Malta after the EU court ruling: residency is open, investor-citizenship is closed
Malta was, for years, the only EU country offering a direct route to citizenship by investment. That ended in 2025 — but Malta’s residency programme continues.
The court ruling
On 29 April 2025 the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that Malta’s investor-citizenship scheme was unlawful under EU law. The Court’s reasoning was that granting nationality — and with it EU citizenship — in exchange for predetermined payments amounts to “commercialising” citizenship. In practice, this closed the last EU passport-by-investment programme. If your goal was a fast EU passport through a single investment, that option no longer exists inside the EU.
What remains: the MPRP
Malta still runs the Malta Permanent Residence Programme (MPRP), administered by Identità, which grants permanent residence — not citizenship — for life on approval. Under the rules that apply from 2025, the MPRP combines several components:
- A qualifying property: purchase from €375,000, or rent from €14,000 per year, held for five years.
- A government contribution: €30,000 if you buy, or €60,000 if you rent.
- An administrative fee (with additional fees per dependant) and a small charitable donation.
- Proof of assets (broadly €500,000, of which part must be financial).
There is no minimum-stay requirement, and the programme can cover up to four generations of one family. It must be handled through a licensed agent — you cannot self-apply.
What this means for applicants
Think of Malta today as a residency option, not a citizenship shortcut. Permanent EU residence still brings a stable base and the right to live in Malta, but a Maltese (and therefore EU) passport is now a separate naturalisation question, judged on its own merits over time. If an EU passport is your objective, we would look instead at long-horizon residency-to-citizenship routes such as Portugal or Greece and set realistic timelines.
Programme fees and thresholds change. Verify current MPRP rules with Malta’s Identità agency before applying.
Court of Justice of the EU · Malta Identità
Verified 2026-07-21. Figures change — confirm with the official source before acting.