Programmes / Malta
Malta Citizenship by Investment: What Closed, What Still Exists
Malta's direct investor-citizenship route is closed following the 2025 EU court ruling. Here is the accurate picture — what ended, and which Maltese residence routes remain open.
Status: citizenship route closed
The Court of Justice of the EU ruled on 29 April 2025 (Case C-181/23) that Malta's investor-citizenship scheme was contrary to EU law. Act XXI of 2025, effective 24 July 2025, removed the legal basis for the MEIN / exceptional-services-by-direct-investment route. Malta is not offering a priced citizenship-by-investment product, and no adviser can lawfully sell you one. Treat any site still marketing "Malta citizenship by investment" as outdated or misleading.
What still exists: the Malta Permanent Residence Programme (MPRP)
Malta continues to run a genuine permanent-residency-by-investment route — residency rights, not a passport. Under the MPRP, qualifying applicants receive Maltese permanent residence in exchange for a combination of a government contribution, a property purchase or long-term lease, an administrative fee, and a donation to a registered Maltese NGO.
- • Government contribution: typically EUR 37,000 when purchasing property or EUR 60,000 when leasing (verify current figures with Residency Malta Agency — they have been revised).
- • Property: purchase from ~EUR 375,000 or lease from ~EUR 14,000/year — thresholds differ between Malta and Gozo/southern Malta.
- • Outcome: permanent residence with Schengen access, not EU citizenship. Any citizenship route is standard naturalisation — discretionary, after years of genuine residence.
Realistic alternatives to the closed Malta route
If Malta's citizenship route was on your shortlist, the honest alternatives depend on what you were actually buying:
EU residency with a citizenship path
Portugal Golden Visa, Greece, and Italy's investor visa remain open — though Portugal's naturalisation timeline has lengthened under the 2025–26 reform.
Direct citizenship in months
The five Caribbean programmes — St. Kitts & Nevis, Dominica, Grenada, Antigua & Barbuda, and Saint Lucia — plus Vanuatu and Turkey are the only remaining direct-to-passport routes.
EU access without citizenship
The MPRP itself, or Greece's residency-by-investment programme, deliver Schengen residence rights at a lower total cost than the closed citizenship route ever did.
Frequently asked
Can I still get Maltese citizenship through investment?
No. The legal basis was removed in July 2025 following the CJEU judgment. Discretionary naturalisation after genuine long-term residence still exists in law, but it is not a purchasable programme and there is no quota or fixed criteria an investment can satisfy.
Is the MPRP worth it if it doesn't lead to a passport?
For applicants who want permanent residence in an EU member state with Schengen mobility — without needing it to convert to citizenship — yes. If your goal is a second passport, compare the Caribbean programmes or a residency-with-naturalisation route instead.