Malta residency by investment: the MPRP golden visa in 2026

How much Malta permanent residence costs in 2026

The number that matters is $112,000 (99,000 euros). That is what an applicant hands over for good to the state and a charity, before paying for a home, health insurance or support. Two regulations that took effect in 2025 rewrote the prices. The administrative fee rose from $45,000 (40,000 euros) to $56,200 (50,000 euros) on 1 January and then to $67,400 (60,000 euros). The government contribution became a single $41,600 (37,000 euros), replacing the $31,500 (28,000 euros) for buyers and $65,200 (58,000 euros) for renters that applied in 2024. For buyers, fee plus contribution went up from $76,400 (68,000 euros) to $109,000 (97,000 euros); for renters it barely moved from $111,000 (98,000 euros).

The programme's official name is the Malta Permanent Residence Programme, or MPRP. It is run by Residency Malta Agency, the state residency agency. The rules sit in S.L. 217.26 (Subsidiary Legislation, a regulation made under the Immigration Act). The latest major changes came through Legal Notice 310 of 2024 and Legal Notice 146 of 2025 (a Legal Notice is a government regulation published in the official Gazette).

If you buy instead, a flat or house from $422,000 (375,000 euros) comes on top of the payments to the state. That money stays with you as an asset, though a purchase brings its own taxes and charges.

Older figures still circulate online, such as property from $337,000 (300,000 euros) on Gozo (the country's second-largest island) or rent from $11,300 (10,000 euros). Since 1 January 2025 one threshold applies nationwide. And a transitional rule applied the new fees to applications filed after 1 January 2025 and still open: people who filed at the old price paid the new one.

How much Malta permanent residence costs per family member

The administrative fee and the government contribution are paid once per application. There is no fee for a spouse or children under 18, an adult dependant costs about $8,420, and everyone needs a 5-year residence card.

What Maltese permanent residence gives you, and what it does not

Maltese permanent residence is an open-ended right to live on the island, not a pass to any European Union country. Marketing often blurs that line.

What you get:

• The permanent right to live in Malta. The residence certificate has no expiry date as long as you keep meeting the programme's conditions. The plastic residence card is reissued every 5 years, and for children also at ages 14 and 18.
• Schengen travel. Visa-free trips of up to 90 days in any 180-day period.
• Temporary residence straight after filing. A one-year permit, renewable while the application is pending if all documents are filed within 6 months.
• The family in one application. Up to four generations, from the applicant's grandparents down to his or her children.
• Flexibility on housing. Renting instead of buying, and after 5 years the option to sub-let.
• No day-count rule. The MPRP sets no minimum days in Malta, but you must keep the property, and the agency has the right to inspect it.

What it does not give you:

• The right to live and work in Germany, France or any other European Union country. Outside Malta you are limited to short trips.
• Citizenship. Naturalisation requires actually living in Malta for at least 5 of the last 7 years.
• Tax breaks. MPRP residence and tax residence are different things. Your tax position depends on where you really live. The 15% flat rate belongs to a separate scheme, the Global Residence Programme, covered below.

Other countries that grant residence for investment are compared on our residence programmes page.

Who can apply for Malta permanent residence and who can be included

The MPRP is open only to third-country nationals. In plain terms: not to citizens of the European Union, the European Economic Area (EEA: the European Union plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) or Switzerland.

The agency then rules out whole countries. Its official FAQs list nationals of Afghanistan, North Korea, Iran, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Yemen and Venezuela, and people with close ties to them, as ineligible. Applications from Russia and Belarus are named separately. The agency can revise the list at its discretion.

The applicant must have a clean criminal record, pose no threat to security or public order, have stable income sufficient to keep the family off social assistance, hold health insurance covering Malta and other European countries, and show the required assets.

Family members can be added later, but only after the residence certificate has been issued and with a separate application pack. Every new person goes through due diligence.

Which citizens Malta does not accept

Malta is closed to applicants from Russia and Belarus: the official Residency Malta Agency FAQs state plainly that applications from the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus are not eligible. The ban covers both the MPRP and the nomad permit: the 2026 version of the Nomad Residence Permit FAQs uses the same wording.

