Buying a property in Malta is a very prospective yet tough challenge for foreigners. Thanks to its strategic location, growing economy, and tourism industry, the real estate market is on the rise. Many investors see this as an opportunity to get high investment returns.
In this article, we’ll cover the main benefits of buying a property in Malta, the legal requirements for foreign buyers, and the process of getting residency and citizenship by property investment.
- Buying property in Malta comes with benefits such as an opportunity, to get a Maltese passport, family reunification, an investor-friendly tax system, and high investment returns.
- To buy a property in Malta, you need to find the right real estate, contact an architect and a notary, get loan quotes from banks, sign a promise of sale, apply for a home loan, and sign the final contract.
Malta Real Estate Market Overview
According to the reports of Statista, in 2024 the projected value of the Real Estate market in Malta is going to reach US$103.80bn. Within the next 4 years, this segment will have an annual growth rate of 3.74%, resulting in a market volume of US$120.20bn by 2028. The main factors that caused the rise of the real estate market are Malta’s strategic location, growing tourism industry, and an opportunity to become a citizen after buying property in Malta.
The main property types in the Maltese real estate market include apartments, villas, maisonettes, townhouses, and penthouses.
Benefits of Buying Property in Malta
Buying property in Malta as a foreigner comes with many benefits. Some of them are:
Acquiring a Maltese Passport
In 2020, Malta launched a new citizenship-by-investment program, which aims to attract foreign investments to boost its economy. As an exchange, it grants the applicants with Maltese citizenship. In other words, buying property in Malta is one of the required steps that leads you to acquire a Maltese passport, which ranks as the 5th strongest passport in the world. It enables its citizens to have visa-free or visa-on-arrival entry to 190 countries including Germany, China, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Family Reunification
By making an investment in the Maltese real estate market, you may qualify for citizenship and include your relatives in the application as well. As an applicant, you are allowed to include the following dependents:
- Parents or grandparents over the age of 55
- Spouse
- Children under the age of 18
- Financially dependent children under the age of 29
Investor-friendly Tax System
In Malta, the income tax rate varies from 0% to 35%. The big gap is due to the Maltese progressive tax system, meaning that the higher your income is, the more one is going to be taxed. For the companies, Malta has a full imputation tax system, which is structured in a way that prevents the same income from being taxed multiple times.
High Investment Returns
As we’ve already mentioned before, buying a house in Malta offers the potential for high real estate property returns. Malta’s real estate market is growing with more than three million tourists in Malta in 2023, which means that the industry has a high demand for short-term rental properties.
Legal Requirements for Foreign Buyers
Before making a property investment in Malta, make sure that you meet all the legal requirements, which are:
- Non-EU/EEA/Swiss nationals need to obtain an AIP (Acquisition of Immovable Property) Permit to be eligible to buy a property in Malta. However, if you’re buying a property in SDAs (Special Designated Areas) you won’t need an AIP.
- Both EU and non-EU citizens are eligible to purchase only one property in Malta unless the properties are located in SDAs.
- As a buyer, you need to meet the minimum value threshold, which is €143,410 for flats or maisonettes and €247,701 for any other property.
- You need to consider the notary and legal fees, which usually range from 1-3% of the property price.
- A stamp duty of 5% is applied to the purchase price of the property.
Step-by-Step Guide to Buying Property in Malta
Purchasing real estate in Malta can be a tough challenge, especially for a first-time buyer, that’s why we’ve prepared this buying property in Malta guide.
To buy property in Malta, you need to:
Find a Property
As a first step, you need to find the property you want to purchase and understand its location, price, utilities, etc.
Find Professionals: Architect and Notary
An architect and a notary are the key professionals whose assistance will be needed throughout the whole purchasing process. The role of the architect is to locate land registry plans, permits, and evaluate the property’s structure and value. Besides, he’s also responsible for assessing whether the property is in good condition.
As for the notary, he’s responsible for drafting and reviewing all legal documents, especially the Promise of Sale (POS). Additionally, he needs to conduct legal research to confirm there are no disputes or outstanding debts on that property.
Get Loan Quotes from Banks
Before applying for a home loan, a buyer needs to do thorough research, visit several banks, and familiarize themselves with preliminary quotes. As a buyer, make sure you understand how the repayment system works, what is the interest rate and whether it aligns with your plans.
Sign the Promise of Sale (Konvenju)
The promise of sale is an agreement that protects the rights of the seller and buyer. The document makes sure that the property is taken off the market while the buyer processes finance and completes legal checks.
