Malta is currently the only EU country that directly ‘sells’ its citizenship to people from other parts of the world. At the moment, you can apply for Maltese citizenship by investment through the program called ‘Maltese Exceptional Investor Naturalization’ (MEIN). The program requires that foreign investors make significant contributions to the Maltese economy.
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Advantages of Maltese citizenship
The Maltese Exceptional Investor Naturalization program is aimed at wealthy foreigners able to invest considerable sums of money into Maltese passports. Citizenship of Malta brings the following main advantages:
- Visa-free access to more than 180 countries including the USA.
- The right to work and study in the EU.
- The right to preserve your current citizenship: dual citizenship is allowed in Malta.
- Access to social guarantees and high-quality healthcare services.
Foreign nationals acquiring Maltese passports do not have to become tax residents of Malta. They can if they spend more than 183 days per year on the island.
Not more than 400 people per year and not more than 1,500 people in total can acquire Maltese citizenship in the frameworks of the MEIN program.
For more information on Maltese citizenship, please visit our website.
Advantages of Maltese Exceptional Investor Naturalization Program
What makes the MEIN program especially attractive is the fact that the main applicant’s relatives are also eligible for Maltese passports. Besides, citizenship of Malta can be inherited. The following family members can be added to the application for Maltese citizenship:
- Main applicant’s spouse. Please note that the marriage has to be an official one.
- Children of up to 26.
- Children of any age if they have disabilities.
- Parents of both spouses above 55 years of age.
An economic citizen in Malta has the same rights and obligations that a native-born Maltese citizen has. He or she can even run for a public office if he/ she lives in Malta permanently.
Maltese citizenship in 2023
If the application for Maltese citizenship is approved, the foreign national has the following two investment options that he/ she can choose from:
| Option 1 | Option 2 | |
| Term of citizenship acquisition | 12 months | 36 months |
| Donation to the national fund, euro | 750,000 | 600,000 |
| Cost of real property in Malta, euro | 700,000 | 700,000 |
| Property possession period | 5 years | 5 years |
| Donation to charity | 10,000 | 10,000 |
| Total amount of investment, euro | 1,460,000 | 1,310,000 |
| Irrecoverable part, euro | 760,000 | 610,000 |
You can reduce the overall amount of investment if you choose to rent residential accommodations instead of buying them. You have two options again:
| Option 1 | Option 2 | |
| Term of citizenship acquisition | 12 months | 36 months |
| Donation to the national fund, euro | 750,000 | 600,000 |
| Long-term lease agreement, minimum contract price, euro | 80,000 | 8, 000 |
| Lease term | 5 years | 5 years |
| Donation to charity | 10,000 | 10,000 |
| Total amount of investment, euro | 840,000 | 690,000 |
| Irrecoverable part, euro | 760,000 | 610,000 |
Please note that you don’t have to invest 150,000 euros in stocks and bonds anymore. Instead, you have to make a donation to the national fund and buy/ rent real property in Malta to acquire Maltese citizenship by investment.
Purchasing/ renting property in Malta
You have to purchase or rent a piece of real property in Malta when applying for citizenship of the country: this is mandatory. You can choose one of the following options:
- 700,000 EUR – purchase property in Malta. собственность.
- 80,000 EUR – rent property in Malta. Annual rent shall be 16,000 EUR or more. The term of the rent agreement shall be 5 years or more.
The minimum required investment amount will be enough to buy a two- or three-bedroom apartment in a nice district of Malta.
Please note that you cannot let your property on a lease if you choose to buy it rather than rent it. The value of property grows steadily in Malta. The average annual growth rate exceeds 3%. You can certainly sell your Maltese property at a higher price after holding it in your possession for 5 years.
Total cost of Maltese citizenship
If you apply for citizenship of Malta alone, the total cost is going to be as follows:
- to acquire a maltese passport in 12 months :
- 1,460,000 euros if you purchese property in Malts.
- 840,000 euros if you make a 5-years rent in agreement.
- To acquire a Maltese passport in 36 months:
- 1,310,000 euros if you purchese property in Malta.
- 610,000 euros uf yoy make a long-term rent agreement.
These amounts do not include the state duties and the due diligence fees.
If you are applying for Maltese citizenship with your family, additional contributions to the national fund are due:
- 750,000 euros or 600,000 euros for the main applicant.
- 50,000 euros for the spouse.
- 50,000 euros for each additional dependent family member.
In accordance with the new rules, all family members applying for Maltese citizenship shall file personal applications. All of them will remain candidates for citizenship for 12 or 36 months depending on the chosen financial option. When the time comes to acquire Maltese documents, additional payments will be due:
- Residence card issuance 27.50 per card.
- Application for a residence permit from the main investor – 5,000 euros.
- Application for residence permits from dependent family members – 1,000 euros each.
Other fees are also due and their sums are considerable:
| Status of the person applying for Maltese citizenship | Due diligence fee, thousand euros | Passport fee, thousand euros | State duty, thousand euros | Residence card fee, thousand euros |
| Main applicant | 15 | 0.5 | 18 | 5 |
| Main applicant’s spouse | 10 | 0.5 | 6.5 | 1 |
| Child between 18 and 26, each | 10 | 0.5 | 6.5 | 1 |
| Parents, each | 10 | 0.5 | 6.5 | 1 |
| Child below 13, each | 0 | 0.5 | 4.5 | 1 |
Other requirements to applicants for Maltese citizenship
We would like to stress that it is not enough to be rich to become a citizen of Malta. Every applicant has to go through strict due diligence procedures and meet the following requirements, among others:
- Main applicant shall be above 18.
- All applicants shall have no criminal past.
- Legality of the sources of the investment capital shall be conclusively proved.
- The applicant shall have a spotless reputation.
- The applicant shall be in good health and supply medical certificates that confirm this fact.
The stages of becoming a Maltese citizen
Before you apply for Maltese citizenship, you have to conclude that you meet all the requirements and you have enough money. If you do, you will have to deal with Komunità Malta. This is the name of the agency granting Maltese citizenship to foreign investors. Komunità Malta also gives preliminary approvals to applications for citizenship of Malta.
The process of becoming a Maltese citizen can be divided into several stages:
- Stage 1 – preparing the application documents.
- Stage 2 – filing the document package to Komunità Malta.
- Stage 3 – passing through the preliminary checks.
- Stage 4 – acquiring a temporary residence card.
- Stage 5 – passing through the due diligence checks.
- Stage 6 – obtaining application approval.
- Stage 7 – Naturalizing in Malta and acquiring the passport.
Admittedly, acquiring a Maltese passport is a complicated task. Besides, citizenship of Malta costs considerably more than citizenship of a Caribbean country does, for example. However, obtaining Maltese citizenship by investment is the only opportunity to ‘buy’ EU citizenship that is available at the moment.
