The Malta Permanent Residence Programme (“MPRP”) is a straightforward residency-by-investment program based on investments in property and government contributions. With the promise of a 4 to 6-month processing time from submitting a complete and correct application, it offers many potential clients the opportunity to make Malta their home.

The new regulations replace the Malta Residence and Visa Agency with the Residency Malta Agency (“Agency”) and bring changes to the qualifying investment.

To qualify for residence under the new MPRP regulations, successful applicants will need to:

• Applicants must either purchase a qualifying property with a minimum value of €375,000 or lease a property with an annual rental value of at least €14,000.

• All main applicants now pay a flat government contribution of EUR37,000, regardless of whether they rent or purchase a qualifying property.If the property is rented, the contribution will be EUR60,000 plus EUR10,000 for every parent or grandparent of the principal applicant or spouse.

• Make a Donation of €2,000 to a local non-governmental organization registered with the Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations or as otherwise approved by the Agency.

A total administrative fee of €60,000 applies, with €15,000 payable upon submission of the application and the remaining €45,000 due within two months following the issuance of the Letter of Approval in Principle.

The benefits offered by the new program include:

• The right to settle, stay and reside permanently in Malta;
• Enjoyment of Visa-free travel across Schengen, 90 out of 180 days;
• A gateway into Malta's affordable real estate market;
• The possibility of including up to four generations in an application;

WHO CAN APPLY FOR THE NEW MALTA PERMANENT RESIDENCE PROGRAMME (MPRP) REGULATIONS?

TCNs are eligible, but nationals or those with close ties to Afghanistan, North Korea, Iran, DRC, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Yemen, Venezuela, Russia, and Belarus are explicitly excluded.

Persons who qualify as dependents of the principal applicant are defined by the Legal Notice 121 enacting the new MPRP regulation. Accordingly, the qualifying dependents are defined as follows:

• The principal applicant's spouse in a monogamous marriage or another relationship has the same or a similar status to marriage. For the MPRP, the term "spouse" shall be gender-neutral;
• Children, including adopted, of the principal applicant or his spouse who, at the time of application, are less than 18 years of age;
• Children over 18 years old, but not yet attained 29 years of age, not married, and principally dependent on the principal applicant;
• Financially dependent parents or grandparents of the principal applicant or his spouse; or
• Disabled adult children of the principal applicant or spouse.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS

All applications must be submitted by an Authorised Registered Mandatory (“ARM”) who needs to perform Tier 1 Due Diligence checks, providing evidence to the Residency Malta Agency that the applicants are fit and proper persons. Promethean Advisory Limited is a licensed ARM and may assist clients with this process.

Aside from making the required qualifying investment, applicants must have:

• Regular resources were sufficient to maintain themselves without depending on the social assistance system of Malta.
• No switching from owned to leased property in first 5 years. Sub-leasing allowed under conditions.
• Sickness insurance policy in respect of all risks typically covered for Maltese nationals.
• Assets with a minimum value of not less than €500,000, out of which a minimum of €150,000 shall be in the form of financial assets or having a value of not less than €650,000, out of which a minimum of €75,000 shall be in the form of financial assets.
• Annual monitoring for first 5 years is now required.

A formal application is submitted to the Agency, and a proper due diligence check will be carried out.

Applicants who do not meet the minimum qualifying criteria will not be approved, with causes for rejection being as follows:

• The principal applicant and, or any of his dependants shall not have had a previous application for a certificate or an application for Maltese citizenship refused.
• The principal applicant and, or any of his dependents may not be listed with the INTERPOL or EUROPOL.
• The principal applicant, or any of his dependants, shall have a clean criminal background.
  • They must not have been found guilty, or, at the time of the application, being interrogated and suspected, or has criminal charges brought against him/her for any criminal offense, other than an involuntary offense, punishable with more than one (1) year imprisonment.
• The principal applicant, or any of his dependants, shall not be individuals who, at any time, had pending charges or who has been found guilty of any crimes related to:
  • crimes of terrorism,
  • money laundering,
  • funding of terrorism,
  • crimes against humanity,
  • war crimes,
  • crimes that infringe upon such Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms as established by the European Convention on Human Rights.
• If the principal applicant, or any of his/her dependents, have been found guilty or have charges brought against him/her regarding any of the following criminal offenses:
  • paedophilia,
  • defilement of minors,
  • rape,
  • violent indecent assault,
  • inducing persons underage to prostitution, and
  • abduction

The application will be rejected if the applicant is listed in international sanctions applying restrictive measures that the Agency is bound by law, or has opted, to follow.

MALTA PERMANENT RESIDENCY APPLICATION PROCESS TIMELINE

Below is the step-by-step application process timeline for MPRP.

Step 1: Engagement Stage

• Initial due diligence checks;
• Letter of engagement;
• Optional background verification report.

Step 2: Compilation & Submission Stage

• RMA Submission Fees: Non-refundable administrative fee (to be paid within one month from submission): €15,000

Step 3: Residency Malta Agency Processing Stage

• Start of the Agency due diligence;
• Independent due diligence review;
• Possibility of clarification requests.

Step 4: Approval Stage

• Letter of approval issued by the Agency;
• Payment of contribution to the Agency;
• Fulfillment of government contribution;
• Fulfillment of qualifying property.

Step 5:Malta Permanent Residency Stage

• Certificate of residence issued;
• Collection of biometric data in Malta;
• Malta residence card issued.

Step 6:EU Long-Term Residency

• Lived in Malta for five years;
• Proof of stable and regular income;
• Complied with integration measures.