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Pathway

Malta Permanent Residence Programme

Malta Residency
Pathway overview

At a glance

Malta's permanent residence program is for financially qualified non-EU applicants who can meet the required contribution, property, and asset rules. It generally requires source-of-funds evidence, health coverage, due diligence, and government approval.

Type
Investment residence
Investment fit
Investors making a qualifying investment in Malta
Core requirements
Investment amount, source of funds, and required approvals
What to know
Meeting the listed requirements does not guarantee approval; the authority retains discretion
Duration
Permanent residence once approved.
Renewal / path
Status depends on maintaining the required property and program obligations.

Summary

The Malta Permanent Residence Programme (MPRP) is a residence-by-investment route for qualifying people who are not citizens of the EU, EEA, or Switzerland. A successful applicant receives permanent residence rights in Malta, but must first pass extensive due diligence and satisfy the program’s property, asset, fee, contribution, donation, and insurance rules.

The financial terms changed materially in 2025. Under the regulations as amended by Legal Notice 146 of 2025, the main applicant must now:

These amounts are separate. Buying property does not replace the contribution, administration fee, or donation. Renting does not reduce the contribution. The applicant must also budget for dependent fees where applicable, insurance, licensed-agent charges, translations, authentication, due diligence, and property costs.

Applications must be submitted through an agent licensed by Residency Malta Agency. The permit is permanent, but the program obligations do not all end when the card is issued: the qualifying property and stated assets must be maintained for five years, insurance and compliance duties continue, and the holder must retain residential property in Malta or Gozo after the initial five-year period.

Pathway fit check

Eligibility

The main applicant must be a third-country national. For this program, EU, EEA, and Swiss citizens are not treated as third-country nationals. Residency Malta also applies nationality, sanctions, public-interest, and risk restrictions that can change; the licensed agent should check the current position before preparing an application.

The applicant must satisfy the Agency that they are fit and proper, have lawful wealth and funds, and are not a threat to national security, public policy, or public health. The review is not limited to a criminal-record check. The Agency can examine source of wealth, source of funds, business and family connections, sanctions exposure, adverse information, prior immigration and residence-by-investment applications, and the accuracy and completeness of the file.

The current core requirements are:

Eligible dependents may include a spouse or comparable partner; a child under 18; an unmarried child aged 18 through 28 who is principally dependent on the main applicant; a parent or grandparent of the applicant or spouse who is not in full-time employment and is principally dependent; and an adult child with a qualifying disability.

The regulations impose a €7,500 administration fee for each dependent who is an adult dependent child under 29 or a dependent parent or grandparent. A spouse or comparable partner, minor child, and qualifying disabled adult child are exempt from that dependent fee. Family definitions and proof of dependency are fact-specific, so the agent should confirm each person’s category before calculating costs.

What This Route Allows

The program grants the beneficiary the right to settle, stay, and reside permanently in Malta, subject to maintaining the program conditions. Approved dependents named on the residence certificate can receive residence cards under the same family file.

With a valid passport and MPRP residence card, the holder can generally make short visa-free visits to other Schengen countries for up to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period. This is a travel right, not a right to settle or work elsewhere in Europe.

The residence status does not expire simply because the initial five-year property period ends. After five years, however, the beneficiary must still hold residential property in Malta or Gozo by ownership, lease, or emphyteusis and must continue to meet applicable insurance and compliance requirements. Residency Malta may monitor the file, request evidence, or revoke the certificate if the legal conditions are breached or if material adverse information emerges.

The program can cover several generations when each proposed family member fits an exact dependent category. It can therefore provide a stable Maltese residence base for a qualifying family without requiring the main applicant to establish a local business.

What This Route Is Not

This is not citizenship by investment and does not grant a Maltese passport. Permanent residence and citizenship are different legal statuses. MPRP residence does not by itself create an entitlement to naturalization, and time holding the status should not be presented as a guaranteed citizenship path.

It is not a work permit. The MPRP does not itself grant employment rights in Malta or elsewhere in the Schengen Area. A beneficiary who wants to work must obtain any separate employment authorization required by the country where the work will occur.

It is not a special tax status. Residency Malta’s FAQ states that the program itself gives no tax benefit. Actual Maltese tax residence and liability depend on residence, domicile, income sources, remittances, and the person’s circumstances, so specialist advice may be needed.

It is not guaranteed approval for anyone able to pay the required amounts. The Agency retains discretion, carries out due diligence, and can refuse or revoke status. The €60,000 administration fee and other paid amounts are governed by the program’s refund rules; “non-refundable” should be taken literally when planning the application.

Finally, the right to visit other Schengen countries is not EU free movement. The beneficiary remains a third-country national and cannot use the Maltese card to live indefinitely in another EU country.

Next Steps

  1. Check the current rules and nationality restrictions with a person shown on Residency Malta’s official register of licensed MPRP agents. An unlicensed adviser cannot submit the application.
  2. Build a full family schedule. For each dependent, record age, relationship, marital status, employment, financial dependency, disability where relevant, and the documents proving the category.
  3. Choose the asset test: €500,000 including €150,000 financial assets, or €650,000 including €75,000 financial assets. Prepare bank, investment, ownership, valuation, income, tax, and transaction evidence showing both ownership and lawful origin.
  4. Choose whether to rent or buy. Do not sign a marginal property arrangement without agent review; the property must meet the €14,000 annual rent or €375,000 purchase threshold and the Agency’s suitability rules.
  5. Prepare civil records, passports, police conduct certificates, military and immigration records where requested, medical and insurance evidence, and full source-of-wealth and source-of-funds documentation. Applicants over 14 should expect conduct records from relevant countries of origin and longer residence, following the Agency’s instructions.
  6. Budget separately for the €60,000 main administration fee, applicable €7,500 dependent fees, €37,000 contribution, €2,000 donation, property, insurance, agent and professional fees, authentication, translations, and travel.
  7. Submit only when the agent considers the file complete. The first €15,000 is due within one month of submission; later deadlines run from the approval-in-principle letter.
  8. After approval, complete the property, contribution, donation, insurance, biometric, and residence-card steps within the stated deadlines.
  9. Keep a five-year compliance calendar for the qualifying property, asset level, insurance, changes in family circumstances, address, and any annual declarations or evidence requested by the Agency.
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