By way of Legal Notice 288 of 2015, Malta has established the Malta Residence Visa Programme (‘MRVP’), whereby subject to certain criteria, a Main Applicant and his/her dependants may be issued with a Certificate of Residence for an indefinite period. The MRVP is only applicable to third country nationals as members coming from the EU, Iceland, Norway, Lichtenstein and Switzerland are excluded from benefitting from this programme.
The dependants of a Main Applicant may include a spouse, children and parents of both the Main Applicant and the Spouse, provided that they are not economically active and are principally dependent on the Main Applicant and/or Spouse. Approved children of the Main Applicant and/ or the Spouse will retain residency rights as long they are not economically active and/or married at application stage.
Contribution fee
The MRVP will require a Main Applicant to make a contribution in the amount of €30,000 to the State. This fee is divided into a preliminary €5,500 non-refundable fee upon application and subsequently, €24,500 following the in-principal approval, together with final documentation. In the event of parents and in-laws of the Main applicant an additional €5,000 non-refundable fee per dependant should be included
Property obligation
A Main Applicant would also be required to invest in immovable property, where in the case of a purchase, if situated in the south/ Gozitan region of Malta, the value of the property should be of not less than €270,000, whereas if the property is situated in any other part of Malta, the property’s value should not be less than €320,000. In the case of a lease, if the property is situated in the South/Gozitan region than the amount of lease per annum should not be less than €10,000 per annum, whereas if the property leased situated in any other area of Malta, the annual lease should be for a minimum of €12,000 per annum. Such immovable property shall be retained for a period of at least 5 years and may not be let or sub-let.
Investment obligation
A Main Applicant would also be required to invest in approved stocks, bonds, debentures or special purpose vehicles of a minimum amount of €250,000, which investment should be retained for a period of 5 years. A Main Applicant should be in a position to show that s/he has a sustainable income to sustain himself/herself and his/her dependants in the form of either an annual salary of not less than€100,000 per annum or else is in possession of capital of not less than €500,000.
Sickness insurance
A Main Applicant shall be required to subscribe to a sickness insurance that covers both the individual and the dependants, for the equivalent of a minimum amount of €30,000 per annum.
Certificate of Residence
The Certificate of Residence issued to a Main Applicant and his dependants shall be subject to review every year for the first five years, whereby the applicant must provide proof that the conditions of his wealth are unaltered, that he has maintained the same status as on application, that he still has a title to an immovable property in Malta and has retained the required investment and sickness insurance. After the first five years, the certificate will be reviewed every five years, in which the requirement to prove his/her status of wealth, investment and immovable property obligations shall not be required any longer.
