To obtain Malta citizenship for exceptional services by direct investment, the applicant needs to choose one of two options. The first option is to rent an apartment for a minimum of €16,000 annually for 5 years. The second option is to purchase housing worth at least €700,000.
In addition to the chosen residence option, the investor must contribute either €600,000 or €750,000, depending on the terms of residence. The third condition is to make a charitable donation.
Is €1 million enough to become a citizen of Malta? Read and find out.
There is no investment-based path to Malta citizenship. Maltese nationality legislation provides for the possibility of naturalisation in cases of exceptional merit.
The statutory framework recognises exceptional contributions across various areas, such as entrepreneurship, job creation, innovation, science, education, culture, or philanthropy.
Investors can include in the application their spouse or partner, unmarried children up to 29, including those from the previous marriage, and parents and grandparents over 55. All family members, except the spouse, must principally depend on the investor.
An investor can have a sponsor — a business partner or a family member. For example, a spouse who is ineligible for the program because of holding a European passport can financially support their family. Or a parent can cover the costs for a child over 29 who cannot participate in the program.
Applicants will obtain Malta citizenship if they meet all the requirements and pass a strict Due Diligence check — the Eligibility Test.
Investors are not permitted to apply directly. Only official representatives, licensed by the Malta government, carry out all the applications on a power of attorney. Immigrant Invest has a licence numbered ESP-IMIN.
Investors meet three investment conditions: contribute to the National Development and Social Fund (NDSF), make charitable investment to a non-governmental organisation, and buy or rent residential real estate. All the conditions are mandatory.
Non-refundable contribution. The sum of the contribution to the NDSF defines the terms of holding residency status in the country. If an investor contributes €600,000, they may apply for citizenship after the residence permit is kept for 3 years. If the contribution amounts to €750,000, the residence period is reduced to 1 year.
An extra €50,000 must be paid for each family member.
A non-refundable donation of €10,000 must be made to any charitable, cultural, sports, or scientific non-governmental organisation.
Renting or purchasing housing are two investment options.
If purchasing a property, it must be worth €700,000 or more. The requirement applies to one object only. The property must be held for 5 years, starting when citizenship is obtained. After that, the property can be sold, and the money returned.
If renting, the investor pays a rent of at least €12,000 per year while holding residency. To qualify for citizenship, the investor concludes a new leasing agreement with a rent of at least €16,000 per year. At this stage, the minimum renting term is 5 years.
Switching from renting to purchasing is possible anytime after receiving a Malta passport, but not vice versa.
| Cost item | Purchase of housing, passport in 3 years | Purchase of housing, passport in 1 year | Rent of housing, passport in 3 years | Rent of housing, passport in 1 year |
| Contribution to the NDSF | €600,000 | €750,000 | €600,000 | €750,000 |
| Charitable investment | €10,000 | €10,000 | €10,000 | €10,000 |
| Real estate | €700,000+ | €700,000+ | €80,000+ | €80,000+ |
| Total amount to obtain citizenship | €1,310,000+ | €1,460,000+ | €690,000+ | €840,000+ |
| Investment return in 5 years | €700,000+ | €700,000+ | — | — |
| Non-refundable investment | €610,000+ | €760,000+ | €690,000+ | €840,000+ |
At every step of applying for Malta citizenship, the investor needs to pay additional fees for themselves and their family members.
The Eligibility Test payment is the largest fee associated with obtaining Malta citizenship. The investor is required to pay €15,000 for themselves, €10,000 for each family member over 12 years old, and an additional €15,000 for a sponsor, if applicable.
Residence permit cards cost €5,000 for the investor and €1,000 for each family member. Additionally, there is a printing fee of €27.50 per card.
Children under 18 years old are not obliged to obtain residence permits. However, it can grant your kids visa-free access to Schengen. If you want to use this benefit, get the cards for your children as well.
Apartment rent. While holding a residence permit and waiting for citizenship, investors must rent an apartment for at least €12,000 per year. Thus, if you choose a 3-year-long route to citizenship, you will spend €36,000 under this object of expenditure.
