Malta golden visa: Malta Permanent Residence Programme

The main applicant must be a non-EU, non-EEA and non-Swiss national aged 18 or over, not from a sanctioned country announced by the Agency and not a beneficiary under other Maltese residence or tax schemes. You must have stable and regular resources to maintain yourself and your dependants without social assistance, be a fit and proper person with a clean record and pose no threat to security, public order or public health. The application can only be submitted by a licensed agent; the Agency publishes the list of agents.

You must prove capital assets of at least €500,000, of which at least €150,000 are financial assets, or at least €650,000, of which at least €75,000 are financial assets, and keep that capital for five years. The qualifying property is either purchased for at least €375,000 or rented for at least €14,000 a year, anywhere in Malta or Gozo. It must be held for at least five years, after which you still need a residential property in Malta in ownership or on lease.

The non-refundable administration fee for the main applicant is €60,000: €15,000 within one month of submitting the application and €45,000 within two months of the Letter of Approval in Principle. A further €7,500 is due for each adult dependant other than the spouse. Within eight months of approval in principle you pay the government contribution of €37,000, the same whether the property is bought or rented, and make a €2,000 donation to a Maltese NGO registered with the Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations. The residence card costs €500 per person for five years. Health insurance covering Malta and other European countries is also required.

After the agent submits the application, you can apply for a one-year temporary residence permit for yourself and your dependants, renewable while the full documentation is lodged within six months. The Agency runs a four-tier due diligence process, including checks against Interpol and Europol lists and background verification of everyone aged 14 or over. Police conduct certificates are needed from the country of origin and from every country where the person lived for more than six months in the last ten years. After the Letter of Approval in Principle and the payments, the certificate of permanent residence is issued.

An application can include up to four generations: the spouse, children under 18, unmarried children aged 18 to 28 who are principally dependent on the main applicant, and dependent parents and grandparents of the applicant or spouse. The main applicant gives an affidavit confirming support for every dependant over 18 other than the spouse.

Holders have the right to settle, stay and reside permanently in Malta and can travel visa-free in the Schengen area for 90 days in any 180. The Agency monitors compliance every year for the first five years, and the certificate can be revoked if conditions such as the property or capital are not maintained.

Every decision of the Agency under S.L. 217.26 is made at its absolute discretion, is final and cannot be appealed. Administration fees are not refunded.