MT
Malta · Programm ta' Residenza Permanenti f'Malta · Golden visa · apply agent · processing 120–180 days
Permanent residence by investment for non-EU, non-EEA and non-Swiss nationals. The applicant pays a €60,000 administration fee and a €37,000 government contribution, holds a qualifying home in Malta or Gozo for five years, and donates €2,000 to a registered organisation. The certificate lets the holder and included dependants reside indefinitely while those conditions are met. It does not include a work permit.
| Type | Tier / zone | Min amount | USD equivalent | Holding | Returnable | Required |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real estate | Property purchase | EUR 375,000 | $431,250 | 5 yr | Yes | Optional |
| Rental | Property rental | EUR 14,000 | $16,100 | 5 yr | No | Optional |
| Donation | Charitable donation | EUR 2,000 | $2,300 | — | No | Required |
Subsidiary Legislation 217.26, as amended by Legal Notice 146 of 2025, is the programme. A licensed agent files the application. The main applicant is at least 18 and shows assets of at least €500,000, of which €150,000 are financial assets, or at least €650,000, of which €75,000 are financial assets. Those assets must still be held for five years after the certificate. The €15,000 part of the administration fee is due within one month of filing. The remaining €45,000, and €7,500 for each charged dependant, are due within two months of the letter of approval in principle. The €37,000 contribution, the property title, the donation and the insurance are due within eight months of that letter. The same contribution applies whether the home is bought or rented. The spouse, children under 18 and adult children with a disability under the Equal Opportunities (Persons with Disability) Act pay no administration fee. An unmarried child who is principally dependent and has not yet turned 29 pays €7,500, as does a parent or grandparent who is principally dependent and not in full-time work. The certificate has no expiry date. The residence card is issued for five years and is renewed through the agent, with biometrics taken again in Malta. The Agency's programme page charges €500 per person for that first five-year card. There is no minimum number of days in Malta. After five years the qualifying purchase or rent threshold ends, but a residential property and health insurance must continue. A qualifying rented property may be sublet after five years. Health insurance for applications from 1 August 2024 must cover at least €100,000 a year in Malta and other European countries. The certificate does not include an employment licence. A separate work permit is required. The beneficiary or spouse may apply to set up a business under ordinary law. An optional one-year temporary residence permit can be requested when the application is filed, and it can be renewed for further years if the full file is in within six months. The Agency's January 2024 agent handbook says a complete file is expected to take four to six months, and questions stop that clock. The certificate is not EU long-term resident status under S.L. 217.05. That status needs five years of continuous legal residence and is taxed on a worldwide basis. Holding this certificate does not itself create that status. Ordinary naturalisation under article 10(1) of the Maltese Citizenship Act needs residence throughout the 12 months before the application and at least four years of residence in the six years before that. The Agency's FAQ states this as a minimum of five years of continuous residence. The Minister decides the application. Adequate knowledge of Maltese or English is required. There is no published CEFR grade. Article 7 allows Maltese citizenship together with another citizenship. The programme has no minimum stay, so the five years are actual residence, not time spent holding the certificate. The programme does not create a special tax status. A resident who is not domiciled in Malta is taxed on Malta-source income and capital gains, and on foreign income received in Malta. Foreign capital gains are not taxed even if remitted. The euro amounts above are unchanged, so the stored dollar figures stay on the previous 1.15 approximation. On 9 October 2026 the ECB reference rate was 1 EUR = 1.1206 USD, which is inside 10% of 1.15.
Malta also offers a digital nomad visa for remote workers
Last verified Oct 9, 2026 Last changed Oct 10, 2026 Source
dependent child age set from 18 to 29, application method set to agent, and the processing ceiling set from 240 to 180 days (https://residencymalta.gov.mt/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/S.L.217.26-Amended-by-LN-310-of-2024_-LN-146-of-2025.pdf).
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