Malta Golden Visa (MPRP): 2026 Guide to Permanent Residency

The MPRP was launched in 2016 as the Malta Residence and Visa Programme and relaunched under its current name on 29 March 2021 by Legal Notice 121 of 2021. It rests on article 7A of the Immigration Act (Cap. 217) and has been amended by Legal Notices 57 and 310 of 2024 and 146 of 2025.^[2] The Residency Malta Agency processes applications, runs due diligence and monitors compliance; an Approvals Board inside the Agency signs off. You cannot apply directly: every file must go through an agent licensed by the Agency, and since the 2025 reform agents pay a €5,000 annual licence fee and carry at least €500,000 of professional indemnity cover.^[2][5]

A successful applicant receives a Residence-by-Investment Certificate, which entitles the main applicant and listed dependants "to reside, settle or stay indefinitely in Malta" as long as programme conditions are kept.^[2] Residence cards are issued for five years at €500 per person and are renewed while the certificate stands.^[3] The status is permanent from the outset: there is no temporary stage to graduate from, which is the main difference from the Greek golden visa or the Portuguese investment residence permit, where you hold renewable temporary permits.

The programme sits alongside, not inside, Malta's tax rules. Holding an MPRP certificate does not make you tax resident, and it does not give you a special tax rate; it gives you the right to live in Malta.^[13]

The qualifying property must be residential, meet Maltese health-and-safety standards and be "normal for a comparable family in Malta", in the Agency's judgment.^[2] The purchase threshold is €375,000 anywhere in Malta or Gozo; a property bought for less can still qualify if works paid for by the applicant lift its architect-certified value to €375,000, at the Agency's discretion. The lease threshold is €14,000 a year.^[2]

Why most applicants now rent

Before July 2025 renting carried a €60,000 contribution against €30,000 for buying, which pushed many families toward purchase.^[4] With a flat €37,000 the arithmetic has flipped: five years of minimum rent is €70,000, compared with €375,000 of capital plus roughly 6% in purchase taxes and notary fees. Buying makes sense if you actually want a Maltese home, believe in the market, or plan to stay well beyond five years; renting keeps capital free and avoids the acquisition costs.

Letting the property and Special Designated Areas

The Agency may issue guidelines on how a qualifying property is used during temporary absences. Its brochure lists the option to let a purchased property in a Special Designated Area, and to sub-let a leased property after five years; Attard Baldacchino reports that since the 2025 amendments a purchased qualifying property may be let to third parties while you are away, and Chetcuti Cauchi reports that current guidance allows short-term letting. The regulations themselves only say the Agency may issue guidelines on this, so confirm the current position.^[2][3][6][7] Non-EU buyers outside Special Designated Areas need an Acquisition of Immovable Property (AIP) permit; inside those areas no permit is needed.^[16] Expect stamp duty of 5% of the price (1% provisional on the promise of sale, balance on the deed) plus notary costs of about 1%.^[16]

The Malta figure of €375,000 is in euros. The number can be confused with the Mauritius property residence route, whose threshold is US$375,000 rather than euros; the two programmes differ in almost every other respect.

Apart from what you spend, you must prove wealth. On filing, the main applicant shows assets of either:^[2]

• €500,000, of which at least €150,000 is in financial assets; or
• €650,000, of which at least €75,000 is in financial assets.

The Agency decides what counts as a financial asset, and Chetcuti Cauchi notes that cryptocurrency is excluded.^[7] The capital must be maintained for five years from the date the certificate is issued, and you must also show "stable and regular resources" sufficient to support the family without Maltese social assistance.^[2] The assets do not have to be moved to Malta. Regulation 12(1)(c) states that a qualifying property you purchase may be considered as part of the evidence of these assets, so a buyer can count the home toward the €500,000 or €650,000; the financial-asset minimum must still be met separately. A rented property does not count.^[2]

To qualify in 2026 the main applicant must:^[1][2][3]

