Maltese citizenship can be obtained by descent or birth to persons who have an ethnic or territorial affiliation with the state, and by foreigners – by registration, standard or simplified naturalization. The applicant must fulfill a number of conditions provided for by law, which depend on the method of legalization of stay. The migration policy of a state is largely determined by its position in the European geopolitical system. Located at the crossroads of the Mediterranean routes, the smallest EU country makes it possible to expedite the issuance of Maltese passports for investments, which attracts foreign assets into the economy and stimulates business development.

The issuance of status for financial investments is regulated by the Regulations on the Granting of Citizenship on Exceptional Merit, and on other grounds – by the Maltese Citizenship Law. The main advantages of obtaining a Maltese passport are associated with its entry into the EU, which provides the citizen with a wide range of privileges in the territory of the union. The state demonstrates high rates of economic development, which allows the Maltese to have a decent level of earnings and generally favorable living conditions.

Benefits of a Maltese passport

  • occupying positions on the local and European labor market as a priority and without obtaining additional permits;
  • automatic acquisition of EU citizenship and the right to reside in any of the member states on a permanent basis, subject to a simple registration procedure;
  • travel to 171 countries without visas or in a simplified regime, including European countries, Israel, the USA, Canada and others;
  • training in Maltese and European higher educational institutions free of charge or at a reduced cost;
  • receiving banking services in full with the issuance of loans and mortgages at the most favorable interest rates;
  • holding public positions in Maltese authorities;
  • participation in the political life of the country.

What is needed to obtain Maltese citizen status?

To become a citizen of Malta, acquire an EU passport, and with it the right to visa-free travel to 170+ countries and a number of other benefits, you must meet the conditions according to the chosen method of acquiring status. When undergoing the naturalization procedure, the applicant must fulfill the following requirements:

  • reaching 18 years of age;
  • presence of foreign citizenship or stateless person status;
  • knowledge of the national or English language;
  • residence in Malta for 12 months immediately before submitting the application and an additional 4 years continuously out of the 6 years preceding this period;
  • displaying good character and demonstrating the conduct of a trustworthy person who deserves to be part of the Maltese nation.

Legal ways to obtain a Maltese passport

The pathways available for Maltese citizenship in 2024 include birth, descent, naturalization, registration. You cannot buy a Maltese passport and immediately acquire citizenship, but you can speed up the standard process of legalizing your stay by making certain investments. The state does not have legislation enshrining the automatic granting of citizen status by right of soil, so organizing childbirth on the territory of the country in order to obtain a second passport for the child does not make sense.

Birth and origin

A child of a Maltese citizen (or two Maltese citizens) born on or after 1 August 1989 automatically receives the status. In the case of children born abroad, the mother and/or father must have citizenship other than by registration based on origin. To check whether a child is eligible for a passport, it is worth making sure that the parents acquired the status in a manner that is permitted by law. The following categories of persons are also considered citizens of the country:

  • those born in Malta before 21 September 1964, if at least one parent was also born in the state;
  • having, before 20 September 1964, citizenship of the United Kingdom or its colonies;
  • those born abroad before independence whose paternal grandparents were born in Malta.

A person who was born in the country between 21 September 1964 and 31 July 1989 is entitled to citizenship status if his father was not Maltese and was not a diplomat. A similar opportunity exists for children born outside Malta during this period. In such a case, the father must be Maltese and derive his status from non-registration based on descent.

Registration

The following categories of applicants can obtain Maltese citizen status by submitting an application for registration:

  • spouses of Maltese citizens, provided the duration of the union is at least 5 years;
  • widow(ers) of country passport holders, if the marriage lasted for at least 5 years or at the time of filing the request, its duration would have been the same if not for the death of the partner;
  • children who, before 21 September 1964, were born in the country to a woman born in Malta and who would have been able to obtain citizenship but for her death;
  • sons/daughters of a citizen who received status by birth, if they were born abroad on or after September 21, 1964, but before August 1, 1989;
  • former citizens of Malta;
  • descendants in the direct line of an ancestor who was born in the territory of the country from a parent also born in this state.

