A 2026 comparison of Maltese citizenship and Maltese residence, including permanent residence, special tax status residence, and executive tax frameworks.
Maltese citizenship and Maltese residence create very different legal outcomes. Citizenship changes a person’s civil and nationality status under Maltese law, while residence gives a right to live in Malta under a specific immigration or tax-status framework. This publication uses the familiar comparison between Malta Permanent Residence and Malta Citizenship by Merit as its starting point, but broadens the analysis to explain the main consequences of citizenship as against residence, and the key residence categories most relevant to internationally mobile individuals and families – including MPRP, Malta’s special tax status residence programmes, and Malta’s 15 per cent executive tax rules for qualifying employment.
The Malta Permanent Residence Programme and the Malta Citizenship by Investment were introduced in Malta to facilitate the process of relocation to Malta for high net worth individuals. Subject to the requirements established by law, eligible individuals may acquire either a Maltese residency certificate and card (MPRP) or Maltese citizenship further acquiring benefits ancillary to both.
Residence & Citizenship by Investment in Malta
The MPRP and the Granting of Citizenship for Exceptional Services Regulations were established by Legal Notice 121 of 2021 and Legal Notice 437 of 2020 respectively. The Malta Permanent Residence Programme (MPRP) provides non-EU nationals with the opportunity to live in Malta indefinitely, while the granting of citizenship through investment grants full Maltese citizenship after meeting the investment requirements and passing through a stringent due diligence process.
Benefits of Malta Residence & Citizenship Programmes
As two distinct programmes, the Malta Permanent Residence Programme (MPRP) and the Malta Citizenship by Investment Programme both offer different benefits to those choosing to pursue obtaining either residence or citizenship respectively.
A primary benefit of both programmes is the ability to include immediate family members in the application, such as the spouse, unmarried and economically dependent children up to the age of 28, and parents and grandparents of both the applicant and the spouse. With Malta being a member of the European Union since 2004 and also being a member of the Schengen Area, successful applicants under the MPRP obtain visa free travel rights to the Schengen Area whilst those becoming Maltese citizens enjoy the right to live, work and travel freely within the EU.
However, as two separate programmes, there are clear differences in the benefits accorded to each programme. The clearest distinction is that individuals completing the Maltese Permanent Residence Programme are granted an indefinite residence certificate and a residency card, and those applying for Maltese citizenship are naturalised and obtain a Maltese passport. Amongst the benefits afforded to a successful Maltese Citizenship applicant are free movement and establishment in any of the member states of the European Union, visa-free access to over 190 countries including the US, UK, China and Canada, as well as rights and freedoms accorded to Maltese and European Citizens. During the residence period of the Maltese investor route to citizenship, investors receive a residency card within 3 to 4 weeks of their application. This benefit is not offered to applicants of the Maltese Permanent Residence programme until their application has been approved. Secondly, while both programmes offer relocation to Malta, the processing time for the Maltese residence application is approximately six to twelve months, whilst an investor application for Maltese citizenship takes a minimum of 12 or 36 months.
Eligibility for Maltese Residence & Citizenship Programmes
Applicants for both investment migration programmes are subject to a thorough due-diligence process to ensure that applicants are fit and proper persons, of good conduct and standing, and eligible to apply. For both programmes, the main applicant must be at least 18 years of age, and commit to the contribution required and to purchasing or renting the property. The investment amount and value of qualifying property varies depending on the location chosen. Furthermore, in both cases, the applicant must commit to contributing of the investment established by law in full. In the case of the investor route to Maltese citizenship, the applicant must also prove residence in Malta for 12 months.
In order to be eligible, applicants must also provide a police certificate issued by the applicant’s country of origin as well as from each country of residence where the applicant has resided for a period of over six months during the last ten years. As persons of good standing, the main applicant and his dependents must also have a clean criminal record, and not be listed with the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL).
The law also gives grounds whereby an individual may be considered not eligible to apply. These include provision of false information to the authorities, having served time for a criminal offence punishable by over one year of imprisonment, having a criminal record, being subject to ongoing investigation, or considered a threat to national security. The applicant must also not have been denied a visa to a country with which Malta has visa-free travel arrangements and has not subsequently obtained a visa to the country that issued the denial.
The Malta Residence & Citizenship Programmes
Requirements & Contributions
As two distinct programmes, the requirements which must be fulfilled by applicants in order to successfully participate also vary.
There are three main requirements which are to be fulfilled in order to acquire permanent residence through the MPRP in Malta. These include:
- The payment of a fee to the Maltese government of €110,000 if renting a property or €80,000 if purchasing a property. An additional fee of €10,000 applies for each additional family member.
- The payment of a €2,000 donation to a locally registered philanthropic, cultural, sport, scientific, or artistic NGO, and
- Renting a property in Malta for €14,000 annually or purchasing a property for €375,000.
In addition, the applicant must declared and provide evidence that he is in possession of assets having a value of not less than €500,000 out of which a minimum of €150,000 shall be in the form of liquid assets. Alternatively, the applicant may declare that he is in possession of not less than €650,000 out of which a minimum of €75,000 shall be in the form of financial assets.
The requirements to apply for citizenship by investment in Malta, differ from those for the MRVP. The contribution made to the Maltese Government is established by law at €750,000, with a further €50,000 for each additional dependent added to the application. The applicant must also purchase or rent a residential property in Malta which is to be kept for at least five years. The property must be purchased at a minimum value of €700,000, or alternatively rented at a minimum value of €16,000 per annum. Furthermore, the applicant must also make a one time charitable donation of €10,000.
Both offer avenues for investors of repute; whether seeking to obtain Maltese residency or Maltese citizenship respectively. Whilst differing in the requirements necessary for a successful application, both provide alternative methods of relocating to Malta, with distinct benefits accorded to each programme.
Advice Choosing the Right Residence or Citizenship Programme
Get in touch with our specialised Malta Citizenship lawyers and find out if you are eligible to apply.
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