malta. 70. The applicant submitted that the measure (as well as the proceedings before the committee of inquiry) had not been in accordance with the law. As indicated in the relevant letter (see paragraph 24 above), the deprivation was based on Article 14(1) of the Citizenship Act; however, pursuant to Article 27, that Act did not apply to any application for citizenship lodged before 15 August 1999, and indeed the applicant had applied for citizenship in 1993. In his view, the Citizenship Act as it had stood in 2007 did not apply to his circumstances, nor was there any saving clause stating that situations such as his would continue to be regulated by the Citizenship Act as in force prior to the amendments enacted in 2000. 71. The applicant submitted that public order was not listed under Article 8 of the Convention, nor had any other legitimate aim been relied on. Although he had been found guilty of injuring his wife, the suspended sentence had played no part in the Minister’s decision. 72. Furthermore, the applicant submitted that the authorities’ action had been so belated (initiating an investigation five years after the annulment, and taking three years to investigate and take a decision on his situation) that the measure could not be deemed justified or necessary. Such a delay showed that the applicant had not posed a threat – no reasons had been given as to why it had suddenly become necessary to change the state of affairs. Moreover, in the intervening period his ties with Malta had been further strengthened. 73. The applicant submitted that the Government had failed to protect him from statelessness. This rendered the measure draconian and was disproportionate to the aim pursued. 74. In the applicant’s view, when weighing the interests of the individual against those of the State, the Court had to consider that when he had founded his second family, the prospects of joint residence were not only extremely high but even certain. The applicant had not maintained any appreciable ties with relatives in Egypt and he had now lived in Malta for over twenty years, he spoke the Maltese language and was perfectly integrated in Maltese culture and society. The economic consequences of his removal to any other country would be extremely detrimental to him. He also argued that should his children also be deprived of their current Maltese