The price of purchasing Maltese residency is set to more than double, as the government seeks to make more cash to finance the country’s post-COVID-19 recovery.
A new version of Malta’s residency program will be set up in the coming weeks following legal amendments that are expected to be tabled in Parliament on Monday evening.
Residency gives third-country nationals the right to live in Malta and spend up to 90 out of 180 consecutive days in other EU countries. It is distinct from a Maltese citizenship scheme, which confers applicants with a Maltese passport.
Parliamentary Secretary Alex Muscat told Times of Malta that the main change to the Maltese residency program will be a price hike in the direct contribution for residency.
Currently, applicants for residency have to pay €30,000 as a direct contribution. Under the proposals, that will rise to €68,000 for applicants who purchase a property and €98,000 for those who choose to rent instead.
The proposed revisions follow changes made to a separate scheme which allows applicants to obtain Maltese citizenship. That scheme is currently the basis of infringement proceedings which the EU has filed against Malta.
Malta’s residency program has generated nearly €50 million for state coffers since 2017, with €17 million of that coming last year alone, according to government figures.
Muscat said he expected the new version of the program to generate significantly more, especially as industry indications were that it would attract just as many applicants as the first scheme.
“The truth is that the pandemic has hit economies hard all over the world and foriegn direct investment is crucial to help the recovery. This program can be a good source of funding that is required at this time,” Muscat said.
New rules
To be eligible for residency under the new version of the program, applicants will have to rent a property costing a minimum of €12,000 a year, or €10,000 if the property is in the south of the island or in Gozo.
Alternatively, they can purchase a property for a minimum value of €300,000 in the south or Gozo, or for a minimum of €350,000 anywhere else on the island.
They must hold the property for a minimum of five years from the date when they are given their residence certificate.
Applicants must also pay an administrative fee of €40,000, a quarter of which needs to be paid upon the submission of the application - this forms part of the overall contribution – and also make a €2,000 donation to a local NGO.
A requirement to invest in government stocks or bonds which is part of the existing residence scheme has been removed from the proposed new one.
Malta has to date received 2,542 applications for residency. The majority of applicants are Chinese, followed by Russians, Indians, and South Africans. The government says around 10 per cent of applications are rejected.