Maltese Citizenship for Investment

BRIEFLY ABOUT THE MAIN THING

Malta is a small island state in the central part of the Mediterranean, located 90 km from Sicily and 280 km from the African continent.The Maltese archipelago consists of three islands: the central island of Malta, where the bulk of the population lives, Gozo, a small and very beautiful sister island, as the locals call it, with a population of only about 40,000 people, and very tiny and almost uninhabited Comino. 

Despite its modest size, Malta consistently occupies the highest positions in various ratings of quality of life, citizenship and economic indicators.Malta is an independent state within the European Union. It is a member of the British Commonwealth, which gives its citizens the right of free entry and a number of benefits both in the UK and in other countries belonging to the Commonwealth of Nations, in particular, Canada and Australia. 

Real estate in Malta is one of the most profitable and safe investments. Due to its small size, stable economy and high attractiveness for foreigners, the real estate market practically does not sink even in times of crisis, and recently it has been resolutely moving forward. So, over the last quarter of last year, the average cost of real estate in Malta increased by 6.2%. Considering that the profitability of renting out real estate in Malta is about 5-7% per year, the mortgage rate is about 3%, and the rental cost only for the first quarter of 2016 increased by 10%, many foreigners buy real estate simply as a long-term profitable investment.

Malta is one of the safest countries in Europe: there is a minimum crime rate throughout the European Union, and even small children can play outside unaccompanied by adults.

Numerous tax benefits and various programs to support private entrepreneurship make Malta one of the best places both for tax optimization and for doing business.

The quality of secondary education in Malta allows school graduates to continue their studies both in Malta and in British, Canadian, Australian and European universities. Official office work and document management are also conducted in English. 

Malta's resident programs are designed for a very different level of wishes and financial capabilities, from a long-term visa to acquiring citizenship by investment.

CITIZENSHIP BY INVESTMENT

The Malta Citizenship in Exchange for Investment program, the official name of the Malta Individual Investor Program (MIIP), was announced in 2013, and the first applications were accepted in 2014.The total number of applications accepted by the government from foreigners is currently approaching 1200. In total, according to the law regulating the MIIP program, 1800 families from other states can obtain passports under this program.

Since the Maltese authorities have recognized the program as successful, experts do not exclude the possibility that this quota will be increased. Given the fact that, on average, each family invests more than 700,000 euros directly and indirectly in the Maltese economy, they predict that the approximate amount of investments in the Maltese budget, excluding administration costs, will be about 1.2 billion euros.

In order to participate in the Malta Individual Investor Program, the applicant must first of all have a good state of health and a clean financial and criminal history. The state of health is confirmed by a certificate from any doctor who has the right to practice (you can Maltese, you can from your native country). Financial and criminal histories are checked, and very seriously.

Participation in the MIIP does not impose any requirements on the investor to speak the language of the country; in addition, Malta has two official languages - Maltese and English. But this does not apply to the registration of citizenship by naturalization.

The cost of an investment "entry" to obtain Maltese citizenship is relatively low: for example, the minimum cost of obtaining citizenship for a married couple is less than EUR 1 million. And, the bigger the family, the more profitable the move. In addition, the applicant does not risk losing all the invested funds and not getting citizenship, because the main investments need to be made after receiving a guarantee for the issuance of citizenship.At the same time, the euro 150,000 invested by the participant of the Maltese Citizenship program for investments in Maltese securities can be sold in five years; for five years, it is the Applicant who receives all the dividends they bring. And, by the way, real estate in Malta can be purchased on credit at 3.5% per annum.

CONDITIONS FOR INVESTORS

The cost of participating in the Maltese Passport program consists of the following mandatory investments:

1. Returnable investments

1.1. Purchase of real estate in the amount of at least 350,000 euros, or rental of real estate in the amount of at least 16,000 euros per year (the amount spent on rent, of course, is not refundable, but the acquisition is a profitable investment).

1.2. Investments in public funds or securities of Malta: €150,000.

2. Non-refundable investments:

Contribution to the Malta National and Economic Development Fund:

• Main applicant – €650 000
• Spouse of the applicant – €25 000
• Children under 18 years old – €25 000
• Children from 18 to 26 years old, unmarried: €50,000
• Financially dependent parents over 55 years old: €50,000.

Additional conditions

1) Only specially accredited Maltese financial and legal companies whose duties include document verification and primary security check are eligible to apply for Maltese citizenship. This license (IIP-088) is held by ACT-MaltaVIP Ltd, which has multiple successful experience in obtaining citizenship.

2) An applicant for Maltese citizenship must first be a resident of the country for at least 12 months (of which he must stay in the country physically for 15-30 days), after which he is issued a certificate of naturalization, and after taking the oath of allegiance to Malta, a passport.

3) The MIIP program was approved by the European Union, provided that the limit for issuing passports for it does not exceed 1800 applications. Judging by the current trend, this limit may be exhausted by the middle of next year.