Apply for a Home Loan
After signing the POS, you can already apply for a home loan. To be eligible for that, banks usually require:
- Employment contract and recent payslips
- Bank statements from local and foreign accounts
- The signed Promise of Sale
- Life insurance and property insurance
Sign the Final Contract
Once all the previous steps are done, the buyer and seller sign the final contract in the presence of a notary and bank representative.
Schedule your free consultation today and secure your future!
Residency and Citizenship by Property Investment
Malta has several residency-by-investment programs. However, the most popular option is Malta's regular residency program, which allows one to apply for citizenship after getting the residency.
The main requirements for this program include:
- Proof of financial stability
- Physical address evidence in Malta (which should have a value of EUR 16,000 annual rent )
- Property Rental Agreement
- Completed E-ID and K Forms
- Passport Copy
- Local Health Insurance
Once approved by the Maltese Identity Agency, the applicant and all adult dependents (if any) need to fly to Malta for the biometrics (signature, fingerprints, photo) in order to get the residency card.
If you’re going to apply for the citizenship, here are the main requirements for that:
- Be at least 18 years old
- Have established a Maltese residence
- Be in good health
- Have a clean criminal record
- If you include dependents, they can be your spouse, parents, or grandparents above the age of 55, children under the age of 18, or from 18 to 29 who are financially dependent.
- Be able to make the minimum amount of investment
After getting a residency card, you’ll be eligible to apply for Maltese citizenship. However, as the process is very challenging, it’s advisable to contact a consulting agency, who will guide you through the whole process.
Applying for the MESDI (Citizenship by Naturalization for Exceptional Services by Direct Investment) program, you can receive Maltese citizenship in 2 different timeframes: either 12 or 36 months. Depending on which timeframe you choose, you’ll need to make a different amount of investment.
Here is a list of investments you’ll need to make to get Maltese citizenship.
Direct Investment (Contribution)
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 be eligible for this type of 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.
Real estate investment
As a second step, you need to:
- 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
As an applicant, you must donate a minimum of €10,000 to a local non-profit organization. Applicants can select from various eligible philanthropic, artistic, sports, scientific, or cultural non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and societies registered in Malta.
Please pay attention to the fact that you need to make all these 3 investments to get citizenship.
Tax Implications for Property Buyers
Here is a list of general costs and taxes for property buyers:
- 印花税： 房产购买价格的5％。对于欧盟公民且在马耳他连续居住了5年的买家，房产价格的前15万欧元可以降至3.5％。
- 公证费： 房产购买价格的1-3％。
- AIP（收购不动产）许可费： 要获得 AIP， 马耳他政府 已表示费用为233欧元。另一项要求是，公寓或豪宅的最低房产金额应为143,410欧元，其他类型的不可变财产的最低金额应为247,701欧元。
财产转让税： 对于在2004年1月1日之后购买的房产，马耳他的财产转让税率为8％。之前购买的房地产需缴纳10％的税。
在本文中，我们讨论了马耳他房地产市场、未来趋势以及对外国买家的法律要求。此外，我们还提供了在马耳他购买房产的分步指南，重点介绍了通过房地产投资获得居留权和公民身份的关键方面。
无论您是考虑搬迁到马耳他还是想从其多汁的房地产市场中受益，这个国家都能提供一些东西。
FAQ
如果您符合资格标准，在MPRP计划内在马耳他房地产市场投资至少35万欧元可以使您获得马耳他居留权。
有几种选择可以让你获得马耳他居留权。最实惠的被认为是马耳他永久居留计划（MPRP），该计划通常包括以下组成部分：
- 每年购买35万欧元的房产或12,000欧元的房地产租赁。它需要保存至少 5 年。
- 如果购买住宅物业，则为马耳他经济贡献28,000欧元，如果购买了住宅物业，则为58,000欧元。
- 向非政府组织捐款2,000欧元。
- 40,000 欧元的不可退还的管理费。
是的，马耳他的年度财产税约为房产价值的1.5％。
AIP（购置不动产）许可证是非居民在马耳他购买房产的补贴。要获得AIP，您需要填写申请表，提交所有必要的文件（例如护照，财产销售承诺协议和银行推荐信），并支付约233欧元的费用。
最受欢迎的房地产投资地区包括瓦莱塔、斯利马、圣朱利安斯和戈佐。
