Malta's residency programme: A bright spot in Europe's shrinking visa landscape - Sarah Young

In recent years, numerous European countries have begun to phase out or significantly modify their golden visa programmes. This shift is primarily driven by concerns over housing affordability, money laundering, and the need for stricter immigration controls. Following a European court ruling, Malta was compelled to close its golden passport scheme. However, recent revisions to its Permanent Residence Programme (PRP) now present attractive pathways for investors. In an interview with BizNews, Sarah Young from Sable International highlighted that Malta’s PRP offers lifetime residency for a €500,000 investment, with the added benefit that investors can earn rental income from properties purchased. She also noted that this programme features a faster residency process with lower costs. For South Africans seeking warmth and sunshine, Malta stands out as a desirable year-round destination, especially since English is one of its official languages.

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Edited transcript of the interview

Linda van Tilburg (00:00.314)  

Malta's golden passport has officially been shut down following a European Court of Justice ruling that it commercialised EU citizenship. But that doesn't mean the door is closed to Malta. Sarah Young from Sable International is in the studio to break down what's changed, what still holds value, and why Malta continues to draw global interest. Hi Sarah, so nice to see you again.

Linda van Tilburg (00:30)  

So, the golden passport is off the table, but what is still available in Malta?

Sarah Young (00:33)  

Thanks so much, Linda. So, Malta traditionally had two programmes. They had a citizenship-by-investment programme, which largely required a huge monetary donation to the Maltese authorities. But they've also had a very long-standing residence programme, initially termed the MRVP, the Residence Visa Programme. It was revised into the PRP, the Permanent Residence Programme, a few years ago. And in July of this year, we've just seen the programme revised again, rendering it much more attractive to investors and families. They've made some significant changes to the programme now.

Traditionally, there's always been a route to residency through either owning a property in Malta or through a property lease option for those who don't want to invest initially in property. But traditionally, you would need to keep that property address in Malta for a minimum of five years. There was no option to sublet the property that you were using as your physical address in Malta.

With the revisions now, those who choose to invest in property have now got immediate leasing rights from the word go, which means that they are able to generate a yield on any property owned, and it starts to make investment sense to invest in Malta in Europe and then have an asset that allows them access to Europe as well.

In addition to the property address requirement, there is a minimum net wealth requirement of €500,000, so it's still very much a programme aimed at high net worth individuals, but essentially, you're not needing to commit that capital to the programme. There are some non-refundable government fees, which come to approximately €97,000 for a family of four, but in comparison to the original citizenship programme in Malta, you are looking at a minimum non-refundable contribution of €650,000 just for the main applicant.

So, this is a much more affordable programme for the right people looking for a solution that enables them to secure a European footprint and essentially permanent residency in Malta.

Linda van Tilburg (02:52)  

So, it comes with permanent residency.

Sarah Young (02:55))  

Correct. And the permanent residency for these investment programmes cannot be compared like for like. For example, in Greece, if you invest in property, you can secure permanent residency, but there are no working rights in Greece. With the Maltese permanent residency, you're actually securing lifetime rights for you and your family in Malta with the ability to live, work, study, and retire in Malta. So, it essentially opens a door to you that remains open to you and your family, including your children, for the rest of their lives.

Linda van Tilburg (03:52)  

Is there a pathway to citizenship, to a passport?

Sarah Young (03:35)  

It's not a straightforward route to citizenship, no. Malta has just revised their citizenship legislation, and they now have citizenship by merit, whereby those making substantial contributions to Malta or to humanity can, at the discretion of the Maltese government, be awarded citizenship. But essentially, not everybody necessarily requires citizenship because permanent residency can often tick all the boxes and afford you all the rights that you actually need.

I always give myself as an example of this. I'm a British national—you can hear that from my accent—but I live and work in South Africa. I've got permanent residency here, and permanent residency affords me everything I need to be able to get on with my day-to-day life. Subject to what the goals are for the individual and their family, securing Maltese citizenship might not actually be a necessity because permanent residency may offer them everything they want: the ability to spend extra time in Europe. You could base yourself in Malta but still be able to travel around the Schengen area for 90 days out of every 180 days. So, in combination with time spent in Malta, you could spend a large portion of the year in Europe if you so wished.

Linda van Tilburg (04:56)  

So, are there annual physical presence requirements for residency holders?

Sarah Young (05:04 )  

Not a true requirement. So, in the first year of residency, applicants should be looking to spend two to three weeks in Malta, but there’s no ongoing annual requirement. So, after that, you can really spend as much or as little time in Malta as you wish.

Linda van Tilburg (05:17)  

Well, some countries offer relocation benefits. Does Malta offer those?

Sarah Young (05:23)  

They do. And I think this is one of the reasons why Malta is proving to be a very popular destination with South Africans, Brits, and the US. It's an English-speaking destination. English is a business language there. And they’ve also got great schooling options, university, and excellent healthcare facilities, both public and private.

So, for those who actually do wish to spend the majority of the year in Malta, it really can be a great destination. It's a great central Mediterranean hopping-off point to the rest of Europe. You've got daily flights in and out from London, from most European capitals via the low-cost airlines, and an easy transport hub through to the Middle East as well. So, it really becomes a very attractive destination, but it also affords you the benefits of great healthcare and education options if you do decide you want to actually physically relocate and live in Malta.

