Malta · Citizenship
Maltese Citizenship After the 2025 Reform
Malta no longer offers citizenship for investment. After the EU Court of Justice ruled against the scheme in April 2025, Act XXI of 2025 rewrote the law, leaving ordinary naturalization and a discretionary merit-based route.
- Startup route
- Malta Startup Residence Programme
- Minimum capital
- EUR 25,000 investment or paid-up share capital
- Permanent residence
- 5 years; MPRP grants permanent residence directly
- Citizenship
- 5 years within 7, including the final 12 months
Naturalization (Maltese Citizenship Act, Article 10(1))
Ordinary naturalization requires an adult to have lived in Malta throughout the twelve months immediately before applying and for at least four years in total during the six years before that, which adds up to five years within seven. The applicant must have adequate knowledge of Maltese or English, be of good character and be judged a suitable citizen by the Minister. The Minister may, in special circumstances, count residence from more than seven years earlier. Malta allows multiple citizenship, so new citizens do not have to give up another nationality under Maltese law.
- Residence
- Final 12 months plus 4 of the previous 6 years
- Language
- Adequate Maltese or English
- Character
- Good character; suitable citizen
- Dual citizenship
- Allowed under Article 7
- Decision
- At the Minister's discretion
Requirements
- Full age and capacity at the time of application.
- Residence in Malta for the whole twelve months before applying, and four years within the six years before that.
- Adequate knowledge of the Maltese or the English language.
- Good character and suitability as a citizen of Malta, as judged by the Minister.
How to apply
- Count residence: the final twelve months in Malta plus four years within the preceding six.
- Submit the naturalization application in the prescribed form to Community Malta Agency.
- If approved, take the oath of allegiance and receive the certificate of naturalization.
Citizenship by merit (Article 10(9))
Status: Discretionary; not a program or an investment pathway
Since 24 July 2025, Article 10(9) lets the Minister grant citizenship by merit to people who render exceptional services or make an exceptional contribution to Malta or to humanity, including through job creation, or whose naturalization is of exceptional interest to Malta. The law names scientists, researchers, athletes, artists, entrepreneurs, philanthropists and technologists among possible candidates, and defines exceptional as manifestly superior or adding value. Legal Notice 159 of 2025 sets the process. Community Malta Agency stresses that this is not a program, scheme or pathway, nor an alternative to the repealed investment framework, and it does not permit marketing of it.
- In force
- 24 July 2025 (Act XXI of 2025)
- Basis
- Exceptional services, contribution or interest
- Process rules
- Legal Notice 159 of 2025 (S.L. 188.06)
- Nature
- Discretionary, assessed case by case
- Marketing
- Promotion not permitted by the agency
Requirements
- Evidence of exceptional services or an exceptional contribution to Malta or humanity, which can include job creation.
- An application submitted in the manner prescribed by the regulations.
- The oath of allegiance, taken in Malta.
- Eligible dependents may be included at the Minister's discretion.
How to apply
- Review the criteria in Article 10(9) and S.L. 188.06 as amended in 2025.
- Apply to Community Malta Agency in the prescribed form.
- If the Minister grants citizenship, take the oath of allegiance in Malta.
Former citizenship by investment (exceptional services by direct investment)
Status: Repealed after the CJEU judgment in Case C-181/23 of 29 April 2025
Malta's citizenship-by-investment framework let foreign investors obtain citizenship in return for direct investment, through regulations made under Article 10(9). On 29 April 2025 the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled against the scheme in Case C-181/23, Commission v Malta. Malta responded with Act XXI of 2025, in force on 24 July 2025, which replaced Article 10(9) with a merit test, deleted the definition of the Individual Investor Programme and replaced references to exceptional services and to that scheme. Applications filed under Article 10(9) before that date fall outside the amendment, subject to any regulations made under the Act.
- Status
- Closed to new applications
- Court ruling
- CJEU, Case C-181/23, 29 April 2025
- Legal change
- Act XXI of 2025, in force 24 July 2025
- Earlier filings
- Pre-24 July 2025 files sit outside the amendment
Requirements
- No new applications are accepted under the former investment framework.
- Applications filed before 24 July 2025 under Article 10(9) follow the transitional rule in Act XXI of 2025.
How to apply
- Applicants with files lodged before 24 July 2025 should follow up directly with Community Malta Agency.
The CJEU ruling and Malta's response
In Case C-181/23, the European Commission challenged Malta's practice of granting citizenship in return for payments or investments, and the Court of Justice ruled against Malta on 29 April 2025. Parliament passed the Maltese Citizenship (Amendment) Act on 23 July 2025, the President assented the next day, and it took effect on 24 July 2025. Community Malta Agency later confirmed that the former framework had been repealed and, in February 2026, warned against marketing citizenship by merit as a successor scheme, stressing that decisions are discretionary and assessed case by case.
Questions and answers
Can I still buy Maltese citizenship in 2026?
No. The citizenship-by-investment framework was repealed after the EU Court of Justice ruled against it in April 2025, and Act XXI of 2025 replaced it with a discretionary merit-based provision. Community Malta Agency states that citizenship by merit is not a program or an alternative to the former investment route.
How long must a founder live in Malta before naturalizing?
The Maltese Citizenship Act requires residence throughout the twelve months immediately before the application and at least four years in aggregate during the previous six years, which makes five years within a seven-year window. The founder also needs adequate Maltese or English and good character.
Does Malta allow dual citizenship?
Yes. Article 7 of the Maltese Citizenship Act states that a person may lawfully be a citizen of Malta and of another country at the same time. Whether a founder can also keep an original nationality after naturalizing in Malta is a question for the law of that other state.
Could a startup founder qualify for citizenship by merit?
The law lists entrepreneurs and technologists among the people whose exceptional contribution, including job creation, may justify citizenship by merit. However, the decision rests entirely with the Minister, applications are assessed case by case, and no published investment or job threshold leads to approval.
Official sources
- Maltese Citizenship Act (Cap. 188)legislation.mt
- Act XXI of 2025 - Maltese Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2025legislation.mt
- Amendments to the Maltese Citizenship Act and subsidiary legislationkomunita.gov.mt
- Malta Citizenship by Meritkomunita.gov.mt
Reviewed October 2026. Immigration rules change often. Confirm the current requirements with the official authority or a licensed adviser before applying.
Your path in Malta.
Startup visa
Malta Enterprise and Residency Malta approve a startup under 7 years old
02Temporary residence
3-year residence permit, extendable for a further 5 years
03Permanent residence
Long-term residence after 5 years; the MPRP grants it on investment
04Citizenship
Naturalization after 5 years within 7; investment route repealed in 2025