Türkçe
Malta no longer operates a citizenship by investment programme. Following the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 29 April 2025 in Case C-181/23, Commission v Malta, Malta discontinued its investor naturalisation framework and amended its citizenship regulations in July 2025. Applications under the former scheme are no longer accepted.
Two routes remain relevant, and they should not be confused with one another:
- Naturalisation on the basis of merit — a discretionary statutory provision in force since 2017, addressed on this page.
- The Malta Permanent Residence Programme — a rules-based residence framework that continues to operate and is, for most investors, the applicable route. See our MPRP guide.
On contribution figures. Any source quoting a fixed sum for Malta citizenship — €650,000, €750,000, or a range between €1,000,000 and €2,000,000 — is describing the discontinued scheme. No such figure applies under the current framework.
Request a Preliminary Malta Eligibility Assessment
Request a Preliminary AssessmentWhat Changed in 2025
The Court of Justice of the European Union delivered judgment on 29 April 2025, holding that a scheme granting nationality in return for predetermined payments or investments was incompatible with EU law. A CJEU judgment does not itself repeal domestic legislation; Malta amended its own framework in response.
That amendment took effect through the Maltese Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2025 (Act No. XXI of 2025) and Legal Notice 159 of 2025, published in the Government Gazette on 29 July 2025. The result is that Malta citizenship is now available to foreign nationals only on the basis of merit, assessed at the discretion of the Minister, or through the ordinary naturalisation route following lawful residence.
The CJEU judgment did not itself annul individual grants of Maltese citizenship; it addressed the scheme's compatibility with EU law rather than the status of individuals already naturalised. The position of previously naturalised persons remains subject to Maltese law, including any applicable deprivation or review provisions. Clients holding, or with a matter pending under, the former framework should obtain advice on their specific position from Malta-based counsel rather than rely on a general statement.
Naturalisation on the Basis of Merit
Malta law provides a statutory route through which the Minister responsible for citizenship may grant citizenship to an individual who has rendered exceptional service to the Republic of Malta or to humanity, made an exceptional contribution, or whose naturalisation is of exceptional interest to the Republic. The provision is not new: a merit-based naturalisation route existed under Maltese law before the former direct-investment scheme was discontinued, and it was recast under the 2025 amendments described below.
It is a discretionary statutory provision rather than a programme. There are no tiers, no published price, no defined processing time, and no entitlement to a grant on satisfying a checklist. Each case is assessed individually and the decision rests with the Minister.
Legal Framework
| Instrument | Description |
|---|---|
| Cap. 188, Art. 10(9) | Maltese Citizenship Act. The primary statutory authority empowering the Minister to grant naturalisation in cases of exceptional service, contribution, or interest to Malta. |
| Act No. XXI of 2025 | Maltese Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2025, amending Cap. 188 following the CJEU judgment of 29 April 2025. |
| S.L. 188.06 | The subsidiary legislation governing the grant of citizenship for exceptional services, setting out the procedure and requirements. The framework as amended is administered on the basis of merit. |
| L.N. 159 of 2025 | Granting of Citizenship for Exceptional Services (Amendment) Regulations, 2025, published in the Government Gazette of Malta No. 21,478 on 29 July 2025. The current implementing amendment to S.L. 188.06. |
| Community Malta Agency | Aġenzija Komunità Malta. Receives proposals, conducts due diligence, and coordinates the independent Evaluation Board. |
The Three Statutory Grounds
An individual may be considered under one of three grounds. Falling within a ground establishes eligibility to be considered; it does not create an expectation of approval, and discretion is retained at every stage.
Exceptional Service
Service rendered, or undertaken to be rendered, to the Republic of Malta or to humanity at large, in a field of significance to Malta or the international community.
This is the narrowest of the three grounds. It contemplates a demonstrable record supported by independently verifiable evidence — publications, awards, official recognition, documented institutional roles. A statement of intention, on its own, is unlikely to demonstrate exceptional service.
