Malta’s New Permanent Residence Program Open as of Yesterday

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Malta’s new Permanent Residence Program (MPRP), which replaces the erstwhile Malta Residency Visa Program (MRVP), officially opened for applications yesterday following the publication of the relevant law last Friday.

The regulations now in effect have not changed materially from those IMI could exclusively reveal in January, the details of which you can read more about in our original article on the topic:

Going forward, the EUR 250,000 bond-investment requirement has been done away with in its entirety, while the real-estate investment minimums have increased to EUR 300,000 in the South of Malta and on Gozo and EUR 350,000 in the rest of the country, investments that must, in either case, be maintained for at least five years. No changes were made to minimum rental prices.

The government will make up for the removal of the bond investment by raising the amount required for the non-recoverable government contributions; for those who lease properties, the minimum contribution will amount to EUR 58,000, while those who choose to buy will need to contribute EUR 28,000.

Whether they are buying or leasing, all applicants will need to pay an administrative fee of EUR 40,000 of which a quarter is payable prior to approval-in-principle.

All applicants will also be subject to a mandatory EUR 2,000 contribution to a “local, registered philanthropic, cultural, sport, scientific, animal welfare or artistic NGO registered with the Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations, or as otherwise approved by the Agency.”

Applicants must further control assets valued at no less than EUR 500,000, at least EUR 150,000 of which must be held in the form of securities.

You can read the legal notice that provides the basis for the program here.

The program’s chief executive, Charles Mizzi, said the MPRP that “based on the experience garnered from the previous programme, we have developed a new proposition which will offer more added value to both our target audience as well as to our country.  We expect the MPRP to be as successful as its predecessor.”

Luke Frendo of Frendo Advisory, a law firm that, among other services, offers assistance with the program, said “we welcome the launch of the MPRP and the changes made to the Programme. The replacement of the requirement to invest in Government bonds with a higher contribution is certainly a positive development. As the world hopefully starts to reopen, I’m sure we will see the demand for the MPRP grow.”