Malta offers one of the most attractive residency programs for individuals seeking a gateway to Europe. Launched in 2021, the Malta Golden Visa Program comes with many benefits, such as visa-free travel to the Schengen zone, an investor-friendly tax system, and an opportunity to apply for citizenship after holding Malta residence for at least 5 years. In this article, we’ll cover the main investment opportunities and the process of getting a golden visa in Malta.
Key Takeaways (Bullet Points)
- The Malta Golden Visa Program, also known as the Malta Permanent Residence Program (MPRP), is a residency-by-investment program. It’s created for non-EU, non-EEA, and non-Swiss residents.
- The benefits of getting a Malta golden visa as an investor are visa-free travel to the Schengen area, an investor-friendly tax system, high investment returns, and the opportunity to apply for citizenship after holding your residency for at least 5 years.
- In this article, we’ve listed 3 ways to become an investor in Malta, which are the citizenship by investment program, investment in financial services, and investment in bonds and stocks.
What is a golden visa in Malta and how does it works?
Malta's Golden Visa program, officially called the Malta Permanent Residence Program (MPRP), is a residency-by-investment initiative launched in 2021. It aims to attract non-EU, non-EEA, and non-Swiss citizens by offering Maltese residency in exchange for real estate investments and government contributions.
6 Benefits of Getting a Malta Golden Visa as an Investor
Obtaining Malta's golden visa comes with many benefits for investors. The most remarkable ones are:
Visa-free travel
Having a Malta golden visa will grant you visa-free travel to the 29 EU countries, listed in the Schengen area. This provides a good opportunity for travel and exploration across Europe's diverse destinations.
Investor-friendly tax system
Another benefit of Malta's permanent residency by investment is its fully imputation tax system. It aims to prevent the same income from being taxed multiple times. Here's how it works: after earning a profit and paying the 35% corporate tax, the company distributes the after-tax profit as dividends to shareholders, along with a tax credit for the corporate tax already paid. Then, shareholders include both the dividend and the tax credit in their taxable income. They can use the tax credit to reduce the amount of personal income tax they owe.
As for individuals, Malta has a progressive tax system, which means that the higher the income is, the higher the tax must be paid. The tax rate varies from 0% to 35%.
Business opportunities
Obtaining Malta's permanent residence by investment gives you an opportunity to establish and expand your business in Malta and other EU countries. With its favorable business environment, well-regulated financial sector, and supportive government policies, Malta encourages entrepreneurship and innovative business solutions.
High investment returns
In 2023 Malta had over 3 million tourists. Considering this fact, many investors are attracted to the idea of getting high investment returns from real estate property and business.
Family extension
As an investor, you can include your relatives in the Malta golden visa application. You’re eligible to include the following dependents:
- Spouse
- Parents of the Main applicant and Spouse, over the age of 55
- Children under the age of 18
- Financially dependent children under the age of 29
Obtaining citizenship
After holding your residency for at least 5 years, you can apply for Maltese citizenship.
Malta is one of those few EU countries that allows multiple citizenship. This means that you can have 2 or more citizenships if the other countries involved have no limitations.
3 Investment Opportunities: How can you become an Investor in Malta?
If you’re thinking about becoming an investor in Malta, here are the most common investment opportunities for you.
Citizenship by Investment Program
In 2020, Malta launched its new citizenship-by-investment program, officially known as Citizenship by Naturalisation for Exceptional Services by Direct Investment. This program aims to attract investments from foreign investors and provide them with Maltese citizenship instead.
There are 4 main steps you need to follow to receive citizenship with this program.
Contact a Licensed Agent
Contacting a licensed agent can make the whole application process easier. Professionals like Mirabello Consultancy, who specialize in helping people get golden visas and citizenship in foreign countries, will help you gather all the required documents, and explain the steps that should be taken.
Direct Investment
The first step is to make a non-refundable investment in the National Development and Social Fund (NDSF). It funds projects like public health, education, job formulation, social improvement, etc.
To make the direct investment, you should have completed at least 1 year of residency.
The minimum amount of investment is:
- Single applicant: If the applicant has already completed 3 years of residency in Malta, the minimum amount of investment is €600,000, if he/she has completed only one year of residency, €750,000,
- Spouse: €50,000,
- Other dependents (children/parents): €50,000 each.