Exceptional Contribution
A contribution to Malta's national goals, strategic objectives, or development — across science, technology, entrepreneurship, the arts, culture, sport, or philanthropy — assessed as exceptional in nature and impact.
This ground is frequently misrepresented as a substitute for the discontinued investment scheme. It is not. The assessment concerns the nature and effect of the contribution rather than its monetary value, and a proposal framed principally around a payment may not satisfy the qualitative character of the merit assessment. Where a contribution has an economic dimension, the relevant question is what it produces in Malta — employment, capability, institutional support — and whether that can be substantiated.
Exceptional Interest
Individuals whose profile, activities, or standing are of exceptional interest to the Republic, as determined by the Evaluation Board and the Minister case by case.
The legislation does not define this ground by fixed criteria. It exists to accommodate profiles that do not fit the first two cleanly. Because it is undefined, a candid preliminary assessment carries more weight here than anywhere else in the framework.
The Statutory Process
- Proposal letter to Community Malta Agency. The process opens with a detailed proposal letter setting out the applicant's background and achievements, the exceptional service or contribution rendered or proposed, a forward-looking plan for continued contribution following naturalisation, and supporting documentation. Eligible dependants are identified at this stage. The proposal letter is the application in substance; a generic proposal may fail to establish the statutory basis clearly.
- Due diligence by Community Malta Agency. The Agency conducts due diligence independently of the Evaluation Board, covering background verification, source of funds and source of wealth, security screening, and character assessment of the applicant and each dependant. Documentation should correspond precisely to the financial history it describes; discrepancies between declared wealth and documentary support surface at this stage.
- Assessment by the Evaluation Board. An independent Evaluation Board appointed by the Minister assesses the profile and the proposed contribution, operating separately from both the Agency and the applicant, and issues a recommendation to the Minister. There is no advocacy before the Board in the ordinary sense, which is why the assembly of the file is the substantive work.
- Decision of the Minister. The Minister takes the final decision and is not bound by the Board's recommendation. The framework does not provide an ordinary appeal against the substantive merits of a discretionary decision. Whether any public-law remedy might be available in a given case would depend on the circumstances and should be assessed separately.
- Approval in principle. Where the Minister approves, the applicant receives a Letter of Approval in Principle. This is conditional clearance to proceed — it is not citizenship — and it starts the clock on the residence period described in the next step.
- Formal application for naturalisation. Before the formal application can be filed, the applicant must complete at least eight continuous months of lawful residence in Malta, hold title to or a lease on adequate residential property there, demonstrate knowledge of Maltese or English, and provide proof of the ties and commitments described in the original proposal letter and endorsement from the competent body confirming the contribution. This is a substantive, unavoidable stage, not a formality.
- Second review by the Evaluation Board and final Ministerial decision. The formal application is reviewed once again by the Evaluation Board, which issues a further recommendation to the Minister. The Minister's decision on the formal application is, as before, final and discretionary.
- Oath of Allegiance and Certificate of Naturalisation. If approved, the applicant and any included dependants take the Oath of Allegiance and receive the Certificate of Naturalisation, at which point citizenship is granted.
Eligible Dependants
An applicant may include a spouse or partner in a recognised relationship, and unmarried children who are financially dependent on the applicant, subject to the age and dependency criteria under the amended regulations. The regulations set specific age thresholds and conditions, including for dependants with a disability, and specify whether the residence, property, and language requirements described above extend to particular categories of dependant; these should be confirmed against the current text of S.L. 188.06 or with Community Malta Agency for the specific family rather than assumed from a general summary. Dependency is assessed on evidence. Each dependant is subject to the same due diligence as the main applicant.
Common Misconceptions
A significant volume of material published online continues to describe the discontinued scheme as though it were operative. Clients frequently arrive having read it.
- The merit route is not a citizenship by investment programme, and no financial contribution grants or guarantees access to citizenship.
- It is not a continuation or replacement of the discontinued scheme; the two instruments are legally distinct.
- No minimum investment threshold is prescribed, though this does not mean the route is free: Agency processing fees and professional, due diligence, residence, and property costs still apply.