Dual nationals and Russians who have long lived in a third country are a separate case. The agency's wording refers to applications from Russia and Belarus, not only to passports. How it applies to a particular person is for the agency to decide. So before the first $16,900 (15,000 euros) is paid, Murblz specialists obtain a written position through a licensed agent: if you are refused, that money is gone.

Citizens of Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Uzbekistan and other former Soviet states are not on the published list. They apply on the general terms and go through the same due diligence.

If Malta is closed to you, look at countries with different rules for Russian and Belarusian citizens. A good starting point is our comparison of European golden visas in 2026 and the overview of residence through property.

How much capital you need for Malta permanent residence

The $562,000 (500,000 euros) is not an investment but a proof of means. The money stays yours, but you must show it when you apply and keep it for five years, reporting to the agency.

The rules offer two options:

• assets of at least $562,000 (500,000 euros), of which at least $169,000 (150,000 euros) in financial assets (cash, securities and other assets the agency considers suitable);
• assets of at least $730,000 (650,000 euros), of which at least $84,300 (75,000 euros) in financial assets.

The capital test is separate from the property: a flat in Malta does not count towards the $562,000 (500,000 euros). According to the agency's guidance, compliance is checked every year for the first five years through form MPRP5 (the official compliance declaration), signed by the resident and the agent.

Worked example in euros: an applicant owns a flat abroad worth 450,000 and has 100,000 in a brokerage account. That is 550,000 euros in total, about $618,000, but less than 150,000 in financial assets, so the first option fails. The second fails too, because the total is below 650,000.

The agency also looks at where the money came from. You need a statement of source of funds and source of wealth, and the checks extend to anyone who funded the application and to business associates. Gather the paperwork on income and inheritance before filing.

How the MPRP application works and how long it takes

Neither the regulations nor the agency's website set a fixed processing time: Residency Malta commits to communicating decisions within a reasonable time, in line with the checks involved. The applicant's deadlines, by contrast, are strict.

1. Filing through a licensed agent. You cannot apply directly, only through a Licensed Agent from the register on the Residency Malta Agency website: Murblz specialists handle the application together with a partner from that register.
2. Filing and the first payment. $16,900 (15,000 euros) is due within a month of filing. Without it the agency has the right to refuse the application immediately. From the moment of filing you can apply for a one-year temporary residence permit.
3. Due diligence. Multi-tier vetting of everyone in the application, donors and business associates: the longest and least predictable stage.
4. Approval in principle. The agency issues a Letter of Approval in Principle. You then have 2 months to pay the $50,600 (45,000 euros) balance and any adult dependant fees.
5. Meeting the conditions. Within 8 months of the letter you must pay the $41,600 (37,000 euros) contribution, present the purchase deed or lease, prove the $2,250 (2,000 euros) donation and take out health insurance. The agency may extend this only for good cause.
6. Biometrics and documents. The family gives biometrics in Malta and receives the residence certificate and cards.

If you buy outside the Special Designated Areas (zones where foreigners can buy property on the same terms as Maltese citizens), you will need an AIP permit (Acquisition of Immovable Property, the permit a foreigner needs to buy property in Malta). Its timing also has to fit into the 8 months.

Malta residency through property: buy or rent

Renting for the five mandatory years costs at least $78,700 (70,000 euros) that you will never see again. Buying ties up at least $422,000 (375,000 euros) but leaves you with an asset. The right choice comes down to one question: do you intend to live on the island?

Since 1 January 2025 the thresholds are the same for Malta and Gozo: a purchase from $422,000 (375,000 euros) or rent from $15,800 (14,000 euros) a year. The home must be residential, meet local safety standards and be suitable for a family of your size. Hotel rooms are not accepted, even if you buy them outright.

A few rules people learn too late:

• You can switch from renting to buying at any time. The other way round, from buying to renting, is not allowed in the first five years.
• A home bought before applying for less than $422,000 (375,000 euros) can count if, after renovation at your expense, it is worth at least the threshold. You need a detailed independent architect's report, and the agency has the right to send its own architect.
• After five years the obligation to hold the qualifying property ends, but you must keep some home in Malta, owned or rented, for as long as the status lasts.

Current options are collected on our investment property in Malta page.

