Malta Golden Visa

What the programme costs

The fixed payments for a main applicant are:

1. Administrative fee: €60,000, non-refundable. €15,000 is due within one month of filing and €45,000 within two months of the Letter of Approval in Principle.
2. Government contribution: €37,000, due within eight months of the Letter of Approval in Principle. The amount is the same for a purchase and a lease.
3. Donation: €2,000 to a Maltese NGO registered with the Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations.
4. Residence card: €500 per person, covering five years.

The first three payments total €99,000. The spouse, children under 18 and adult children with a certified disability carry no administrative fee. Each other adult dependant costs €7,500. Agent and legal fees come on top, as does the property itself.

The capital test

Applicants must hold either €500,000 in capital assets, with at least €150,000 in financial assets, or €650,000 with at least €75,000 in financial assets. The capital must be kept for five years from the date the certificate is issued. A property bought for the programme can count toward the total, subject to an independent architect’s valuation. Cryptocurrency does not count as a financial asset.

Applicants must also show stable and regular resources that cover themselves and their dependants without recourse to Malta’s social assistance system. The regulations set no monthly income figure.

The property requirement

You must hold a qualifying residential property for at least five years from the date the certificate is issued. The options are a purchase of at least €375,000 in Malta or Gozo, or a lease at a minimum rent of €14,000 a year. After five years you must still hold a residential property in Malta or Gozo, owned or leased. The Agency can inspect the property at random.

The property does not need to be secured when the file is lodged. Title or the lease must be presented within eight months of the Letter of Approval in Principle, except where you apply for the temporary residence permit, which requires the property first. A purchased property can be rented out, including on a short-term basis. A purchase below €375,000 qualifies only if works carried out afterwards raise its independently valued worth to that level, and the Agency decides. A lease must be registered with the Housing Authority.

The five-year commitment is the real cost. A €14,000 lease runs to €70,000 over the term, and a purchase ties up €375,000 of capital in one Maltese asset.

Application stages and timing

Only a licensed agent can file, acting under a power of attorney. The file includes identity documents, civil status certificates, police conduct certificates and evidence of the source of funds and source of wealth. Police certificates are needed for the country of origin and every country where the person lived for more than six months in the last ten years, for the main applicant and every dependant over 14. Certified copies and translations need an apostille or legalisation.

Due diligence is multi-tiered and runs about 3 to 7 months. On approval the Agency issues a Letter of Approval in Principle. The administrative fee balance falls due within two months, and the property, contribution, donation and health insurance within eight months. The certificate follows about seven days after the file is complete. Biometrics are taken in person in Malta, and the cards arrive roughly two weeks later.

On filing you can apply for a one-year temporary residence permit for yourself and your dependants. It can be renewed for further one-year periods as long as the full documentation reaches the Agency within six months of the application. If the application is refused, the permit is revoked within 15 days. The Agency’s decision is final with no appeal, and a refusal bars a later application by the same person.

Dependants

One application can cover up to four generations: the spouse or an equivalent partner, children under 18, unmarried children aged 18 to 28 who are principally dependent on the main applicant, adult children with a certified disability, and parents and grandparents of either spouse who are not in full-time employment and depend on the main applicant. Each dependant over 18, other than the spouse, needs a sworn affidavit of support from the main applicant.

Health insurance covering all risks normally covered for Maltese nationals is required for the main applicant and every dependant, and must be kept for the life of the card. The Agency also reviews the health of all applicants for serious or contagious illness.

Ongoing obligations and loss of status

The Agency monitors compliance every year for the first five years. You must keep the qualifying property, the health insurance and the capital for five years from issue, and notify the Agency within four weeks of any event that could end eligibility. The status ends if you acquire Maltese, EEA or Swiss nationality, if false or incomplete information comes to light, or if a condition of the regulations is breached. The card is valid for five years and must be renewed with the Agency, and every beneficiary must be present in Malta for biometrics at renewal.

Citizenship

The certificate does not lead to a passport on its own. Naturalisation under the Citizenship Act is a separate application that requires residence in Malta for the 12 months immediately before applying and four years in aggregate in the six years before that. A holder who lives elsewhere builds up no qualifying residence. The investment route to citizenship was repealed, and the merit route is discretionary and reserved for exceptional contributions.