Malta citizenship by investment
Malta citizenship by investment
Malta citizenship by investment is closed. On 29 April 2025 the EU Court of Justice ruled the programme unlawful (Case C-181/23), and Malta repealed it on 24 July 2025. Citizenships already granted stand, but you can no longer obtain a Maltese passport through a set investment. What remains is EU permanent residence via the MPRP, and a discretionary merit-based naturalisation with no fixed amount. If a Maltese passport was your goal, the honest alternatives are the MPRP for residence or another EU golden visa such as Portugal or Greece.
- From
- env. $80 800≈ $107 860 — estimated family total
- Processing time
- 12–18 months
- Physical presence
- None. There is no minimum-stay requirement. The permit gives Schengen access for 90 days in any 180.
Malta citizenship by investment is closed
If you searched for a way to buy a Maltese passport, the honest answer is that the route no longer exists. Malta's citizenship-by-investment programme has been closed. On 29 April 2025 the EU Court of Justice ruled it unlawful (Case C-181/23), and Malta repealed it on 24 July 2025 through Act XXI of 2025. You can no longer obtain Maltese — and therefore EU — citizenship through a defined investment. We correct the query rather than keep the illusion alive.
Why it closed
The Court held that a Member State cannot make its nationality — and with it EU citizenship and free movement — available in exchange for predetermined payments; citizenship rests on a genuine bond, not a commercial transaction. Malta's programme was structured exactly as a purchase, and that is what the Court found incompatible with EU law. We explain the ruling and its consequences in full in Malta after the CJEU ruling.
What is not affected
The ruling did not unwind the past. Citizenships already granted before the repeal remain valid; the people who obtained them keep their status and their passports. The judgment governs what Malta may offer going forward, not a retroactive revocation. If you already hold Maltese citizenship, your position is unchanged.
What remains: residence, not a purchasable passport
Two lawful paths survive, and neither is a passport for a set price. Malta still runs the Malta Permanent Residence Programme (MPRP), which grants permanent residence — the right to live in Malta and travel in Schengen — but not citizenship. Separately, Malta retains a discretionary, merit-based naturalisation with no fixed amount; it is not a purchasable route and should not be marketed as one.
Honest alternatives if you wanted an EU passport
If a path to an EU passport was the real goal, it now runs through residence-first programmes in other member states, not a Maltese shortcut. A Portuguese golden visa or a Greek golden visa can, over years of genuine residence, lead to naturalisation — on their timelines and conditions. Weigh them side by side on our golden visa comparison, and remember that citizenship, wherever you pursue it, does not by itself change where you are taxed (second citizenship and taxes).
Before you act
Be especially wary here: because the programme is closed, anyone still offering a Maltese passport for a set investment is describing something that no longer exists — treat it as a warning sign and read our guide to risks, scams and vetting an agent. Confirm the current status of the MPRP and any naturalisation route with the Maltese authorities directly, and see how we verify every figure and status on our methodology page.
See also
Malta · Citizenship · Compare
Frequently asked questions
Can I still buy Maltese citizenship?
What does the MPRP actually give me?
Freedom. Anywhere.
Find my programme
What we do for you
You are looking at a passport, not a brochure. We take the whole procedure with you — eligibility, the route that actually fits your situation, the file, the follow-up — with one person on your side from the first call to the oath.
For Malta specifically, you are talking to someone who already knows the file: who to speak to on the ground, what the unit actually asks for, and the points where applications stall.
- One point of contact, from the first call to the certificate
- Vetted partners on the ground — law firms, licensed agents, banks — introduced, not listed
- It starts with a short qualifying call, and no, it is not a sales call
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