Malta Visa And Residency Information

Malta’s rugged coastline boasts dramatic cliffs and tiny coves dotted with ancient forts and quaint fishing harbors. Inland, stone walls separate fields of olives, wheat, and potatoes. Wine production is also popular, and, in season, vines hang heavy with grapes all over the island.

From its weather and food to its history and culture, Malta is not only the best of Mediterranean Europe but also one of your most affordable options for embracing this lifestyle.

At the same time, Malta is a modern, First-World, and EU-member nation with a long-standing, stable democracy. Its second official language is English, and the entire country speaks it fluently.

Malta Residency

Entering Malta

No visa is required for residents of the United States, Canada, and many other nations for stays of up to 90 days, for either a holiday or a business trip.

If there is a need for a visa, it can be obtained upon arrival. As tourists, it is advisable to review the travel requirements for your particular country before embarking as certain countries do require a visa.

Residency Visas

Temporary Residency

You may apply to do so in the country if you want to continue on beyond your tourist visa; the procedure does not need to be started in your home country. This is a visa on a temporary basis.

Self-Sufficiency Visa

Non-EU nationals can stay under the basic residency visa in the event that they hold a business permit, are self-employed or are self-sufficient.

People and families can get residency in the event that they can demonstrate that they have sufficient cash to support themselves without help.

In the case of EU nationals, a single candidate must appear in a bank account statement with more than 14,000 euros for a year. They also require nearby or universal health insurance and a domestic rental contract.

On the off chance that the candidate may be a non-EU national, as with the expanding number of U.S. citizens, at that point the proof of solvency is 50,000 euros.

The sum raises for each extra dependent family member by 8.15 euros per week. For the most part, candidates get the self-sufficiency visa and their ID card for five years.

The Global Residence Program

Residents beneath Malta’s Global Residence Program can live and work in Malta, and, of course, they can enjoy all benefits of being a resident of the EU. There are two essential requirements: The inhabitant must pay an extra yearly flat tax and must buy or lease a qualifying property. The flat annual fee is 15,000 euros, which must be paid by April each year.

There are different categories for the qualifying real estate. In Central and North Malta, the immovable property’s price must be at least 275,000 euros. In the south of Malta and Gozo, the minimum investment is 220,000 euros.

Uniquely, leasing property at 9,600 euros on Malta and 8,750 euros on Gozo is also a means to qualify. Malta is the only country we know of that grants residency based on a rental contract.

The program has the following benefits:

• Dependents qualify at no extra cost when applying for this program (the definition for which is loose; the age limitation of children [natural, adopted, or in care] is 25, and also includes dependent brothers, sisters, and direct relatives, in an ascending line).

• The program even allows for employees (anything from a caregiver to a butler) as long as you have been employing them for the preceding two years.

• Approval within three months A gateway to residency in other countries in the Schengen area.

• Holders avail of a flat tax rate of 15% on income remitted to Malta with a minimum tax liability of 15,000 euros per year.

To apply, you will need to supply the following:

• Passport;
• Passport-sized photo on white background (preferably on non-glossy paper);
• Completed application form;
• Completed identity registration form (ID1A);
• Completed form ID2 if applying by post (option not available to non-EU nationals);
• Any other specific documentation pertaining to the type of residency (details can be found on the application form).

In conjunction with your application, you may have to be show verification of health insurance for you and any dependents.

The application fee for the Global Residence Program is 4,000 euros, payable at the application stage. From the date that you actually take up home in Malta, an advance sum of 2,000 euros is also owed.

Be that as it may, in case you select to take up residence within the more delicately populated island of Gozo or within the south of Malta, you’ll be able to benefit from a 500-euro conclusion in this last payment.

You’ll end up a permanent resident after five years, but will at that point be subject to Malta’s normal salary taxes (not able to pay the flat rate). In any case, the permanent resident status opens the door for citizenship after another five years.

Malta Residence And Visa Program

This is often compared to the Global Residence Program, but candidates of the Malta Residence and Visa Program must contribute at slightest 250,000 euros, making this the genuine residency-by-investment program of Malta.

The candidate must contribute the fundamental sum in government bonds, which are at that point held for a period of at least five years. The Maltese government also asks for a non-refundable commitment of 30,000 euros. Formally, this contribution is the “advance government administrative fee.”.

