Moving to Malta

REVISED TWICE RECENTLY - L.N. 310 of 2024 (applications from 1 January 2025) and L.N. 146 of 2025, which re-cut the fees again and applied retroactively to unconcluded applications filed after 1 January 2025. Current figures: administrative fee EUR 60,000 for the main applicant (EUR 15,000 within one month of submission, EUR 45,000 within two months of the Letter of Approval in Principle), plus EUR 7,500 per dependant - but ONLY for adult children aged 18 to under 29 and for parents or grandparents; spouse, minor children and disabled adult children pay nothing. Government contribution EUR 37,000, now IDENTICAL whether buying or renting - the old split (EUR 28,000 buy / EUR 58,000 rent) is gone. Property purchase minimum EUR 375,000 anywhere in Malta or Gozo - the South Malta and Gozo discount has been ABOLISHED. Minimum rent EUR 14,000 a year. Charitable donation EUR 2,000 to a registered NGO before the certificate issues. Assets: EUR 500,000 of which at least EUR 150,000 financial, OR EUR 650,000 of which at least EUR 75,000 financial, held for five years. Property must also be held five years, with annual compliance monitoring for the first five. Total government cost about EUR 99,000 excluding property. No income test and no minimum stay. CITIZENSHIP: MPRP does NOT lead to a passport, and Malta's citizenship-by-investment scheme is now legally dead - see MT-RETIRE notes and the entry below.

Minimum gross annual income of EUR 42,000 for applications submitted on or after 1 April 2024; earlier applicants are grandfathered at EUR 32,400. Three eligibility routes: an employment contract with an employer registered in a foreign country; conducting business for a foreign-registered company in which the applicant is a partner or shareholder; or offering freelance or consulting services to clients whose permanent establishments are abroad. Open to third-country nationals only - non-EU, non-EEA, non-Swiss. Valid one year, renewable three times, for a maximum total stay of four years. Fee EUR 300 per person, including each dependant; spouses, minor children, dependent adult children and adult children with disabilities may be included. Tax: a 10% flat rate on chargeable income from authorised work under S.L. 123.210 (L.N. 277 of 2023, in force 7 December 2023), with no liability on authorised-work income until 12 months after the later of permit issue or 1 January 2024 unless the holder declares residence is not casual; foreign tax paid at 10% or more discharges the Maltese liability. Processing 30 working days from receipt of funds. This permit does not lead to permanent residence or citizenship.

Tangible investment and/or paid-up share capital of at least EUR 25,000, plus EUR 10,000 for each co-founder beyond four, with a maximum of six co-founders. Core employees are unlimited in number but each needs a full-time Maltese contract paying at least EUR 30,000 gross a year. The startup must have been registered no more than seven years ago anywhere in the world, must not originate from a takeover or merger, must meet at least two of three innovation criteria, and needs a business plan approved by Malta Enterprise. Eligible sectors: manufacturing; software development; industrial services analogous to manufacturing; health, biotech, pharma and life sciences; eco startups (blue, green, sustainable); and other innovative knowledge- and technology-enabled activities. Duration: founders and co-founders three years plus a five-year extension; core employees three plus three. Fees: EUR 750 per adult applicant or dependant for three years, EUR 300 residence card, renewals EUR 500 for founders and EUR 300 for core employees, plus a Jobsplus employment licence of EUR 690 for three years. Applicants must be at least 18. Excluded nationalities: Afghanistan, North Korea, Iran, DR Congo, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Yemen and Venezuela. Family may be included but get no automatic work rights.

KEY EMPLOYEE INITIATIVE: gross annual salary of at least EUR 45,000, certified qualifications, warrants or proof of experience, and proof that one job advertisement ran for at least two weeks within the two months before application on an appropriate local media platform. Processing is five working days from submission with a complete checklist. The permit is issued for one year initially and is renewable for up to three years on a valid contract plus an Inland Revenue tax declaration. SINGLE PERMIT: the standard combined residence-and-work authorisation for employment lasting more than six months, tied to one named employer and one designation - any change of employer, designation or duration must be notified to Identita immediately and the card returned. Statutory maximum processing four months, with Identita stating the average is closer to two months; the fee is not published on the official pages. Malta also issues EU Blue Cards and intra-corporate transferee permits. Family via family reunification, not automatic.