• be at least 18 and a third-country national (not an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen);
• not come from a sanctioned country announced by the Agency, and not benefit from certain other Maltese residence and tax schemes (the Residents Scheme, Highly Qualified Persons, High Net Worth Individuals, Malta Retirement Programme, Qualifying Employment in Innovation and Creativity and Residence Programme rules). The Global Residence Programme is not on this list;
• have a clean criminal record and pass due diligence, with police certificates from the country of nationality and every country lived in for more than six months in the last ten years, for everyone aged over 14;
• meet the capital test above and show stable, regular income;
• buy (€375,000+) or rent (€14,000+ a year) a qualifying residential property;
• pay the €60,000 administration fee and €37,000 contribution, and donate €2,000 to a Maltese philanthropic, cultural, sport, scientific, animal-welfare or artistic NGO;
• hold health insurance covering all risks normally covered for Maltese nationals, valid in Malta and other European countries, and a valid travel document.

There is no language test, no education requirement and no minimum physical presence. A medical declaration is part of the file.^[2]

Due diligence

Residency Malta describes a "multi-tier" due-diligence process, which Chetcuti Cauchi breaks down into four tiers: the licensed agent screens the client first, then the Agency runs its own checks using external databases and providers, alongside Interpol and Europol checks and enquiries with other authorities.^[3][7] Regulation 13 lists grounds for refusal, including being listed with Interpol or Europol, appearing on sanctions lists, posing a security risk, charges or convictions for serious crimes (anything punishable by more than a year in prison), and any earlier refused application for an MPRP certificate or for Maltese naturalisation. Checks by at least one internationally recognised third-party due-diligence provider are mandatory for the main applicant and every dependant, and the Agency may add security checks by law-enforcement authorities.^[2]

The MPRP covers up to four generations on one application.^[3] Under regulation 3 of S.L. 217.26 a dependant can be:^[2]

• a spouse or partner in a marriage, civil union or similar relationship (gender-neutral) – no fee beyond the €500 card;
• a child or stepchild under 18 – no fee;
• an unmarried child aged 18 to 28 who is principally dependent on the main applicant – €7,500;
• a parent or grandparent of the applicant or spouse who is not in full-time employment and is principally dependent on the applicant – €7,500 each;
• an adult child certified as having a disability – no fee.

Before the 2025 reform each dependant added a €5,000 administration fee and a €10,000 contribution, so a couple with two children paid about €45,000 more in dependant fees than today.^[4][5] Dependants can be added after the certificate is issued, such as a newborn, a child's spouse or a grandchild of an approved dependant, subject to due diligence and the applicable fee.^[2]

Deadlines below are set by regulation 9 of S.L. 217.26; the Agency can extend them for good cause.^[2]

The MPRP is an immigration status, not a tax programme. Whether you become Maltese tax resident depends on facts such as where you live, your permanent home and centre of vital interests, not on the card.^[13]

If you become tax resident but are not domiciled in Malta

Most investors are not Maltese-domiciled, so they are taxed on the source and remittance basis: Maltese-source income is taxed, foreign income is taxed only if received in Malta, and foreign capital gains are outside the scope of Maltese tax even if remitted.^[9] Rates are progressive up to 35%. A €5,000 minimum annual tax applies to ordinarily resident non-domiciled individuals whose foreign income is at least €35,000 (article 56(27) of the Income Tax Act).^[9] Malta levies no annual wealth tax and no inheritance tax as such; duty on documents applies to transfers of Maltese property and shares, including on inheritance.

Pairing the MPRP with the Global Residence Programme

The Global Residence Programme (GRP, S.L. 123.148) is a tax status, not a residence-by-investment scheme. It taxes foreign income remitted to Malta at a flat 15% with a €15,000 minimum annual tax, requires a property bought for €275,000 (€220,000 in the south or Gozo) or rented for €9,600 (€8,750), and an administrative fee of €6,000 (€5,500 in the south).^[10] The two can be held together: complete the MPRP first, then consider the GRP.^[13]

Legal Notice 195 of 2026, the Individual Tax Programme Rules gazetted on 14 July 2026, replaces this framework from 1 January 2027 with a five-year "Global Resident" status: €8,500 application fee, €2,500 renewal every five years, a €35,000 minimum tax, and property of €700,000 to buy or €14,000 a year to rent. The rules provide that status granted, or applied for, up to 31 December 2026 continues to apply until 31 December 2031; GVZH reads this as keeping such holders on the old GRP terms until then.^[11][12] If the 15% regime is part of your plan, timing matters this quarter.

