Choosing the right path to Maltese Citizenship
Maltese Citizenship by Direct Investment
Malta’s warm and welcoming Mediterranean climate and pleasant lifestyle, are not the only attractive factors of our archipelago contributing to relocations. Malta also boasts a prosperous economy, with an English-speaking population, high educational standards, and a stable political environment.
There are also many important and practical benefits that should be kept in mind when considering applying for Maltese citizenship. Naturally, this includes Maltese citizens’ right to enter, reside and work in Malta; and pursuant to Malta’s membership to the EU, and consequent freedom of movement within the EU and access to the Schengen Area.
Should you obtain Maltese citizenship, mobility for yourself and your family is also guaranteed on a global level, with visa-free or visa-on-arrival travel to more than 170 destinations including Canada and the United States of America. Maltese citizenship also affords you and your family the right to live, work and study in any EU country, as well as Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Moreover, Malta allows its citizens to have multiple citizenships, and hence one need not renounce any current citizenship upon obtaining Maltese citizenship.
From a business perspective, Maltese citizenship opens the doors to setting up shop and operating a business or investing locally, and to use Malta as a platform to expand one’s investments worldwide. Significantly, one will also be able to benefit from Malta’s double-taxation treaties with around 60 countries.
Obtaining Maltese Citizenship
Maltese citizenship may be obtained through various channels, including through marriage with a Maltese citizen, by descent or birth, through the process of family reunification or for distinguished service to Malta. The Maltese Government also runs a programme whereby citizenship can be granted for ‘Exceptional Services by Direct Investment’. The governing regulations, which fall under the Maltese Citizenship Act, allow for the granting of citizenship by naturalisation to foreign individuals and their families who contribute to the country’s economic development.
Malta’s Citizenship by Investment Programme
Since 2021, obtaining Maltese citizenship ‘for Exceptional Services by Direct Investment’ has been the favoured route for high-net-worth individuals and their families wishing to become Maltese citizens. The first step towards ‘citizenship through naturalisation’ is to obtain a Maltese residency card. Subsequently, one can apply for Maltese citizenship and thereafter a Maltese passport. The process can take one or three years (see below), but applicants are not obliged to reside in Malta throughout this period.
The granting of citizenship in terms of the foregoing is linked to investment and therefore the Maltese Government stipulates straightforward conditions for the kind of investments expected of applicants having been issued with an in-principle approval, namely an investment in property, a financial contribution to the Community Malta Agency, and a charitable donation of €10,000. The main financial contribution varies depending on whether the length of the process elected is of one or three years, being €750,000 and €600,000 respectively, and for each family member included in an application, an additional €50,000 applies. The investment in property does not vary, and in either case, the general conditions stipulate that one must either buy a property for at least €700,000, or lease a local property for at least €16,000 per annum, for five years. .
It is important to emphasise that the regulations stipulate that all applications for this citizenship programme have to be processed and submitted by a licensed agent. As a Licensed Citizenship Agent, we are in a position to assist you through every stage of your application, by providing you with the required advice and assistance towards the appropriate fulfilment of all the required conditions established by the regulations.
If you would like to receive more information, please provide us with your contact details and one of our team members shall be in contact with you promptly.
