Maltese Exceptional Investor Naturalization

 Malta is offering Maltese Exceptional Investor Naturalization policy, a new expedited way of getting citizenship.

Did you know that Malta`s government has introduced a new way of getting citizenship to investors?

Malta has introduced a new policy which is called Maltese Exceptional Investor Naturalization. We want to provide you a piece of useful information on the details of this new policy.

Now, Malta has 2 popular programs for investors which are citizenship by investment program of Malta  and residency of Malta through citizenship.

This regulation has been published recently with the aim of speeding up the process of getting citizenship through investment. Maltese Exceptional Investor Naturalization is known as a Maltese policy and they avoid calling it a program. Since this policy is newly published, they haven`t started to use it officially and nobody has received their citizenship through this policy yet.

Excluding dependents, the number of citizenship certificates issued under this policy are so limited and cannot exceed 400 principal applicants annually and it cannot surpass 1,500 totally.

Main differences between Malta’s Investment Program and the new policy

In order to understand the differences between the citizenship program and the new policy we decided to review citizenship by investment program first.

To obtain citizenship, investors must invest on all 3 options below:

Non-refundable contribution to the National Development and Social Fund:

• 650,000 EURs payment in National Development Fund for the main applicant
• 250,000 EURs payment for the spouse and children under 18
• 50,000 EURs payment for children who are 18 to 26 and economically depended on the main applicant
• 50,000 EURs payment for parents.

And

Government bonds investment

• Investment of 150,000 EURs in government approved financial documents (bonds, stocks, and debentures that benefit the nation) and keep it for at least 5 years.

And

Real Estate investment

• Investment of 350,000 EURs in purchasing properties
• Renting a residential property for a minimum of 16,000 EURs.

 Below you can find main differences of the new policy and the above Maltese citizenship program:

• Contribution: in this new policy, this amount is varied from 600,000 to 750,000 EURs depending on the option you choose (standard or expedited)
• Donation: a 10,000 EURs donation to an NGO is mandatory
• Residential property: Same as the citizenship program, the rental remains at an amount of 16,000 euros but the threshold of purchasing has increased from 350,000 to 700,00 euros. You have to keep the property 5 years after receiving the citizenship.
• Government bonds: In citizenship program, you have to invest 150,000 euros in bonds but in new policy, this amount has been removed completely.
• Due diligence fees: in this new policy, this amount increased to 15,000 EURs for main applicants and 10,000 EURs for dependents
• Maximum age threshold: the maximum age threshold of the dependents has increased from 27 to 29. Dependent`s age does not matter only if they have some disabilities which meets legal definition of it by Maltese government.
• Additional payment: before applying for citizenship, main applicant and all dependents must send their applications for residency. There is a non-refundable prepayment of 10,000 EURs to apply for residency. The main applicant must pay an amount of 5,000 EURs individually.

All the investment fees mentioned above, are still in the initial stages and this policy has not been implemented yet. It is worth mentioning that Afghans and Iranians cannot receive Malta’s citizenship, but this restriction may change in the next year.

Steps you need to take to receive your citizenship through Maltese Exceptional Investor Naturalization policy

There are some procedural steps that you have to take for getting your citizenship through MEIN policy.

These steps are listed here:

1. Send an application of residency,
2. Submission of eligibility assessment,
3. Approval of the payment of the contribution amount,
4. Submission for naturalization through direct investment,
5. Oath-swearing within 6 months after conferment of citizenship.

Are you eligible to get your second passport under Maltese Exceptional Investor Naturalization policy?

Below you can find some information about different people who are defined as dependents. If you have following qualifications, the main applicant can include you in citizenship application.

• Spouse or partner of the main applicant.
• The child of main applicant or the spouse under 18.
• The child of main applicant or the spouse who is single and economically depended on them under age of 29.
• An adopted child of main applicant or the spouse who has gained the age of 18 and is known as a person with disabilities.
• Main applicant`s or spouse`s parent who is above 55 and is economically depended on them.

If you have any of the conditions below you are ineligible to get Maltese citizenship:

• If the main applicant or any of the dependents are or were indicted of an offence or has been arraigned at any time before an International Criminal Court (whether the person was guilty or not)
• If the main applicant or any of the dependents are listed with INTERPOL or EUROPOL
• If the main applicant or any of the dependents are a real or potential threat to any Maltese entity
• If the main applicant or any of the dependents have been found guilty or they have been charged for different kinds of crimes such as money laundering, terrorism, war crimes and other serious crimes
• If the main applicant or any of the dependents has been found guilty or suspected or has criminal charges that cause him to stay more than a year in prison
• If the main applicant or any of the dependents have the potential to involve in any activity which may bring disrepute to Malta country
• If the main applicant or any of the dependents were rejected by the countries that Malta has visa-free travel agreement with
• If the main applicant or any of the dependents is named in international sanctions

As we mentioned earlier, this policy has been recently published so we need to wait for further details and official announcements about this new scheme.

CBF’s high experienced specialists offer you professional help on different Investments and how to obtain Malta Citizenship by Investment. We customize the best solution for you and your family based on your specific situation and requirement. To get started, please contact one of our consultants in UAE, Denmark or Canada, and we will do our utmost to guide you through your Investment and Malta CBI process.

If you have any ideas about citizenship or residency of Malta, please comment below.