Malta Permanent Residence Programme Price to Rise in 2025

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The RIF Trust Response to the Rising Price of the MPRP

Our Maltese Permanent Residence expert is Shukri Harfoush. He gives invaluable advice to anyone contemplating applying for the Malta Permanent Residence Programme (MPRP), the EU state’s Residency by Investment.

Shukri explains: “Malta is a popular programme and investors should rush to secure a new residency at the current value. The major benefits remain the same. You are able to travel without a visa through the 29 countries that make up the Schengen Area.”

“There is still time to apply before the deadline, so fortune favours the fastest.”

Malta Permanent Residence Programme Cost Increase Rationale

Residency Malta Agency is the organization that oversees the Malta Permanent Residence Programme. On Tuesday, November 19, 2024, they sent out Circular No RMA 64 – 2024. This has the “Revision to S.L. Legislation 217.26 – Malta Permanent Residence Programme” subtitle.

The MPRP price increase is Malta’s way of aligning the Malta Permanent Residence Programme with the Greek, Portuguese, and Spanish Golden Visas.

As the Circular states, “In order to continue giving this value and maintain the MPRP’s unique position in the residency-by-investment landscape as a robust and reputable programme, its eligibility criteria and investment requirements are being revised to reflect current economic and market trends.”

Timing is everything. The Circular is explicit as to when the changes come in.

It says: “The new eligibility criteria and requirements come into effect for applications submitted from January 1, 2025. Applicants who have already applied prior to the coming into force of these regulations shall remain subject to, and governed by, the principal regulations in force at the time of application submission.”

New MPRP Eligibility Criteria

The changes in January 2025 will have an effect on who will qualify for the Malta Permanent Residence Programme. As the main applicant, you will have to either:

1. Show proof of owning assets of a minimum €500,000 with at least €150,000 of these financial assets or
2. Demonstrate evidence of possessing assets worth at least €650,000 with a minimum €75,000 of these financial assets

You can include adult dependents of you or your spouse if they’re over 18 but under 29 when you submit your application. They must also be unmarried and dependent on you the main applicant.

Malta Permanent Residence Programme New Qualifying Property Requirements

Currently, you qualify for the MPRP by purchasing property worth €300,000 in the south of main island Malta and on the island of Gozo or €350,000 elsewhere. This increases to €375,000, irrespective whether you’re buying real estate on Malta or Gozo.

Presently, the alternative Malta Permanent Residence Programme property option is to lease a Maltese residential real estate with an annual rent of a minimum €10,000 in the south of Malta and Gozo. If you rent for a year anywhere else, you have to pay at least €12,000. From January 2025 onwards, this will rise to $14,000 no matter where you rent in Malta.

New MPRP Administration Fees and Contributions

With the new Malta Permanent Residence Programme requirements, you will need to pay “a non-refundable administration fee of €50,000.” €15,000 of this must be deposited within a  month of your application supplication.

The outstanding €35,000 needs to be paid within 2 months of the Residency Malta Agency sending out its Letter of Approval in Principle to you.

There are new fees for dependents. This applies to spouses, children, parents, and grandparents. It’s a blanket €10,000, with €5,000 of this an admin fee that is non-refundable.

Every dependent must pay this within 2 months of the issuing of the Letter of Approval in Principle if you include them at the application stage. The outstanding €5,000 contribution needs to be paid within 8 months of the issuing of a Letter of Approval in Principle.

If you add a dependent after a certificate of residency is dispatched, the non-refundable admin fee and contribution must be paid upon application submission.

There’s one new figure to factor into your Malta Permanent Residence Programme application. If you buy real estate, you must make a further contribution of €30,000. This rises to €60,000 if  you rent a Maltese property instead. Both contributions must be paid within 8 months of the issuing of a Letter of Approval in Principle.

Choosing Between MEIN and MPRP

Malta also offers Citizenship by Investment. The price for Maltese Exceptional Investor Naturalization (MEIN) remains a minimum €600,000. This makes you immediately eligible for a Maltese passport, enabling you to enter 176 countries without a visa.

If it is MPRP that interests you most, be aware that the clock is ticking. You have  to submit your application before the end of December 2024 to ensure you pay the current rather than future pricing. Seize that moment before it disappears before your very eyes.

Investing in Maltese residency or citizenship is not something you can do directly. You have to go through an accredited intermediary like RIF Trust. So, contact us now and we’ll show you how to apply for the Malta Permanent Residence Programme and Maltese Exceptional Investor Naturalization.