The Most Expensive Citizenship by Investment Program in the World

Citizenship of Malta is much sought after. Malta is a member of the EU and part of the Schengen common travel area. Therefore, citizenship of Malta will allow you to live in any of the EU and EEA countries. However, buying a passport from Malta isn’t the only way to get citizenship. In this article, we’ll explore the Malta citizenship by investment program and look at other ways to gain citizenship that’ll cost much less.

About Malta

Malta is a small country located in the middle of the Mediterranean. It’s about 90km south of Sicily. Malta is about a 3 hour flight from London. The main island is Malta which covers about 246 sq km, there is a smaller island, Gozo wich is around 67 sq km. Malta was under British rule until 1964. Because of that most people speak English as well as Maltese and Italian. Malta has a population of 400,000.

The country is the smallest member of the EU and part of the Schengen common travel zone.

Citizenship of Malta by Investment  

Citizenship of Malta by Investment is expensive. In fact, as with other citizenship by investment programs around the world, it’s not really an investment. It’s a donation to the Maltese governmemt. It’s not instant either. Malta citizenship will take you one year to get if you make a donation of €750,000 and three years if you donate €600,000.

And that’s not all. You’ll also have to donate €10,000 to a non governmental charity.

In addition you must either buy a property for more than €700,000 or rent a property for more than €16,000 per year. In either case you have to keep it for 5 years.

Therefore to get a citizenship of Malta in one year you must spend:

€750,000 government donation

€80,000 minimum in rent

€10,000 charitable donation

So, that’s a total of €840,000 to get your shiny new Maltese passport in a year. It’ll cost €690,000 to get citizenship of Malta in 3 years. It is literally the best passport you can buy. It offers visa-free travel to 185 countries including the USA, Australia, and Canada. It’ll allow you to stay in any country in the European Economic Area, including all the Schengen countries that are not EU members like Norway, Iceland, and Switzerland.

Other Routes to Citizenship of Malta

If you’re not in a hurry or don’t fancy spending $1m to get citizenship of Malta there are ways you can get the same thing for free.

Citizenship of Malta by Naturalization

Anyone can get a residence permit for Malta by buying or renting a property and proving they have the resources to support themselves. After 5 years of residency for at leat 6 months every year you can apply for citizenship.

Citizenship of Malta by Marriage

Want to save yourself €690,000? Find a Maltese citizen to marry and you can get citizenship of Malta in just 3 years. Same timescale as the citizenship by investment.

Citizenship of Malta by Descent

Malta’s rules for citizenship by descent are somewhat complex and out with the scope of this article. However, if you have Maltese ancestors, you’ll qualify for Maltese citizenship.

Who Benefits from Citizenship of Malta

If money is no object then this is the best citizenship money can buy. It’s particularly useful for anyone considering renouncing US citizenship who doesn’t already have a top class passport. It’s recently been popular with Russian and Chinese citizens too. Anyone who doesn’t want to relocate to the EU or whose existing passport gets them visa free access to the US, Canada and Australia are unlikely to benefit.

There are many more cost effective alternatives to Malta citizenship. However those looking for a fast, top quality citizenship should act quickly. Malta is under a lot of pressure from the EU to cancel this program. It’s likely to go the same way of the Cyprus citizenship by investment program and be cancelled.

How to get Citizenship of Malta 2023

Can an American become a citizen of Malta?

Yes, an American can become a citizen of Malta either by investment or naturalization.

Does Malta allow dual citizenship with US?

Yes, Malta allows dual citizenship with the US

How much does Malta Citizenship cost?

The minimum cost for Malta citizenship by investment is €690,000. But you can get it for free by staying in Malta for 5 years.

What is the benefit of Malta Citizenship?

Malta citizenship provides one of the best passports in the world that allows you to stay anywhere in the EU or EEA

How can I get Malta citizenship?

You can spend 6 months every year in Malta for 5 years or make a donation to the Maltese government to get it in as little as one year.

How fast can I get Maltese citizenship?

You can get Maltese citizenship in as little as 1 year by donating €750,000 to the Malta government.

HOW LONG IS THE PROCESS FOR OBTAINING CITIZENSHIP IN MALTA?

The minimum time to get Malta citizenship is one year