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Residency pathway · Malta

Move to Malta.
Remittance-basis tax.
An EU residence card.

Malta taxes non-domiciled residents only on Maltese income and on foreign income actually brought into Malta — and foreign capital gains are never taxed, even if remitted. MoveToMalta walks you through the programmes that actually exist in Maltese law, the official thresholds and fees, and the filing sequence — so you arrive with a plan, not a rumour.

Start my residency file — $497 →See the pathways ↓
Official thresholds / Vetted local lawyers / Exit Global review
Your residency file, organisedExample
My residency file🔒
🌍 Home country🇲🇹 Malta

One destination. One organised file.

Every document the authority will ask for, in order.
Example checklist3 of 4 added
🛂
Passport + photosValidity checked against the rule
✓
📜
Police clearance, apostilledFrom every country of recent residence
✓
🏦
Proof of funds / incomeMatched to the category threshold
✓
🩺
Health coverAdd it when available
PENDING
Know what you have. See what's next.Less guesswork. Fewer rejected files.
At a glance

Malta in four numbers

Figures are quoted from the official pages linked on each card. Checked 8 September 2026.

Tax system
Remittance basis

Non-domiciled residents pay Maltese tax on Malta-source income and on foreign income received in Malta; foreign capital gains are exempt.

Official source ↗
Presence to keep residency
Not > 183 days elsewhere

GRP and TRP beneficiaries need no minimum days in Malta but may not stay in any other jurisdiction for more than 183 days in a calendar year.

Official source ↗
Time to first card
≈ 30 working days

Nomad Residence Permit processing is expected to take 30 working days from receipt of funds, plus 3–4 weeks for the card.

Official source ↗
Citizenship
5 years' residence

Naturalisation requires 12 months' residence immediately before applying plus 4 years in aggregate during the preceding 6 years; grant is discretionary.

Official source ↗
Why people choose Malta

The honest case.
And who it isn't for.

No destination is right for everyone. These are the reasons people actually choose Malta — and the situations where we would tell you to look elsewhere.

Foreign income is taxed only if you bring it in

Under article 4(1) of the Income Tax Act, a resident who is not domiciled in Malta is taxed on foreign income only 'on the amount received in Malta', and 'no tax shall be payable on capital gains arising outside Malta'. Structured well, a non-dom's Maltese bill can be the €5,000 minimum tax plus tax on what is actually remitted.

An EU member state, in English

Malta is in the EU, the euro and the Schengen area. English is an official language: legislation, contracts, banking and the tax return are all available in English, which removes the friction most relocations carry.

Rules-based programmes with published numbers

The MPRP, GRP, TRP, Retirement Programme and Nomad Residence Permit are all set out in subsidiary legislation with fixed thresholds. You know the contribution, the property minimum and the tax rate before you file.

Probably not the right fit if…
  • People who want to keep a job or run a business physically in Malta and expect a flat tax — local employment and business income is taxed at the ordinary progressive rates up to 35%.
  • Anyone unwilling to commit real money up front: the MPRP costs €60,000 in administrative fees plus a €37,000 contribution before property, and the GRP carries a €15,000 minimum annual tax.
  • Those who need a large, low-cost country — Malta is small, densely populated, and rents and property prices in the qualifying bands are not cheap.
An independent preparation tool. Not a government body. Residency is granted only by Identità (Identity Malta) / Residency Malta Agency. Private beta.
01 / The routes that exist

The residency pathways

These are the routes that exist in Maltese law today, run by Residency Malta Agency, Identità and the Commissioner for Tax and Customs. Figures are the official thresholds as published on 8 September 2026.

Malta Permanent Residence Programme (MPRP)

Non-EU/EEA/Swiss nationals who want permanent residence for the whole family without a minimum-stay rule.

  • Non-refundable administrative fee of €60,000 plus a Government contribution of €37,000; €7,500 for each adult dependant other than the spouse
  • Rent a qualifying property for at least €14,000 a year or buy one for at least €375,000; hold it for 5 years, then keep a residential address in Malta
  • Show capital assets of at least €500,000 (of which €150,000 financial assets) or €650,000 (of which €75,000 financial assets)
  • Donate €2,000 to a registered Maltese NGO; health insurance covering Malta and Europe; residence-card fee of €500 per person per 5 years
  • Must apply through a Licensed Agent; multi-tier due diligence on every applicant, donor and business associate
Timeline / validity: Permanent residence; card renewed every 5 years
Official source ↗

Global Residence Programme (GRP)

Non-EU/EEA/Swiss individuals with foreign income who want a special 15% tax status rather than a permanent card.

  • Buy a qualifying property for at least €275,000 (Malta) or €220,000 (Gozo / south of Malta), or rent for at least €9,600 / €8,750 a year
  • Foreign income received in Malta taxed at a flat 15%; minimum tax of €15,000 per year of assessment
  • Non-refundable administrative fee of €6,000 (€5,500 for property in the south of Malta)
  • Stable and regular resources, EU-wide sickness insurance, and no stay of more than 183 days in any other jurisdiction
  • Application through an Authorised Registered Mandatory
Timeline / validity: Special tax status granted by the Commissioner; annual compliance return
Official source ↗

The Residence Programme (TRP)

EU, EEA and Swiss nationals (not Maltese) who want the same 15% remittance regime as the GRP.

