Malta Citizenship & Residency by Investment

Malta Residency and Citizenship Planning

A licensed agent of the Residency Malta Agency and Community Malta Agency (license number AKM-SOVE), Sovereign Services Limited Malta is best placed to advise, and support applicants who wish to establish residency and/or citizenship in Malta.

Our Malta team provide a concierge service, working closely with each client to determine which programme and associated planning services are most suitable for their personal requirements. Once agreed, they lead clients and their families through each step of the process, to ensure they successfully prepare, submit, and process their application and overall strategy.

Malta Residency and Citizenship Programmes

Offering residency and citizenship programmes catering for most personal requirements and budgets, Malta offers non-EU, non-EEA and non-Swiss nationals and their qualifying dependents a wide range of benefits, including:

The right to reside, settle and stay in Malta.
Visa-free travel across the EU Schengen Area, and to those with citizenship, visa free or visa upon arrival access to 187 countries and territories.
The option to include qualifying dependants.
Safety and stability.
No language requirements.
Access to high quality educational institutions and medical facilities.

These are the different types of residency options:

Malta Permanent Residence Programme (MPRP)

The Malta Permanent Residence Programme (MPRP) is available to non-EU, non-EEA and non-Swiss nationals. A residency-by-investment programme, it provides numerous benefits to applicants wishing to make Malta their home away from home. To qualify the main applicant is required to make qualifying investments in Malta. Residency Malta Agency will review and process complete applications within 4-to-6-months of receipt.

MPRP Benefits

Successful applicants receive the following:

01

Permanent Residency - the right to reside, settle and stay indefinitely in Malta.

02

Visa free travel throughout the Schengen area for a maximum of 90 days within any 180 days

03

Open to four generations - the programme is available to married couples, unmarried couples in a long-term relationship, dependent unmarried children of any age and dependent parents and grandparents on either side of the family.

MPRP Qualification Requirements

To qualify for the MPRP, applicants are required to:

Establish a Residential Property in Malta:

Either rent a property for a minimum of €14,000
Or purchase a property for a minimum of €375,000 in Malta or Gozo.

Make a Direct Contribution to the government of Malta of €37,000.
An additional Direct Contribution €7,500 for each dependant adult included within the application. An exception is made for a spouse or adult child with a registered disability.

Non-Refundable Administration Fee: €60,000.

Donation to a Voluntary Organisation: Donate €2,000 to a local registered philanthropic, cultural, sport, scientific, animal welfare or artistic non-governmental organisation or society.

Provide evidence of Sufficient Net Worth: Be in receipt of a stable and regular financial income, sufficient to maintain themselves and their dependants, without the need to depend upon the social assistance system of Malta.
Provide evidence of Minimum Net Worth: Assets of at least €500,000, of which €150,000 is to be in the form of financial assets, such as stocks, bonds, funds or bank deposits.OrAssets of at least €650,000, of which €75,000 is to be in the form of financial assets, such as stocks, bonds, funds or bank deposits.

Be a Fit-and-Proper Individual: All applicants must demonstrate that they do not have a criminal record or pose a potential threat to the national security, public policy, public health or public interest of Malta.
Provide evidence of Health Insurance: All applicants must be covered by a qualifying health insurance policy, which provides a minimum coverage amount of €100,000 in Malta and the Schengen Area.

How to apply

Establish Power of Attorney

As a licenced agent of the Residency Malta Agency (licence AKM-SOVE), Sovereign Services Limited (SSL) is best placed to assist, advise and support applicants throughout the application process. We work closely with applicants through each step of the process, to ensure that they successfully qualify, apply, process and ultimately receive permanent residency in Malta.

The Malta Permanent Residence Programme requires that applicants successfully complete 7 main application steps:

STEP 1 – Establish Power of Attorney

Applicants provide Power of Attorney (POA) to Sovereign Services Limited who, as a MPRP licenced agent, is authorised to assist them with the preparation and processing of their MPRP application.

Submission of Application Pack and Issuance of Receipt

STEP 2 – Submission of Application Pack and Issuance of Receipt

As a licensed agent Sovereign Services Limited is required to prepare and submit a complete and correct MPRP application pack on behalf of each applicant. Upon receipt and as confirmation of submission, the Residency Malta Agency will issue a receipt.

Upon submission of the application and payment of the first non-refundable part of the administration fee, €15,000, all applicants are entitled to apply for a temporary residence permit.

Due Diligence

To ensure that only persons and families of repute are accepted under the MPRP, the Residency Malta Agency applies rigorous due diligence on all applications via a four-tier process. Residency Malta Agency and Sovereign Services Limited share the responsibility of verifying all information provided by the applicant, ensuring all details are complete and correct.

Issuance of a Letter of Approval in Principle or Rejection

STEP 4 – Issuance of a Letter of Approval in Principle or Rejection

Once the application has been reviewed and the required due diligence checks are complete, the file is presented to the Approvals Board who make the final decision. If an application is rejection, a letter of rejection is issued. If the decision is one of approval, a Letter of Approval in Principle (LAP) is issued.

Complete MPRP Qualifying Investment Requirements

STEP 5 – Complete MPRP Qualifying Investment Requirements

Upon receipt of the Letter of Approval in Principle the main applicant is required to complete any outstanding MPRP qualifying investment requirements.

