Malta citizenship by investment, closed, and what remains.

Malta citizenship by investment no longer exists. On 29 April 2025 the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that Malta's investor citizenship scheme breached EU law, and in July 2025 Malta removed it from its Citizenship Act. No application under the old scheme can be made today, and every file that had not been approved by the date of the judgment lapsed.

This guide is for the people still searching for it. It sets out what the Court decided and why, what Malta's law says now, what happened to applications in the pipeline and to passports already issued, what the former programme cost, and, most usefully, what an investor can still do in Malta and elsewhere in Europe in 2026. Anyone still selling "Malta citizenship by investment" is selling something that the law no longer provides.

At a glance

Malta in 2026, in six lines.

The ruling

Why the EU Court closed it, in one paragraph.

In Commission v Malta (C-181/23), the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice held that by establishing and operating its 2020 scheme, Malta had "commercialised" the grant of its nationality and, through it, citizenship of the European Union. Nationality is a matter for each Member State, the Court said, but it must be exercised consistently with EU law. Nationality rests on a special bond of solidarity and good faith between a state and its citizens, and EU citizenship rests on mutual trust between Member States, each of which must accept the others' citizens with full free-movement rights. A state that grants nationality in direct exchange for predetermined payments or investments, through what is in substance a transaction, cannot establish that bond and undermines that trust. Malta was found to have breached Article 20 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU and the duty of sincere cooperation in Article 4(3) of the Treaty on European Union.

The Court did not order passports already granted to be withdrawn, and it did not set out a minimum "genuine link". It did end, for every Member State, the idea that EU citizenship can be sold.

The law now

What Malta changed, and when.

Many sites say the scheme was "repealed in April 2025". April was the judgment; the law changed in July.

Applications in the pipeline, and passports already issued

The transitional rule is short and decisive. Citizenship already acquired under the old rules "shall continue to be regulated by, and remain valid under" them. Any direct-investment application that had not been approved for naturalisation by the Minister before 29 April 2025 "shall cease to have effect". If you hold a Maltese passport granted under the scheme, it remains valid; we have found no revocations made because of the ruling, though the ordinary powers to deprive citizenship for fraud or misconduct still apply. If your file was still open on 29 April 2025 and not yet approved, it has lapsed.

Citizenship by merit

What replaced it, and why it is not a substitute.

The new Article 10(9) lets the Minister grant citizenship "by merit" to a person who renders exceptional services, or makes an exceptional contribution, including through job creation, to Malta or to humanity, or whose naturalisation is of exceptional interest to Malta. The law gives examples: scientists, researchers, athletes, artists, cultural performers, entrepreneurs, philanthropists and technologists. "Exceptional" means manifestly superior or adding value.

The procedure runs in two stages. A proposal goes to an Evaluation Board through Komunità Malta, which carries out due diligence; the Minister decides, need not give reasons, and the decision is final. Only after approval in principle can a full application be made, with proof of at least eight months' residence in Malta, title to a residential property there, adequate English or Maltese, and evidence of ties created. The oath is taken in Malta.

For reference

What the former programme cost, 2020 to 2025.

Under Legal Notice 437 of 2020, the scheme combined a contribution to the National Development and Social Fund, a property commitment, a donation and a residence period before naturalisation. None of it can be applied for today.

A single applicant therefore committed well over €1 million in total, counting the property, which is why the programme attracted a different clientele from the Caribbean ones. Timelines ran about 14 to 18 months on the 12-month route and 38 to 42 months on the 36-month route.

What still works

What an investor can still do in Malta, in 2026.

Malta remains open to investors as a place to live, hold assets and be taxed. Three residence routes are in force; none of them grants citizenship.

Malta Permanent Residence Programme (MPRP)

Permanent residence for non-EU nationals and their families, up to four generations on one application, administered by Residency Malta. It is what most sites now call the Malta golden visa, and since the citizenship scheme closed it is the main investment route into Malta.

The MPRP gives the right to live in Malta indefinitely and to travel in the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any 180. It is a residence card, not a passport, and there is no automatic path from it to citizenship. Our Malta Permanent Residence Programme guide covers it in full.

Global Residence Programme

A tax residence status for non-EU nationals, with foreign income remitted to Malta taxed at a flat 15%, subject to a minimum annual tax, and a qualifying property purchase or rental. It suits people who actually intend to live in Malta. See the Global Residence Programme guide.

Nomad Residence Permit

For remote workers earning at least €42,000 a year gross: one year, renewable up to four years in total. It expressly does not lead to permanent residence or citizenship. See the Malta digital nomad visa guide.

The only route left

Maltese citizenship by residence, for those who move.

The ordinary route has not changed. Under Article 10(1) of the Maltese Citizenship Act, an applicant must have lived in Malta throughout the twelve months immediately before applying, and for at least four years in aggregate in the six years before that, so about five years in practice. They must also have adequate Maltese or English, be of good character and be a suitable citizen. The Minister decides with full discretion, need not give reasons, and there is no appeal.

Whether years spent as an MPRP resident count towards that residence depends on actual presence in Malta, not on the card, and we confirm it case by case. For a family willing to move, residence followed by naturalisation is a real if slow route to a Maltese, and therefore EU, passport. For a family that is not, there is no Maltese passport to be had.

Malta permits dual citizenship, so a person who does naturalise keeps their existing nationality where their home country allows it.

If your goal is a passport

Alternatives to Malta citizenship by investment, by what you need.

No EU country sells citizenship any more: Cyprus closed its scheme in 2020, Bulgaria in 2022 and Malta in 2025. What remains is a choice between an EU residence now with a passport later, and a non-EU passport now.

The passport

What a Maltese passport is worth, and why it was in demand.

The Maltese passport is an EU passport: the right to live and work in all 27 Member States, and, per Henley's January 2026 index, visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 183 destinations, joint sixth in the world. Malta is also an English-speaking Commonwealth country with a common-law tradition in commercial matters, a large financial and gaming sector, and a network of tax treaties. That combination is why the programme commanded a price several times that of the Caribbean, and why its closure leaves a gap no other single programme fills.

FAQ

Malta citizenship by investment, frequently asked questions.

Updates

What we changed, and when.

• 13 Oct 2026: Guide rewritten: the CJEU ruling, Act XXI of 2025 and Legal Notice 159 of 2025, the fate of pending applications and existing passports, the merit regulations and Komunità Malta's February 2026 notice, current MPRP figures and the residence route.
• 21 Sep 2026: Status changed to closed.