On 20th November 2020 the Maltese Government published Legal Notice 437 of 2020 laying out requirements for the granting of citizenship by naturalisation for exceptional services to the Republic of Malta on the basis of humanity and on the basis of exceptional interest to the Republic of Malta, further elaborating on the article 10(9) of the Maltese Citizenship Act.
The legal notice therefore regulates conditions and procedure of naturalisation of persons who have done exceptional contributions to the country, such as scientists, researchers, athletes, sports people, artists and cultural performers.
The regulations also regulates naturalisation for the exceptional direct investment into Maltese economy.
Under the regulations, the main applicant must have reached 18 years of age and may include into the application:
Direct investment of €600,000 after successfully completing 36 months requirement of holding residency status in Malta OR
Direct investment of €750,000 by the main applicant after completion of 12 months of residency in Malta;
A contribution of €50,000 for each dependent;
Rental of residential immovable property with minimum annual rent of €16,000 for the period of 5 years from the date of naturalisation OR
Purchase of immovable residential property with a minimum value of €700,000 and retention of such property for a period of 5 years;
Donation of €10,000 to a registered and approved philanthropic organisation;
The applicant and dependents should be in good health, which should be certified by a medical practitioner.
Successful completion of multi-level due diligence checks and settlement of due diligence fees of €15,000 for the main applicant and €10,000 for each dependent.
In the course of due diligence checks the applicants should demonstrate a clean police conduct, should not be subject to international sanctions and did not have entry visa denied to any countries with whom Malta has visa-free arrangements. The applicants should be of good repute and should not be involved in any activity which may cause disrepute to Malta.
Naturalisation for exceptional services by direct investment in Malta is capped at 1,500 applications in total and is limited to the maximum 400 of applications per year.
The application may only be submitted by an agent which is duly licenced by the Community Agency.
Corrieri Cilia is a registered agent, holding licence IIP 129, and will be able to advise you on your eligibility for naturalisation for exceptional services be direct investment in Malta.