Linda van Tilburg (06:24)  

So, is that why it’s quite an appealing destination for South Africans?

Sarah Young (06:28)  

Yes. It's interesting because in Malta, there’s also quite a big South African expat community. So, you can even buy your biltong, and you hear Afrikaans in the streets. It's an interesting place. It's such a medley and sort of melting pot of different cultures, different people, wonderful foods. It's very much an outdoors lifestyle, which I think also appeals to South Africans. Great climate. They've got over 300 days of sunshine per year. It's a really lovely spot, and the Maltese are very welcoming and hospitable people too, and so for that reason, I think it does resonate with South Africans who want to have access to Europe but also want to feel at home in a country that’s not so different from what they know and love.

Linda van Tilburg (07:20)  

In terms of language, I've been to Malta, and I've found that so many people speak English.

Sarah Young (07:26)  

Yeah, I mean, it's an official language. Everywhere you go, most menus are in English. The doctors all speak English. All of your professionals speak English. So, it's not a requirement to learn Maltese in schools. There are some schools that are English-speaking, others which are obviously taught in Maltese but with English as a school language. So, it's very much a dual-language country. And I think that really facilitates an easy kind of introduction for people coming from outside.

Linda van Tilburg (08:02 )  

Well, most of Europe has seen a surge in applications from Americans. Is that true for Malta as well?

Sarah Young (08:08)  

Yes, so the Maltese property market is garnering a lot of interest from US nationals right now. I think it particularly appeals to certain types of people. So, when you're used to maybe living in smaller quarters in built-up areas but enjoying the lifestyle and the beaches and things—I speak to a lot of clients in New York, for example, who are used to apartment living. So, apartment living in Malta really just suits them both. But you've got the best of both because you've literally got the beaches on the doorstep, but then you've got lock-up-and-go as well, so that you can be safe and secure in the knowledge that all of your personal belongings are safe. Malta is a very safe country, so it's a great spot to base yourself.

Linda van Tilburg (08:58)  

So, how does Malta compare to Portugal, which is still a very popular South African destination?

Sarah Young (09:05)  

I would say Portugal is still really a top European residency-by-investment programme, primarily because it's the only programme that now allows a route to citizenship without the need to relocate and live in the country, something that no other European residency-by-investment programme offers. Your biggest appeal for Malta is that it's not requiring the same capital outlay. Also, your physical property requirements, whether you opt to pursue that property purchase or lease, are a minimum requirement of five years. And after that, you could, if you wanted to, downgrade to a property of lesser value, for example. Whereas the Portugal programme, you really are committing your full investment for a minimum of seven to eight years because of the processing delays.

But also, one of the new benefits of Malta is that it's really offering an expedited route to residency. So, you don't have those long lead times where you're waiting for your first residency card to be issued. So, with this permanent residence programme, they've offered investors the option to apply from initial submission for temporary residency, which can be issued in a matter of weeks from submission of your biometrics in Malta.

So, it really gives a family the option to secure residency on a very quick, expedited timeline, something that Portugal cannot offer, and in Portugal, at the moment, it could take two and a half years to get your first residency card issued. So, it's very much key for me to understand the investor and their family's goals and motivations, exactly what they're hoping to achieve. Portugal can still definitely tick all the boxes for a lot of clients, but it requires that larger capital outlay and it requires a lot of patience. Malta, it's much more immediate to see those benefits, and also you've got that lower capital outlay.

Linda van Tilburg (11:13)  

South Africans always ask anybody who lives overseas, is it cold? Malta, it's now October, is probably still fine.

Sarah Young (11:19)  

The whole year round, Malta is such an enjoyable climate. It's fairly dry air, it's hot, it's cloudless, the sun shines, and when the sun shines, everybody feels happy. I think that's also why they have such a wonderful disposition. It's such a lovely, lovely place to be outside, out and about, and so close to the rest of Europe.

Linda van Tilburg (12:45)  

So, to end off, a lot of these countries are clamping down. They are narrowing the route and the options. So, do you think Malta stands out as one that is a good prospect?

Sarah Young (12:56)  

100%. I think the fact that Malta has now redefined their nationality legislation to offer residency for qualifying investment to high-net-worth individuals who can meet the requirements and all the due diligence. There's absolutely no reason why that programme would change. It is so robust. The Maltese are also very vigilant in their due diligence and KYC and vetting of individuals, which does make the application process complex and comprehensive, but at the same time, that stands as a testament to why the programme has such a good reputation. So, I truly believe this programme is here to stay. I think it's got great history behind it. The fact that they continually revise it to make it more attractive to investors also shows that they really value the type of people who are coming to Malta and securing their residency through this programme.

Linda van Tilburg (12:59)  

Is it a good place to move your business to or even start a business?

Sarah Young (13:06)  

Yeah, Malta's got some great structuring opportunities. A lot of corporates do choose to structure through Malta. There are also great taxation benefits that can be had with the correct structuring. So, from that point of view as well, for entrepreneurs looking to build out their business into Europe, Malta can be a great place to start that European journey.