Biometric Data submission and issuance of Residence Card

STEP 6 – Biometric Data submission and issuance of Residence Card

Sovereign Services Limited will arrange a meeting between applicants and the Residency Malta Agency. Applicants and their dependants are required to travel to Malta to attend the meeting during which they will submit their biometric data including their fingerprints, photograph and signature. Once complete their MPRP residency cards will be issued.

Annual Compliance Checks

STEP 7 – Annual Compliance Checks

Each year the Residency Malta Agency requests that Sovereign Services Limited provide proof that the main applicant continues to meet the minimum property lease or ownership requirements and proof of health insurance. This recurs annually for the first 5 years after which it is at their discretion, whenever the Agency deems it necessary.

All Inclusive Quotation

The total costs associated with applying for the Malta Residence and Visa Programme are dependent on several factors including the type of residence selected, and the number of family members included within the application.

Please contact your Sovereign representative to discuss and receive an all-inclusive quotation.

01/07

Malta Global Residency Programme

The Malta Global Residence Permit (GRP) is a residency programme that offers applicants a special tax status. It is designed to attract individuals who are not nationals of the EU, EEA or Switzerland and who are not long-term Maltese residents. Individuals benefitting from this programme may work in Malta, provided they satisfy the requisite conditions for obtaining a work permit.

Eu nationals who wish to reside in Malta and receive the same tax efficient benefits available under the GRP programme, can do so under The Residence Permit or TRP programme.

The main applicant, his/her spouse and children under the age of 25 are automatically eligible for inclusion. Additional qualifying individuals include financially dependent relatives and non-family members who are bona fide members of the household.

Qualification Requirements

In order to qualify applicants are required to:

Invest in property valued at a minimum of €275,000 (€220,000 in Gozo or the South of Malta)

OR

Hold a rental contract for at least €9,600 per year (€8,750 in Gozo or the South of Malta)
Be economically self-sufficient
Not spend more than 183 days per annum in any other country
Pay a combined minimum annual tax contribution of €15,000
Hold health insurance covering the EU
Hold valid travel documents
Establishing Tax Residency in Malta

Establishing Tax Residency in Malta

Global Residents are not required to provide a minimum day count of their physical presence in Malta. They are however required to declare that they are not resident in another country for more than 183 days per year.

Qualifying applicants are issued with a residency certificate and a Tax Identification Number (TIN).

Tax Benefits

Malta has over 60 double tax agreements, ensuring that tax should not be paid twice. Income and capital gains generated from activities or assets within Malta are subject to personal income tax, but non-domiciled tax residents benefit from the following:

01

No income tax on foreign sourced income, unless it is remitted to Malta

02

A flat rate tax of 15% on foreign-source income remitted to Malta

03

No tax on capital and savings remitted to Malta

04

No capital gains tax on assets held outside Malta

05

No inheritance taxes

Malta Start-Up Residence Programme

The Malta Start-Up Residence Programme grants a three-year residence permit, extendable for an additional five years. After five years’ residency, applicants may also apply for long term residency in Malta.

Intended for qualifying non-EU nationals, the programme is specifically designed to facilitate the setting up of innovative start-ups and scale-ups in Malta, whilst supporting the immigration process of their founders, core employees and respective immediate family members.

The programme offers support measures administered by Malta Enterprise, which offers an array of funding opportunities and assistance without the requirement to give up equity or company ownership.

A Malta-incorporated start-up company is required to have a minimum tangible investment and/or paid-up share capital of €25,000. In cases where more than four co-founders apply, an additional €10,000 needs to be placed per additional co-founder. The maximum number of eligible co-founders is six.

Founders and/or co-founders benefitting from this programme are required to have a physical and tangible presence in Malta, not only from a business perspective but also personally residing in and paying taxes in Malta.

Applicants must also have health insurance covering themselves and any dependants in Malta.

Qualification requirements

To qualify, founders and co-founders must:

Have a concrete intention to develop and/or expand a highly innovative business in Malta.
Be the founder or co-founder of an enterprise that has been registered for not more than seven years anywhere globally, has not taken over the activity of another enterprise, or been formed through a merger.
Be fit-and-proper and of good conduct.
Be able to support themselves and any dependants.
Be in possession of sufficient financial resources.
Not have previously had applications for permanent residency, residency-by-investment or citizenship rejected in Malta or abroad.

Eligible industries

Start-ups will be considered eligible if they are, or intend to be, engaged one of the following activities:

High-end manufacturing.
Manufacturing industrial services.
Software development.
Health, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and life sciences.
Eco start-ups involved in blue, green and sustainable industries.
Other innovative economic activities that are enabled through knowledge and technology’ providing services or products that are currently not readily available in the relevant market or which will be provided through a novel process.

Eligible business projects must also meet at least two of the following criteria:

Propose products and/or services that have the potential to generate income from various geographical markets.
Produce products and/or services that are new, innovative or substantially improved compared to complementary products on the market.
Utilise processes that are new or substantially improved compared to those adopted in current complementary activities.

Interested in Malta Citizenship and Residency?

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Sovereign Malta - Residency and Citizenship Planning