Global Residence Programme: the 15% tax rate and what changes in 2027

Applications for Malta's tax programme on the current terms can only be filed until 31 December 2026. From 1 January 2027 the minimum tax for new entrants rises from $16,900 (15,000 euros) to $39,400 (35,000 euros) a year, and the property purchase threshold from $309,000 (275,000 euros) to $787,000 (700,000 euros).

The Global Residence Programme, or GRP, is not residence by investment but a special tax status for nationals of countries outside the European Union, the EEA and Switzerland. The rules are in S.L. 123.148, and the status is granted by Malta's tax authority, the Commissioner for Tax and Customs (formerly the Commissioner for Revenue). Foreign income brought into Malta is taxed at 15%, with a minimum of $16,900 (15,000 euros) a year. Other income that falls outside the 15% rate is taxed at 35%.

GRP conditions in 2026: buying a home from $309,000 (275,000 euros), or from $248,000 (220,000 euros) in the south of Malta and on Gozo; or renting from $10,800 (9,600 euros) a year, or from $9,830 (8,750 euros) there; a non-refundable $6,740 (6,000 euros) fee, or $6,180 (5,500 euros) when buying in the south of Malta; health insurance covering the whole European Union, adequate English or Maltese and stable income. And you cannot spend more than 183 days a year in any other country.

The new regime comes from Legal Notice 195 of 2026, the Individual Tax Programme Rules. They merge the GRP with the schemes for European Union nationals and pensioners. Status granted before the end of 2026, and applications filed by that date, remain under the old rules until 31 December 2031.

Worked example in euros: you remit 80,000 of foreign income to Malta each year. 15% of that is 12,000, but under the GRP you still pay the 15,000-euro minimum, about $16,900, an effective rate of about 19%. Under the new rules the 35,000 minimum only matches the 15% rate once you remit more than 233,000 euros a year, about $262,000. Below that, your real rate is higher than 15%.

Without a special status, residents not domiciled in Malta (domicile being your permanent home for tax purposes) pay tax on foreign income only if it is brought into Malta, and foreign capital gains are not taxed. If foreign income of $39,400 (35,000 euros) or more is not fully remitted, a $5,620 (5,000 euros) minimum tax applies. More detail on our taxes in Malta page and in our comparison of taxes in Europe.

For family capital Malta has its own trust law: a family trust in Malta holds assets for the present and future needs of the family, and its trustee is licensed by the Malta Financial Services Authority.

How to get Malta residency without investing: the nomad permit and standard routes

The cheapest legal way to live in Malta for a while is the Nomad Residence Permit, a residence permit for remote workers. The fee is $337 (300 euros) per person, against $112,000 (99,000 euros) under the MPRP. But it is a temporary status that leads neither to permanent residence nor to citizenship, as the agency's FAQs state outright.

Nomad Residence Permit conditions:

• gross income of at least $47,200 (42,000 euros) a year;
• working for a foreign employer, running a business through your own foreign company, or freelancing for clients abroad; you cannot provide services to Maltese companies or residents;
• health insurance covering the European Union and the UK, a lease or purchase agreement, and a police certificate for everyone aged 18 and over;
• a $337 (300 euros) fee for each family member and $113 (100 euros) for the residence card;
• a one-year term, renewable three times, up to 4 years in total;
• to renew, you must show you spent at least 5 months of the previous 12 in Malta, backed by bank statements.

The agency expects processing to take about 30 working days after the fee is paid, not counting any visa. This programme is also closed to Russian and Belarusian citizens. Full details are on our Malta digital nomad visa page. Remote workers with a Russian or Belarusian passport still have nomad visas elsewhere in the European Union and beyond - the nomad visa matcher lists them.

Standard residence through work. The main route for employees is the Single Permit (a combined residence and work permit) under S.L. 217.17. It is issued by Identità, the state agency for identity documents and foreigners' permits. It is for people coming to work in Malta for more than 6 months, can be renewed and is tied to a specific employer: you cannot work for anyone else.

Family offices. Residency Malta also offers a separate route for beneficial owners and senior employees of companies within family office structures licensed by the MFSA (Malta Financial Services Authority, the financial regulator). The permit is issued for 3 years and is renewable.

How to get Maltese citizenship from permanent residence after the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union

You can no longer buy a Maltese passport. On 29 April 2025, in case C-181/23 (Commission v Malta), the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that the citizenship-by-investment scheme was contrary to European Union law: Union citizenship cannot be the result of a commercial transaction. Malta was the last European Union country still selling passports.