The investment must be made within 4 months after receiving a letter of approval for your Malta citizenship.
Real estate investment
During the 4 months of receiving a letter of approval for your Malta citizenship, you must:
- Buy a property in Malta for €700,000 or more and maintain its ownership for 5+ years
or
- Lease a property in Malta that has a minimum annual rent of €16,000 for 5+ years. Subleasing the property is not allowed.
The purchased or rented property must be held for at least five years.
Charity Donation
During the next 4 months after receiving a letter of approval for Malta’s citizenship by investment, you must donate a minimum of €10,000 to a local non-profit organization. As an applicant, you can select from various eligible philanthropic, artistic, sports, scientific, or cultural non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and societies registered in Malta.
Investing in Financial Services
Malta’s financial sector is well-developed, offering a stable and investor-friendly environment. The country’s membership in the EU and favorable tax regime make it an appealing place for setting up banks, insurance companies, and investment funds. Malta's financial regulatory framework is in line with EU standards, providing investors with confidence and security.
Investing in bonds and stocks
Investing in the bonds and stock market can be a great way to grow your wealth. Let’s start by explaining what bonds and stocks are. Bonds are debt instruments issued by corporations or governments. When you buy a bond, you lend money to the issuer in exchange for periodic interest payments and the return of the principal at maturity. Stocks represent ownership in a company. When you buy stocks, you gain partial ownership and can benefit from the company's growth and profits through dividends and stock price appreciation.
Firstly, do this with Mirabello, not alone. Researching stocks and bonds can be difficult, but an agency can help you by researching the companies or government entities you can invest in. Secondly, it will help you open a brokerage account with an authorized broker. You should diversify your investments across different sectors to mitigate risk. Regularly monitor your investments and keep an eye on market trends.
Eligibility Criteria
Before applying for Malta residency by investment program make sure that you meet the eligibility criteria. As an applicant, you must:
- Be a non-EU, non-EEA and non-Swiss citizen,
- Not be a citizen of the currently sanctioned countries, which include Afghanistan, North Korea, Iran, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Yemen, Venezuela, Russia, and Belarus,
- Have proof of financial stability and regular income for the residency duration,
- Have health insurance for the residency duration,
- Have the minimum amount of investment,
- Have a valid travel document,
- Have a clean criminal record,
- Be a good character.
To calculate the cost of applying for a Malta Golden Visa, you need to consider the following:
- Malta Government Contribution
- Main applicant: €28,000 (if the applicant has purchased the property), €58,000 (if the applicant has rented the property)
- Spouse: no charge
- Children: no charge
- Dependent parents and/or grandparents: €7,500
- Philanthropic Donation: €2,000 (must be paid only by the main applicant)
- Malta Property Investment:
As an investor, you’ll need to hold the investment property for at least 5 years. You can either buy a property for €350,000 (or €300,000 if the property is in the south of Malta or in Gozo) or lease a property for €12,000 per year (or €10,000 if the property is in the south of Malta or in Gozo),
- Malta Government Fee: €40,000 (must be paid only by the main applicant),
- Other Legal Fees: This may vary depending on the number of applicants.
How to get a golden visa in Malta?
To get a Malta golden visa, you need to follow these steps:
- Choose the property you’d like to purchase / lease,
- Submit a cover letter, where you give the reasons why you are applying for the Malta residency by investment program,
- With the help of a licensed agent, gather all the required documents. Having the guidance of a professional like Mirabello Consultancy will make the application process hassle-free,
- Make an appointment with The Residency Malta Agency Customer Care to submit the application materials to the appropriate officials,
- Pay the fees,
- Undergo due diligence: during this process, Maltese authorities check the documents of the applicants,
- Receive the letter of Final Approval in Principle,
- Receive the Malta golden visa.
Conclusion
In this article, we’ve talked about the Malta golden visa program and explained the eligibility criteria, requirements, and the overall process of applying for the program. We’ve also mentioned the benefits of getting a Malta golden visa and the main investment opportunities.
If you’re interested in this program and want to know more details, contact our professionals at Mirabello Consultancy, who specialize in helping people get golden visas and citizenship.