Administrative fees are charged in the three stages. The total amount may reach up to €3,000 for each applicant. They are the following:
In total, a single investor pays at least €35,000 above the investment. A family of an investor, their spouse and two children under 18 would pay over €43,000.
| Applicant | Expenses amount |
| Investor, that is, the main applicant | €875,000 / €1,495,000 if residency for 1 year €749,000 / €1,369,000 if residency for 3 years |
| Spouse | €64,000 |
| Child under 12 | €50,500 |
| Child 12 to 18 | €61,500 |
| Child 18 to 29 | €64,000 |
| Parent or grandparent | €64,000 |
| Sponsor | €16,000 |
Health insurance. Investors are required to provide an insurance certificate with worldwide coverage. The cost for each applicant is approximately €500.
Translation and notarial copies of documents. The total cost of translating all the documents depends on the number of documents and applicants. For a family of three, it usually amounts to €6,000. Notarial copies cost around €200.
Refundable deposit. When renting a house, the investor needs to pay a refundable deposit equal to one month’s rent.
Fees when buying a property. If buying real estate, the investor would spend around 6.5% over its price. This includes a stamp duty of 5% of a property value and 1—2% of legal fees.
Taxes when renting out property. If the property is located in a Specially Designated Area, the owner can rent it out. In this case, they need to pay taxes on the rental income.
The investor can choose between two tax regimes: a differentiated rate ranging from 0% to 35%, depending on the total taxable income, or a flat rate of 15%. If an agent is involved, their services cost around 10% of the revenue.
Investors and their family members can apply for Malta citizenship after one or three years of residence, depending on the investment amount. The procedure is similar in both cases, but additional documents are required for submission after three years.
It is conducted by Immigrant Invest to ensure the applicant is eligible and has a good chance of approval. If anything may cause a rejection, we offer a solution.
It is issued by Maltese police. They check the data about all applicants over 12 years in Europol and Interpol databases.
It is issued within 2—3 weeks after the investor and their family visit Malta and apply. Immigrant Invest lawyers assist the investor in preparing all the necessary documents.
It is undergone by each applicant over 12 years old. Immigrant Invest lawyers help to collect all the required documents, which takes 2+ weeks. The results come after 4—5 months.
It is applied for after the investor holds Malta residency for precisely one or three years. The investor receives a letter of approval from the Minister.
Investment conditions have to be fulfilled within 4 months.
It is issued after the investor and their family undergo fingerprinting. Printing takes 4 days.
1. Visa-free travelling to 169 countries. The list of permitted countries to visit visa-free includes the EU, the USA, the UK, Japan, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
2. Residing in Malta and other EU countries. Holders of Malta passports are free to live and work in any other EU country and Schengen states without obtaining residency.
3. High-quality medical care and education. Malta passport holders have access to high-quality healthcare treatment. The country ranks among the top 30 countries worldwide for quality healthcare, surpassing rates found in the USA and Israel.
Schools and universities are cheaper for Maltese citizens. In addition, they do not need to get student residence permits to study in any EU country.
4. International business opportunities. A Malta passport allows investors to launch a business in any EU country.
5. Holding dual citizenship. Malta citizens are permitted to have dual citizenship. Investors and their families are not required to renounce their original passports.
6. High level of security. Malta is ranked among the top 20 safest countries in the world, according to research by the insurance company “Insurly”. Regarding the number of crimes, Malta is safer than Denmark, Netherlands and Ireland. It’s a calm place to live and raise children.
7. Mild climate and clean environment. Malta’s government strives to respect the planet and protect the environment. Malta’s seashore is considered one of the best in Europe. The Mediterranean climate has warm summers, snowless winters and rainy springs.
Investors can get Malta citizenship by naturalisation for exceptional services by direct investment. The conditions are: be a Malta resident for 1 to 3 years, contribute to NDSF, make a charitable investment, and rent or buy housing.
Malta citizenship can’t be purchased directly. But it is possible to obtain one for exceptional services by direct investment.
Applicants must contribute €600,000 or €750,000 to the NDSF, donate to the charitable organisations the amount of €10,000, and buy or rent a qualifying property with a purchase price of at least €700,000 or annual rental of €16,000.
No, the procedure for obtaining Malta citizenship has a strict Due Diligence check. Immigrant Invest lawyers work on the application and help to reduce the risk of refusal.
Yes. Malta allows non-EU investors to get citizenship by naturalisation. They receive the same rights as the citizens of the EU.