MALTA RETIREMENT PROGRAMME: property purchase of at least EUR 275,000 in Malta or EUR 220,000 in Gozo or the south of Malta, or rent of at least EUR 9,600 a year in Malta or EUR 8,750 in Gozo or the south. Administrative fee EUR 2,500. Tax at 15% on foreign income remitted, with a minimum of EUR 7,500 a year plus EUR 500 per dependant and per special carer; other income is taxed at 35%. The pension must be received in Malta and constitute at least 75% of chargeable income. The beneficiary must not be domiciled in Malta nor intend to be within five years, must reside in Malta at least 90 days a year averaged over five years, must not stay in any other jurisdiction more than 183 days in a calendar year, and must not be in employment - non-executive directorships are permitted. GLOBAL RESIDENCE PROGRAMME: third-country nationals only (excludes Maltese, EEA and Swiss); same property thresholds; administrative fee EUR 6,000, reduced to EUR 5,500 where the qualifying property is owned and in the south of Malta; 15% on foreign income remitted with a minimum of EUR 15,000 a year; must communicate adequately in Maltese or English, hold sickness insurance and stable resources, and must not be a long-term resident. Both are TAX statuses rather than residence permits in themselves.

Student authorisation valid at least one year, or the duration of studies if shorter, with a fee of EUR 50. Requires sufficient resources for subsistence, study costs and return travel, plus sickness insurance. Work rights outside study time require an employment licence; the weekly cap set by the authorities may not be less than 15 hours. POST-STUDY: regulation 22 of S.L. 217.22 entitles a graduate to a residence permit to stay at least nine months to seek employment or set up a business, on proof of the qualification. After three months the holder must show a genuine chance of being engaged or of launching a business. Any minimum qualification level the authorities set may not exceed EQF level 7.

FAMILY REUNIFICATION (S.L. 217.06): the sponsor must hold a residence permit valid at least one year with reasonable prospects of permanent residence; the spouse must be at least 21. Resources must be at least the average wage in Malta plus 20% per family member, which Identita's Family Members Policy quantified as EUR 18,940 plus 20% per member as of June 2024. A waiting period of up to two years' prior lawful stay is permitted by regulation; Identita applies 12 calendar months from issue of the sponsor's initial permit. First permit at least one year, renewable but not beyond the sponsor's permit. Decision within 60 days. Family unity fee EUR 50. Family members have NO automatic right to work - they must obtain a single permit. SPOUSE OF A MALTESE CITIZEN: under article 6 of the Citizenship Act the spouse is ENTITLED to be registered as a Maltese citizen after five years married to and living with the citizen, subject only to a public-interest test; Malta permits dual citizenship. The corresponding residence route is not documented on a dedicated official page. ORDINARY NATURALISATION: residence throughout the 12 months immediately preceding the application, plus at least four years' aggregate residence in the six years before that period - five in seven, with the final year continuous - plus adequate Maltese OR English, good character and two sponsors; it is discretionary. Fees EUR 450 application and EUR 50 certificate. EU long-term residence needs five years plus a 100-hour integration course passed at 75% and Maltese at MQF Level 2 passed at 65%, fee EUR 500. CITIZENSHIP BY INVESTMENT IS CLOSED: after CJEU Case C-181/23 of 29 April 2025, Act XXI of 2025 deleted the enabling power in article 24(1)(i) of Cap. 188, and L.N. 159 of 2025 deleted Part IV, regulation 21 and the Second Schedule of S.L. 188.06, which carried the contribution and investment amounts. What remains is a discretionary merit route under article 10(9) with NO investment figure and no published fee, requiring at least eight months' residence in Malta, title to adequate residential property, endorsement by a competent body and a ministerial decision that is final and needs no reasons.