Unlike most European schemes, the MPRP grants permanent residency immediately. The certificate is indefinite; only the cards are renewed every five years.^[2][3] After the first five years you no longer need a €375,000 property or a €14,000 lease, but you must still hold some residential property in Malta, owned or rented, and keep health insurance and adequate resources.^[2] The certificate can be withdrawn if conditions lapse, if the holder becomes a security risk, or if information turns out to be false.

Card-holders may travel visa-free in the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any 180.^[3] The certificate does not by itself confer other rights under the Immigration Regulations, so check with your agent before taking up employment in Malta.^[2] If a certificate holder dies, the Agency may issue a certificate to approved dependants.^[2]

The MPRP gives no fast track to a Maltese passport. Malta's investor naturalisation route was ruled contrary to EU law by the Court of Justice of the EU in case C-181/23 on 29 April 2025 and was discontinued by Act XXI of 2025, the Maltese Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2025.^[17][20] For what remains possible through ordinary residence, see our page on Malta's closed investor citizenship route and naturalisation.

• 2021: the MPRP replaced the Malta Residence and Visa Programme for new applications from 29 March 2021.^[2]
• 2024: Legal Notices 57 and 310 of 2024 amended the regulations, leaving uniform thresholds of €375,000 to buy and €14,000 to rent across Malta and Gozo in the consolidated text.^[2]
• 22 July 2025: Legal Notice 146 of 2025 brought in the flat €37,000 contribution, the €60,000 administration fee in two instalments, the €7,500 adult-dependant fee, free inclusion of spouse and minors, the temporary residence permit and new agent licensing.^[4][5] Its new fees also cover applications submitted after 1 January 2025 that were still pending on that date.^[19]
• 24 July 2025: Act XXI of 2025 formally ended Malta's investor naturalisation scheme after the April 2025 CJEU ruling, leaving the MPRP as Malta's main investment-migration product.^[17][20]
• 2026: the MPRP brochure on Residency Malta's website (edition dated September 2025) still sets out the 2025 fee schedule.^[3]
• 1 January 2027: Individual Tax Programme Rules (LN 195 of 2026) replace the GRP for new applicants.^[11][12]

Advisers widely describe demand as having shifted to the MPRP after the naturalisation route closed, but Residency Malta has not published 2025–2026 application statistics that we could verify, so treat that claim as unconfirmed.

A good fit if you want a permanent European base for the whole family, including parents, without having to live there; can show €500,000 or more of assets but would rather not lock up €375,000 or more in property; value English-language schooling, EU stability and Schengen travel; or plan a genuine move and want Malta's remittance basis.

Look elsewhere if you want the lowest entry cost: €97,000 of sunk fees is high next to programmes where the investment is recoverable, such as the Greece property residence programme from €250,000 or Montenegro's €150,000 property residence route. Also look elsewhere if your main goal is a second passport, if you cannot document the source of your wealth cleanly, or if you want your whole investment back on exit.

Inside Malta

Global Residence Programme: lower entry (€6,000 fee, €275,000 property or €9,600 rent) and a 15% flat tax on remitted income, but it is a tax status for people who will actually live in Malta, not permanent residence, and it is being replaced from 2027.^[10][12] Nomad Residence Permit: for remote workers earning at least €42,000 gross a year, with a €300 fee per person; it is issued for one year and renewable three times, up to four years in total, and it does not lead to permanent residence or transfer to the MPRP.^[14][15]

Comparable European programmes

• Cyprus permanent residence for investors: also grants permanent residence directly, on €300,000 of property plus proof of annual income.
• Greece golden visa options: €250,000 to €800,000 in property depending on location; renewable five-year permits.
• Portugal's fund-based residence route: €500,000 in funds and a low stay requirement, but long processing times.
• Italy's investor visa: from €250,000 in an innovative startup, with no property option.
• Hungary's guest investor programme: €250,000 in a real-estate fund.

For side-by-side tables, see our comparison of European residence-by-investment programmes, the list of lowest-cost residence-by-investment options, and the guide to programmes that have closed such as Spain's former golden visa. All residence programmes are indexed on our golden visa hub.