Cyprus said last week it was suspending its citizenship-for- investment programme, ditching a scheme the government had acknowledged was open to abuse after an investigation by Al Jazeera, a media outlet.

The commission has refrained from launching legal actions against EU states that sell residence permits, also known as "golden visa schemes", without requiring investors to stay in the country for a meaningful period, despite a European Parliament resolution urging such a move.

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In Lisbon, Hadlock runs get-togethers to develop business ties between California and Portugal. The group calls itself Red Bridge, in a nod to the red suspension bridges spanning San Francisco Bay and the Tagus estuary.

This year Americans are jostling with the Chinese for top spot among overseas investors lured by Portugal's "golden visas" -- residents permits issued for foreigners prepared to buy property or transfer capital to the Iberian country.

Malta's Finance Minister Edward Scicluna said on Tuesday the country was replacing its current scheme with a new programme that would introduce tighter vetting of applicants, who will have to be residents of the islands for a year before their applications can be considered.

The Cypriot and Maltese governments have two months to take action. Without meaningful changes, the commission could refer them to the bloc's Court of Justice and ultimately it can ask the court to impose penalties. ($1 = 0.8467 euros) (Reporting by John Chalmers and Francesco Guarascio; additional reporting by Chris Scicluna in Valletta; Editing by Alex Richardson)

BRUSSELS, Oct 20 (Reuters) - The European Union's executive said on Tuesday it was launching legal action against Cyprus and Malta over their investor citizenship programmes, also known as "golden passport" schemes.

The European Commission said the decision was taken because the two member states granted nationality - and thereby EU citizenship - without requiring "a genuine link with the country", as passport holders were not obliged to reside there.

"They really want to come and live here and adopt a different lifestyle," she said, even though the introduction of the golden visa scheme in 2012 has contributed to an unwelcome surge in property prices.