ADVANTAGES OF THE PROGRAM FOR FOREIGNERS

• Foreigners who have obtained Maltese citizenship have the opportunity to move freely around the world. Maltese citizenship allows you to enter 163 countries without a visa or with a notification visa, including such "complicated" ones as Canada, Japan, the USA, Australia.

• The possibility for holders of a Maltese passport to permanently reside in any other EU country, as well as in Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein.
• Numerous tax and social benefits. Taxes are paid only on income received from economic activity in Malta or on foreign income transferred to Malta. Capital gains earned outside Malta are not subject to Maltese taxation under any circumstances. There are also no various inheritance taxes, wealth and real estate taxes, municipal taxes and fees. In addition, an agreement on the inadmissibility of double taxation has been signed and ratified between Malta and Russia.
• Part of the investment in the program is returnable and profitable.
• Malta is a member of the British Commonwealth of Nations, which provides additional benefits and benefits when living and doing business in the UK, Canada and Australia.
• Registration takes from 13 months, and the residence card for the main applicant and his family members, which gives the possibility of permanent residence in the EU (but not binding to it), is issued within a few days when applying.
• Maltese citizenship can be issued for all family members of the main applicant, including children under 18 years of age (up to 26 years if they are not married and do not have a permanent income) and parents over 55 years of age, which creates excellent opportunities for pensioners and opens up all modern prospects for children.
• Foreigners who have obtained Maltese citizenship and want to live on the islands receive even more attractive opportunities.

REAL ESTATE AND CITIZENSHIP OF MALTA

According to the terms of the program, the minimum cost of real estate for participation is€350 000. For this amount, you can buy an apartment with two or three bedrooms in an elite area, but without a sea view, or a one-two bedroom apartment with a remote or partial sea view in a good area. The cost of an apartment with a frontal sea view will be from €800,000; approximately the same amount starts «the price tag » for good houses.  

The acquisition of real estate in Malta is a fairly simple and absolutely safe process. Why safe? Because, firstly, all transactions are registered only through state notaries, otherwise they are invalid. Secondly, the notary who checks the purity of the transaction is personally responsible for its purity for ten years. And, thirdly, neither the buyer nor the seller get their hands on the original of the contract of sale – only notarized copies; the originals are stored in the state archive in a single copy, which excludes any fraud with real estate.

Real estate in Malta can be bought on credit, this is also not difficult: You need to pay at least 30% of the cost as a down payment and show that you have a permanent income that is at least four times higher than your monthly loan payments. The loan is granted for up to 25 years or until the borrower reaches the age of 65; the interest rate is about 3% per year.

THE MAIN STAGES OF OBTAINING MALTESE CITIZENSHIP

1. The Applicant enters into a contract for the provision of services for the registration of Maltese citizenship with an Authorized Agent (hereinafter referred to as AA) licensed by the State Agency "Identity Malta" (hereinafter referred to as IM) who will act on behalf of the Applicant (by law, the registration of Maltese citizenship is possible only through AA). By law, only AA has the right to check the candidates' compliance and apply for Maltese citizenship.

2. The applicant is being interviewed by one of the IM officials. If the Main Applicant for the acquisition of Maltese citizenship is not a resident of Malta, at the same stage a resident card (e-id card) is issued for him, giving the Applicant the right to stay in Malta during the period of registration of Maltese citizenship. The deadline for issuing a resident card for an applicant for Maltese citizenship is three to seven working days; the personal presence of the Applicant is mandatory (biometric data is removed). Other family members can issue resident cards at will.

3. The applicant for Maltese citizenship submits to his agent a complete list of documents, after which the agent conducts a preliminary analysis of the Applicant's documents and further represents his interests in the competent authorities responsible for obtaining Maltese citizenship.

4.The applicant for Maltese citizenship pays for AA services, security check services, residency registration services (if necessary) and a non-refundable deposit charged by the state against the main contribution under the program.

5. The applicant for Maltese citizenship and his dependents undergo a medical examination in one of the hospitals of Malta (for dependents located outside Malta, such an examination must be done by the attending physician by filling out and signing the appropriate form).

6. The agent performs an initial check of the documents of the applicant for Maltese citizenship, fills out all the necessary forms and submits an application for acquisition of Maltese citizenship in IM. The timing of the initial verification is one to two weeks (as a rule, the verification process takes place simultaneously with the process of issuing a resident card).

7. Within 90 days from the date of receipt of the application for the acquisition of Maltese citizenship and all accompanying documents, the Maltese authorities check:

• Formal correctness of filling out the application;
• Reliability of the information provided by the Applicant;
• The reliability of the applicant for Maltese citizenship and his family members and their compliance with the requirements of the program;
• The fact of payment of all payments necessary for obtaining Maltese citizenship; payment for security check services, passport fees, bank fees and non-refundable deposit;
• The legality of the origin of the applicant's funds for Maltese citizenship.
• Within 30 days from the date of completion of the verification specified in the previous paragraph, the Maltese authorities must inform the Applicant's AA in writing that the application for acquisition of Maltese citizenship is either:
• Approved in principle;
• Citizenship denied;
• The execution is delayed by the need to provide additional documents.