- No processing timeline is published or committed to by the administering authority.
- Proposals are submitted to and processed by Community Malta Agency. An applicant may proceed personally or appoint a Competent Professional authorised by the Agency to conduct the process — this is a different structure from the MPRP's licensed-agent framework, but it does not mean any adviser or law firm may formally conduct proceedings without the required Agency authorisation.
Uncertain Whether Your Profile Qualifies?
Uncertain whether your profile falls within one of the three statutory grounds? We will tell you before any work is commissioned.
Request a Preliminary AssessmentThe Residence Route for Investors
For most international investors, the merit route will not be the applicable one. The Malta Permanent Residence Programme is, and it continues to operate on a rules-based footing with defined thresholds and a published procedure under S.L. 217.26, as amended by Legal Notice 146 of 2025 and administered by the Residency Malta Agency.
The MPRP grants eligible third-country nationals and their families the right to reside in Malta indefinitely, with Schengen travel on the standard 90/180-day basis. It does not confer nationality and does not create an automatic or accelerated route to citizenship. An MPRP beneficiary who later seeks ordinary naturalisation would still need to satisfy the statutory conditions applicable under Article 10(1) of the Citizenship Act — broadly, twelve months of residence immediately before the application plus at least four years' residence within the preceding six, together with good character and knowledge of Maltese or English — and the Minister's approval remains discretionary at that stage too. Holding permanent residence status and physically residing in Malta are not necessarily the same thing for naturalisation purposes; simply holding an MPRP card does not by itself satisfy the residence periods above.
Requirements, costs, and process for the MPRP →
This is not a promotion of the merit route or any citizenship outcome; Community Malta Agency does not permit the merit-based framework to be marketed as a programme, and any assessment we provide is limited to whether the statutory grounds, or a separate residence route, may realistically be relevant to a given profile.
Tax Considerations
Malta tax treatment is determined principally by residence and domicile rather than by nationality. An individual resident but not domiciled in Malta is generally taxed on Malta-source income and on foreign income remitted to Malta, rather than on worldwide income. Foreign income not remitted may fall outside the charge, depending on the individual's position.
The consequences vary considerably with personal circumstances, existing tax residence, and the terms of any applicable double taxation agreement, of which Malta has concluded a substantial number. The position should be assessed against actual circumstances, in coordination with the client's existing advisers, before any commitment is made.
Why Ketenci & Ketenci
The practical difficulty in Malta matters is not the filing. It is establishing, before any expenditure, which route is actually available to the client.
Much of the material circulating on Malta citizenship still describes a scheme discontinued in 2025. Clients regularly come to us having been quoted a contribution figure for a framework that has not accepted an application in over a year. Correcting that picture is usually the first piece of work.
We assess the client's profile against the three statutory grounds under Article 10(9) and advise on whether it presents a credible basis for a proposal letter; where it does not, we set out the residence routes that do apply. For the merit route, we conduct this preliminary assessment and coordinate preparation of the matter with a Malta-based Competent Professional authorised by Community Malta Agency; for the MPRP, we instruct a licensed agent. Our teams in Istanbul, London, Lisbon, and Dubai conduct this work remotely where required.
Ketenci & Ketenci is not itself an Agency-authorised Competent Professional for the merit route, nor a Malta-licensed MPRP agent, and does not represent itself as either. We say so plainly because it is a distinction clients are entitled to understand before engaging anyone.
Frequently Asked Questions – Malta Citizenship
Request a Preliminary Malta Eligibility Assessment
We will review your position under the current framework and provide a tailored legal fee proposal. To assess a matter we ask for:
- whether the objective is citizenship or residence;
- nationality and current country of residence;
- professional, entrepreneurial, or philanthropic profile;
- intended investment structure, if any;
- proposed dependants.
Last legally reviewed: 6 August 2026. This page is provided for general information and does not constitute legal advice or create a lawyer–client relationship. Requirements, thresholds, and procedures are subject to change. Where this summary and the governing legislation differ, the legislation prevails. For advice specific to your circumstances, please contact our legal team directly.