Persons who belong to one of the categories can contact the authorized body in Malta or contact the country’s embassy (if they are abroad) in order to verify the right to obtain citizenship in this way and clarify the details of the procedure.

Naturalization

Persons who legally reside in the state for a specified period of time, demonstrate their integrity, study the national or English language, and undergo the naturalization process to obtain Maltese citizenship. In the general procedure, it is necessary to obtain a residence permit on one of the grounds permitted by law (work, self-employment, education, family reunification, financial self-sufficiency, including for pensioners), renew it on time and after at least 5 years of legal stay in the country, request a passport. Parents who were not Maltese at the time of the child’s birth but subsequently acquired the status can apply for naturalization for the children on their own behalf.

Investments

Foreigners who have invested large sums in the economic development of Malta can apply for citizenship through an expedited procedure. The following are considered mandatory requirements:

  • confirmation of residence in the country for 36 months, subject to an investment of at least 600,000 EUR, or 12 – with an investment of 750,000 EUR;
  • charitable donation of at least 10,000 EUR;
  • purchasing real estate for an amount of at least 700,000 EUR or registering a lease with an annual payment of 16,000 EUR, with the expectation that the housing will be suitable for the investor and family to stay for at least 5 subsequent years.

There are no standard requirements for the naturalization procedure, but you must first obtain a residence permit, provide a medical certificate confirming the absence of infectious diseases, undergo a security check to obtain citizenship, and have no criminal record. Together with the investor, members of his family (spouses, minor children or aged 18–29 years unless married, parents, grandparents over 55 years of age and dependents of the main applicant) can legalize their stay in Malta.

How to obtain Maltese citizenship

The naturalization process begins for a foreigner with the opening of a visa and registration of a Maltese residence permit . By fulfilling, for the period of time established by law, the conditions that applied when the residence card was first issued, the person can continue to reside legally and integrate into society until he acquires the right to citizenship. The procedure for obtaining status occurs in several stages from preparing a dossier to receiving a citizen’s passport with an application to the Identity Malta Agency (hereinafter referred to as the Agency).

Registration of a residence permit

To be able to enter the territory of Malta and obtain a residence permit, you must first request a long-term visa type D from the diplomatic mission of the country. The purpose of opening a visa pass must coincide with the reason for subsequently obtaining temporary residence. A residence permit is applied for at the nearest Identity Malta office and is granted for varying periods depending on the basis, but mainly for a year. After 5 years of residence in the country and if the established requirements are met, a person can apply for indefinite permanent resident and/or citizen status.

Collection and preparation of documents

An applicant who is applying for Maltese citizenship as part of the general naturalization procedure should collect a dossier that includes:

  • the applicant’s birth certificate;
  • passport and residence permit;
  • certificate of trustworthiness from the police;
  • one passport size photo;
  • marriage certificate, if applicable;
  • a statement signed by the applicant stating the reasons for requesting citizenship;
  • confirmation of employment and length of service;
  • agreement on rent or purchase of housing;
  • proof of residence in Malta (bank statements, pay slips, receipts for utility bills).

The applicant must prepare copies of these documents, which will be stored in the citizenship department, but when submitting, take the originals with him. All certificates, certificates and certificates issued by foreign authorities must be translated into Maltese or English with the help of a certified translator. The application is signed by a foreigner in the presence of an authorized person with a fee of 10 EUR.

Applying for citizenship

The application along with a complete package of documents is submitted to the Agency. Authorized persons initially check the completeness of the dossier, after which the foreigner can sign the completed application form. To complete the citizenship application process, you must have two sponsors who will attest to the application with their signatures and who are not his/her relatives. The applicant can choose one from the approved list (notary, judge, lawyer, medical worker, priest), and the second – from among ordinary adult citizens who received their status not by naturalization.