Malta's response was Act XXI of 2025, amending the citizenship law, signed on 24 July 2025. It removed the investor programme from the law. What remains is naturalisation by merit (article 10(9)): for exceptional services or contributions, from science and sport to job creation. There is no price list, and the decision is entirely discretionary. The ruling and its fallout are covered in detail on our page Malta citizenship by investment is abolished.

For a permanent resident, the realistic route is naturalisation by residence under article 10 of the Maltese Citizenship Act (Cap. 188). The conditions:

• 12 months of continuous residence in Malta immediately before applying;
• at least 4 more years in total during the 6 years before that, so at least 5 of the last 7 years;
• adequate knowledge of Maltese or English;
• good character and suitability to become a citizen, in the minister's judgement.

Three caveats. Only actual residence counts, not a card used two weeks a year. The minister decides at his or her discretion; it is not an automatic right. And while Malta has allowed dual citizenship since 2000 (article 7 of the Act), you need to check the rules of the country whose passport you hold now.

No European Union country sells citizenship any more, and passport sales by third countries have become a separate ground for the European Union to suspend their visa-free access to Schengen. See our article on the European Union ultimatum to Caribbean passport programmes.

Malta, Greece, Cyprus, Portugal or Latvia: which residence by investment pays off

On non-refundable payments, Malta is one of the most expensive programmes in Europe: $112,000 (99,000 euros) goes to the state whatever happens, whereas in Greece and Cyprus the money goes into a home the investor keeps. Yet it is the only country here that grants open-ended status from day one without buying property.

On money lost for good, Malta loses to Greece and Cyprus; on flexibility, it wins: renting instead of buying, English as an official language and four generations in one application.

All countries are collected in our residence permits section, and an overview of Malta's programmes is on the Malta: all programmes page.

The pitfalls of Malta permanent residence

The most expensive risk is a refusal after vetting. The first $16,900 (15,000 euros) of the administrative fee is not refunded whatever the outcome, and the programme's non-refundable payments add up to $112,000 (99,000 euros).

• Rules change retroactively. In 2025 Malta rewrote the terms twice, and the new fees were applied to applications already filed and still pending. Nothing stops that from happening again.
• The status can be lost. If you stop holding the assets, the property or the insurance, the agency can withdraw your certificate. A safeguard for unforeseen circumstances applies only if you reported the problem and tried to fix it; changes must be notified within 4 weeks.
• Capital is locked for five years. The $562,000 (500,000 euros) must not only be shown but kept, and confirmed to the agency every year.
• Renting burns money. At least $78,700 (70,000 euros) over five years, which buys no asset and, if you do not live there, no residence time towards citizenship.
• Permanent residence is not tax residence. Tax benefits come from a separate programme, the GRP, with separate conditions, and it becomes much more expensive from 2027.
• Discretionary decisions. Both the residence approval and naturalisation depend on the judgement of the agency and the minister. By law, the minister does not have to give reasons for refusing citizenship.
• Only licensed agents can file. Offers to buy a passport or get permanent residence faster or cheaper than the official terms are a red flag: no such programme exists in Malta.

Who Malta permanent residence suits, and who it does not

The MPRP is an expensive but flexible product for a specific buyer: a family from a third country that wants a permanent base in the European Union with English as an official language, and that can afford to lose $112,000 (99,000 euros) without pain.

It suits families supporting parents: four generations in one application and one $41,600 (37,000 euros) contribution, plus $8,430 (7,500 euros) per adult dependant. People who would rather rent than buy. Those who plan to actually live in Malta and, after at least 5 years of real residence, apply for citizenship by naturalisation. And those who value an English-speaking environment.

It does not suit citizens of Russia, Belarus and the other countries on the agency's list: the application will simply not be accepted. People looking for a European Union passport for money. Those who want to live in Germany, Spain or France. Those without $562,000 (500,000 euros) in assets, of which $169,000 (150,000 euros) financial, or $730,000 (650,000 euros) with $84,300 (75,000 euros) financial. And remote workers earning $47,200 (42,000 euros) a year or more: the nomad permit is a cheaper start, provided their nationality is eligible.

What Maltese permanent residence gives you

How to get Maltese permanent residence: step by step

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