8. If the application for the acquisition of Maltese citizenship is approved in principle, the Maltese authorities issue a corresponding document - Letter of Approval in Principle, with an explanation that within four months from the date of receipt of this letter, the Applicant will have to provide evidence of the presence of:

• Insurance policy;
• Lease agreement or purchase of an apartment.

9. Within five days of receiving the letter of approval of Maltese citizenship in principle, the Applicant will receive a notification of the need to make a contribution to the National and Economic Development Fund.

10. After notifying the authorities of the fact of payment of all necessary contributions and after at least 12 months (from the date of issuance of the resident card), the Ministry issues a Certificate of Naturalization, which takes effect after the Applicant swears Allegiance to the Republic of Malta, after which the applicants are issued passports of Maltese citizens.

11. The total period for obtaining Maltese citizenship under the "Individual Investor" program, according to the legislation of Malta, is at least six months and not more than 24 months, provided that all the criteria of the program are met. On average, it takes 12-14 months from the moment of submitting an application to the day of receiving a passport.

The full list of documents required for obtaining Maltese citizenship can be viewed here.

RELIABLE PARTNER

The guarantee of a professional approach to obtaining Maltese citizenship for investors is cooperation with a reliable company with extensive experience in this field.

Alisa Tananaeva, partner, ACT MaltaVip Limited: "It is important that, in addition to extensive experience working with clients, the intermediary between the state and the investor has established a strong connection with government representatives, and the agency's employees constantly keep their finger on the pulse." Our company was formed by two founders: the well-known Maltese consulting company ACT Advisory Services Limited and MaltaVIP Ltd., which has been working with Russian-speaking clients in Malta since 2006. First of all, we provide professional services for various immigration programs in Malta, and also, together with the oldest Maltese agency Frank Salt Real Estate Ltd., we offer our clients an interesting selection of real estate from an extensive database.

DUE TO THE UNIQUE OFFER OF SERVICES, RELIABILITY OF WORK AND INDIVIDUAL APPROACH TO RUSSIAN-SPEAKING CUSTOMERS ABROAD, ACT MALTAVIP LIMITED RECEIVED THE GOLD AWARD OF THE ANNUAL HOMES OVERSEAS RUSSIAN AWARDS 2017.

ACT MaltaVip Limited specialists are in constant contact with government agencies that are directly involved in the registration of residency and citizenship in Malta.

FIVE EXPERT TIPS FOR ANYONE WHO IS THINKING ABOUT OBTAINING MALTESE CITIZENSHIP

1. As mentioned above, the registration of Maltese citizenship for investment is carried out only by authorized agents. How to choose the best and not make a mistake? First, you need to check whether the agent who will conduct your case has a license. You can do this on the official website Identity Malta – a state organization that is directly involved in the registration of Maltese citizenship. To date, Identity Malta has issued 153 licenses.

2. Always specify the cost of the services of an authorized agent for registration of citizenship – very many agents are «modestly silent about this » until the moment of issuing a general invoice to the client. The normal price in Malta for this service is – €45,000-50,000 for the main applicant; when you see the cost is more or less – this is a reason to be wary. Beginners who do not have real work experience or the necessary direct contacts with officials usually take less.

3. If you had problems with taxes and the law, don't hide it from the very beginning. The security check takes place at a very high level, and nothing can be hidden. In addition, if you immediately declare the presence of a problem, it is quite possible that it will not be so serious, but if during the verification processit turns out that you have hidden something – your documents will definitely not be missed.

4. If you are wondering whether it is worth buying an apartment right away, what will happen if I buy a property and I am denied citizenship?"Then the experts answer that, buying is more reasonable and profitable. The acquisition of real estate in Malta takes place in two stages. At the first stage, you select an object and sign a preliminary purchase agreement. On this – make a deposit of 10% of the value of the purchased property and 1% of the value of the stamp duty. The deposit is not transferred to the seller until the signing of the final contract of sale and is kept by a notary public. If the transaction is disrupted for reasons beyond the buyer's control, the deposit is refunded immediately after the rejection of the transaction, stamp duty – within a few months. In particular, the condition of the transaction can be prescribed to receive a letter of approval of citizenship, and in this case you do not risk anything. In the case of a lease, you must conclude a contract for at least a year and pay from the first month, plus a deposit plus the services of realtors. In addition, the value of real estate in Malta is constantly growing, and if you buy it in a good area, it is an investment, while renting is a net expense.

5. Currently, you can find a lot of contradictory information on the Internet about acquiring Maltese citizenship for investment. This happens because people confuse countries, programs, laws related to them, do not read English very well, and for many other reasons. Therefore, – refer to the original source! For those who know English, the official government website regulating the operation of the program is here. Or, in simplified form, by link.For those who do not speak English, it is advisable to at least make sure that the information published on the sites is based on official sources and is their high-quality translation: for example, on portal specifically dedicated to obtaining Maltese citizenship for investment. 

Portal HomesOverseas.ru thanks Alice Tananaeva (Malta VIP) for help in preparing articles.

photocredits: flickr

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