Residency routes into Malta
These are the routes that exist in Maltese law today, run by Residency Malta Agency, Identità and the Commissioner for Tax and Customs. Figures are the official thresholds as published on 8 September 2026.
Malta Permanent Residence Programme (MPRP)
Non-EU/EEA/Swiss nationals who want permanent residence for the whole family without a minimum-stay rule.
- Non-refundable administrative fee of €60,000 plus a Government contribution of €37,000; €7,500 for each adult dependant other than the spouse
- Rent a qualifying property for at least €14,000 a year or buy one for at least €375,000; hold it for 5 years, then keep a residential address in Malta
- Show capital assets of at least €500,000 (of which €150,000 financial assets) or €650,000 (of which €75,000 financial assets)
- Donate €2,000 to a registered Maltese NGO; health insurance covering Malta and Europe; residence-card fee of €500 per person per 5 years
- Must apply through a Licensed Agent; multi-tier due diligence on every applicant, donor and business associate
Timeline / validity: Permanent residence; card renewed every 5 years
Official source ↗Global Residence Programme (GRP)
Non-EU/EEA/Swiss individuals with foreign income who want a special 15% tax status rather than a permanent card.
- Buy a qualifying property for at least €275,000 (Malta) or €220,000 (Gozo / south of Malta), or rent for at least €9,600 / €8,750 a year
- Foreign income received in Malta taxed at a flat 15%; minimum tax of €15,000 per year of assessment
- Non-refundable administrative fee of €6,000 (€5,500 for property in the south of Malta)
- Stable and regular resources, EU-wide sickness insurance, and no stay of more than 183 days in any other jurisdiction
- Application through an Authorised Registered Mandatory
Timeline / validity: Special tax status granted by the Commissioner; annual compliance return
Official source ↗The Residence Programme (TRP)
EU, EEA and Swiss nationals (not Maltese) who want the same 15% remittance regime as the GRP.
- Same property thresholds as the GRP: purchase €275,000 / €220,000, or rent €9,600 / €8,750 a year
- Foreign income received in Malta taxed at 15%; minimum tax €15,000 a year, payable in full in the year of grant and the year of cessation
- Administrative fee €6,000 (€5,500 south of Malta)
- Not more than 183 days in any other jurisdiction in a calendar year; EU-wide sickness insurance
Timeline / validity: Special tax status; EU nationals register their residence with Identità separately
Official source ↗Nomad Residence Permit
Non-EU remote workers, foreign-company owners and freelancers with clients outside Malta.
- Minimum gross yearly income of €42,000
- Work for a foreign-registered employer, own a foreign-registered business, or freelance for clients established abroad; not for staff serving a Maltese subsidiary
- Application fee €300 per person plus €100 residence-card fee; health insurance of at least €100,000 cover for the EU and UK; police conduct certificate; rental or purchase agreement
- Income from 'authorised work' taxed at 10% under S.L. 123.210, with a 12-month exemption from permit issue unless you declare your residence is not casual
Timeline / validity: Valid 1 year; renewable 3 times to a maximum of 4 years; decision expected in 30 working days
Official source ↗Malta Retirement Programme (MRP)
Non-Maltese retirees whose pension is their main income and who will spend real time in Malta.
- Pension must make up at least 75% of chargeable income and be received in Malta
- Purchase €275,000 / €220,000 or rent €9,600 / €8,750 a year, same bands as the GRP
- Foreign income received in Malta taxed at 15%; minimum tax €7,500 plus €500 per dependant; administrative fee €2,500
- Reside in Malta at least 90 days a year averaged over 5 years; not more than 183 days in any other jurisdiction; not in employment
Timeline / validity: Special tax status; annual compliance
Official source ↗Remittance-basis taxation, and how residency is triggered.
Malta's Income Tax Act (Cap. 123) taxes a person who is resident but not domiciled in Malta on Maltese-source income and on foreign income 'received in Malta'. Foreign capital gains are outside the net entirely. The Act defines a resident as someone who 'resides in Malta except for such temporary absences as to the Commissioner may seem reasonable'; in practice the Commissioner treats more than 183 days of presence in a calendar year as residence, and ordinary residence follows from a settled pattern of living in Malta. Most incomers are not domiciled in Malta and so fall on the remittance basis by default.
- Foreign income — salaries, dividends, interest, rents, pensions — is taxed only 'on the amount received in Malta' if you are not ordinarily resident or not domiciled in Malta (art. 4(1)). Keep it offshore and it is not taxed.
- Foreign capital gains — from shares, funds, crypto or property abroad — carry no Maltese tax for a non-dom even when the proceeds are remitted: 'no tax shall be payable on capital gains arising outside Malta'.
- Minimum tax of €5,000 a year applies to a non-domiciled ordinary resident with foreign income of at least €35,000 that is not fully remitted (art. 56(27)), unless you are already under a scheme with its own minimum tax (GRP/TRP €15,000; MRP €7,500).
- Maltese-source income and remitted foreign income are taxed at the single-computation rates: 0% up to €12,000, 15% to €16,000, 25% to €60,000, 35% above — unless a flat regime applies (GRP/TRP/MRP 15%, Nomad authorised work 10%, Highly Qualified Persons 15% on eligible employment of at least €75,000).
- No wealth tax and no inheritance tax. Transfers of Maltese immovable property carry duty of €5 for every €100 of value under the Duty on Documents and Transfers Act, whether by sale or on death; foreign assets are outside that Act.
- Tax Residence Certificate is issued by the Commissioner for Tax and Customs to registered residents on request; social security contributions apply only if you are employed or self-occupied in Malta.
Who this is not for
- People who want to keep a job or run a business physically in Malta and expect a flat tax — local employment and business income is taxed at the ordinary progressive rates up to 35%.
- Anyone unwilling to commit real money up front: the MPRP costs €60,000 in administrative fees plus a €37,000 contribution before property, and the GRP carries a €15,000 minimum annual tax.
- Those who need a large, low-cost country — Malta is small, densely populated, and rents and property prices in the qualifying bands are not cheap.
Official sources checked 8 September 2026. Requirements and fees change; confirm before you rely on them.
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