The best thing about this program is that the inhabitant must pay tax only on the Maltese sourced and remitted income. Family individuals can be included, and the inhabitants can live anywhere if they fulfill the standard residency rules of Malta.

This is often the easier and more direct program from an application process point of view. Something else, the property speculation or lease essentials are the same as in the Global Residence Program.

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Malta Retirement Program 2012

This residency program was created for EU, European Economic Area, and Swiss nationals. The applicants can’t be employed, and their pension must be their primary source of income. The property requirements are the same as in the Malta Global Residence Program.

Key Employee Initiative

The Key Employee Initiative allows a fast-track immigration service for highly skilled third-country nationals who received a contract of employment from within Malta.

The solution facilitates the issuing of the residence and work permits for valuable employees within five working days from the date of application.

The initiative allows professionals with relevant experience and qualifications to move to Malta for managerial and highly technical positions.

The most important requisite is a gross annual salary of at least 30,000 euros. The employer must provide the related details and must issue a declaration that the applicant has all necessary credentials to fulfill the position.

Meanwhile, the applicant must provide the relevant qualifications, work experience, and documents. Identity Malta Agency issues the first residence permit for one year, which may be renewed for up to three years.

Citizenship And A Maltese Passport

Malta allows for dual citizenship.

Naturalization

After five years of permanent residency in Malta, you can apply for citizenship. Anecdotally, naturalization is granted rarely through simple residency. But the country has rectified that with their CIP program…

Citizenship By Investment—The Individual Investor Program

As with the residency program, Malta also has an attractive Citizenship-By Investment Program (CIP) as an option for obtaining dual citizenship, the Individual Investor Program.

Though it is considered the clearest route to citizenship in this EU nation, it comes at a considerable cost. It requires paying a 650,000 euro nonrefundable donation and investing 150,000 euros in local stocks or bonds. You also are required to either purchase a property worth 350,000 euros or rent one for 16,000 euros or more for a year. The process may take anything from 6 to 24 months.

A cap of 1,800 applicants was put on the program, so it’s advisable to take advantage now if this program is of interest; it provides immediate citizenship with no need for a prior period of residency and a passport that allows you access to 28 EU member nations as well as Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein— quite a hefty benefits package.

The lack of a residency requirement is a key aspect; it means that, as a Maltese citizen, you can work, live, or study in any country in the 28-nation EU without anything tying you to Malta physically

Successful applicants became ordinary residents with the special tax status for one year and after this period they can apply for citizenship. However, the applicants must prove their “genuine connection” with Malta.

Practically, it means different donations to various philanthropic and nongovernmental organizations.

Individual Investor Program

The Individual Investor Program works only through official agents, and applicants must apply through one of these agents. The process is not difficult compared to other EU countries.

The applicants can receive their residence cards within three weeks from the time of the application, and a passport should take 12 months from the date of gaining residency status.

Another significant benefit is that the main applicant can add their spouse, children, and, under certain conditions, parents and grandparents as dependents.

The applicant must go through the “fit and proper” test to prove good health conditions. The 650,000-euro contribution goes to the National Development and Social Fund.

However, the contribution and investment happen after the official approval of the citizenship petition. If an investor wants a passport for the family members, spouses, and children, they must contribute 25,000 euros. For each unmarried child (from ages 18 to 25), it’s required to provide 50,000 euros. They must maintain the bond investment for five years and the same timeframe applies to the real estate investment and rent.

Malta Visa And Residency: By Descent

Malta recognizes jus sanguinis, so children born outside of Malta to a Maltese parent (whether by birth or naturalization) after 1989 acquire citizenship automatically. However, those born before 1989 must apply to register for citizenship (it is not granted automatically).

If you have a Maltese ancestor, you can apply for Maltese citizenship by providing documentary evidence showing a direct decent from the relation (eg. birth, death, or marriage certificates).

In order to qualify, the ancestor must have been born in Malta to a parent who was also born in Malta. If you have parents, grandparents, etc., who are alive and are direct descendants themselves, they will also have to make applications (the direct line of descent cannot be broken). There is no residency requirement.