The deadline for consideration of the case has not been officially established, nor has the possibility of checking the status of the application been indicated. As part of the procedure, the person undertakes to take an oath, after which the application is finally processed and a certificate of citizenship is issued, which can be collected from the Agency.

Terms and cost of obtaining Maltese citizenship

The average processing time for a residence permit request is 4 months. Temporary residence is mainly granted for a year with the right to extend it any necessary number of times until you can apply for permanent residence and/or a passport. The total period for acquiring Maltese citizenship by naturalization includes 5 years of residence + time spent waiting for the consideration of applications when obtaining/renewing legal statuses.

How much it costs to obtain Maltese citizenship depends on the method of obtaining it:

  • origin – free;
  • registration – 150 EUR;
  • naturalization – 450 EUR.

An additional fee of 50 EUR is paid for issuing a certificate in each case.

The price of obtaining citizenship for investors additionally includes investment amounts set by the government.

Maltese citizen passport: how to get it after obtaining citizenship

The state issues two identification documents – an internal passport of Malta in the form of a plastic ID card and a foreign one. The document for traveling abroad has a book format and looks traditional for an EU member state – it has a standardized design with a burgundy cover. The ID card is requested from the ID office online and is available to persons aged 14 years or older. You can obtain a foreign passport by submitting a request to an officer at the passport office at your place of residence. The applicant must prepare the following documents:

  • a current ID and copies of it on both sides;
  • completed Form A (the form can be downloaded from the official website of the Identity Malta agency).

When visiting the office, the applicant must take a photograph and submit biometric data.

Typically, the request is processed within 4 business days. In case of emergency, you can agree on the production of a document within 4 hours. To pick up your passport, you must take into account the opening hours of the responsible authority. The cost of a foreign passport with a validity period of 10 years, which is issued for persons over 16, is 80 EUR, for applicants aged 10–15 (for a 5-year period) – 40 EUR, for children under 10 years old for 2 years – 16 EUR. The first ID card is provided to citizens free of charge, and when receiving it again in case of theft, loss, or damage, a fee of 16.50–22 EUR is provided.

Dual citizenship of Malta: is it possible to get a second passport?

In 2000, important changes were introduced to the legislation of Malta, which regulates the process of granting citizenship – the country eliminated any obstacles to the ability of citizens to hold two or more passports. It is worth considering the differences between the concepts of dual and second citizenship. The first status is possible only if an appropriate reciprocity agreement has been signed between the states. In this case, the person is considered a binational and is recognized as such in each of the countries whose passports he holds. If the applicant has been assigned several statuses, but only the local identity card has legal force in the relevant states, we are talking about acquiring a second citizenship.

If they meet the requirements established by the Citizenship Law, foreigners can receive a Maltese passport as an additional one, while retaining the first one. Local authorities do not report the assignment of status to a person’s country of origin.

Refusal and revocation of Maltese citizenship

The following reasons may contribute to the rejection of an application for Maltese citizenship:

  • failure by the applicant to fulfill one or more established requirements for assignment of status;
  • providing incomplete dossier, inaccurate or false information about a person;
  • the presence of a threat from the applicant to the security of the state and society;
  • failure to comply with migration policy before submitting a citizenship request.

If the applicant is staying in the country illegally, for example, by not renewing a residence permit on time, this may result in expulsion or deportation, as well as in the future preventing them from obtaining residency and a passport. Even if a foreigner is successfully granted status, there is a possibility that it will be revoked by a decision of the Minister. The reasons for these consequences are the fraudulent actions of a person in order to obtain Maltese citizenship through naturalization or registration. Expressing disrespect for the country’s government, collaborating in any form with the enemy in the event of the state’s participation in hostilities, living abroad for more than 7 years without notifying the Maltese authorities of the desire to retain citizenship are factors that can lead to deprivation of status.

How to obtain Maltese citizenship