  • Same property thresholds as the GRP: purchase €275,000 / €220,000, or rent €9,600 / €8,750 a year
  • Foreign income received in Malta taxed at 15%; minimum tax €15,000 a year, payable in full in the year of grant and the year of cessation
  • Administrative fee €6,000 (€5,500 south of Malta)
  • Not more than 183 days in any other jurisdiction in a calendar year; EU-wide sickness insurance
Timeline / validity: Special tax status; EU nationals register their residence with Identità separately
Official source ↗

Nomad Residence Permit

Non-EU remote workers, foreign-company owners and freelancers with clients outside Malta.

  • Minimum gross yearly income of €42,000
  • Work for a foreign-registered employer, own a foreign-registered business, or freelance for clients established abroad; not for staff serving a Maltese subsidiary
  • Application fee €300 per person plus €100 residence-card fee; health insurance of at least €100,000 cover for the EU and UK; police conduct certificate; rental or purchase agreement
  • Income from 'authorised work' taxed at 10% under S.L. 123.210, with a 12-month exemption from permit issue unless you declare your residence is not casual
Timeline / validity: Valid 1 year; renewable 3 times to a maximum of 4 years; decision expected in 30 working days
Official source ↗

Malta Retirement Programme (MRP)

Non-Maltese retirees whose pension is their main income and who will spend real time in Malta.

  • Pension must make up at least 75% of chargeable income and be received in Malta
  • Purchase €275,000 / €220,000 or rent €9,600 / €8,750 a year, same bands as the GRP
  • Foreign income received in Malta taxed at 15%; minimum tax €7,500 plus €500 per dependant; administrative fee €2,500
  • Reside in Malta at least 90 days a year averaged over 5 years; not more than 183 days in any other jurisdiction; not in employment
Timeline / validity: Special tax status; annual compliance
Official source ↗
The $497 residency-file review

Build the file once.
Pay a lawyer to file — not to chase paper.

You gather the documents; we check the file against the current Residency Malta and Identità requirements, model your remittance-basis tax position, and hand you to a licensed Maltese agent or lawyer for filing.

$497one-time, per applicant file
Start the process →
What the $497 covers.

A category check against the current official requirements, a document-by-document review of your file, and a warm handover to a vetted local lawyer or licensed agent who files it. Their fees and government fees are separate and quoted up front.

Your information is sensitive. We treat it that way.

Documents are stored privately when you explicitly save them. We use restricted access and do not sell or share your information.

Your tax position once resident

Remittance-basis taxation, and how residency is triggered.

Malta's Income Tax Act (Cap. 123) taxes a person who is resident but not domiciled in Malta on Maltese-source income and on foreign income 'received in Malta'. Foreign capital gains are outside the net entirely. The Act defines a resident as someone who 'resides in Malta except for such temporary absences as to the Commissioner may seem reasonable'; in practice the Commissioner treats more than 183 days of presence in a calendar year as residence, and ordinary residence follows from a settled pattern of living in Malta. Most incomers are not domiciled in Malta and so fall on the remittance basis by default.

Official source ↗
  • Foreign income — salaries, dividends, interest, rents, pensions — is taxed only 'on the amount received in Malta' if you are not ordinarily resident or not domiciled in Malta (art. 4(1)). Keep it offshore and it is not taxed.
  • Foreign capital gains — from shares, funds, crypto or property abroad — carry no Maltese tax for a non-dom even when the proceeds are remitted: 'no tax shall be payable on capital gains arising outside Malta'.
  • Minimum tax of €5,000 a year applies to a non-domiciled ordinary resident with foreign income of at least €35,000 that is not fully remitted (art. 56(27)), unless you are already under a scheme with its own minimum tax (GRP/TRP €15,000; MRP €7,500).
  • Maltese-source income and remitted foreign income are taxed at the single-computation rates: 0% up to €12,000, 15% to €16,000, 25% to €60,000, 35% above — unless a flat regime applies (GRP/TRP/MRP 15%, Nomad authorised work 10%, Highly Qualified Persons 15% on eligible employment of at least €75,000).
  • No wealth tax and no inheritance tax. Transfers of Maltese immovable property carry duty of €5 for every €100 of value under the Duty on Documents and Transfers Act, whether by sale or on death; foreign assets are outside that Act.
  • Tax Residence Certificate is issued by the Commissioner for Tax and Customs to registered residents on request; social security contributions apply only if you are employed or self-occupied in Malta.

Residency here is only half the move. Your old country has to agree you left.

Find your Exit site →

Exit Global's review is an advisory opinion, not a determination by any tax authority.

02 / Step by step

From decision to residency card

The order matters: apostilles and police certificates expire, and most authorities want everything dated within a few months of filing.

01

Choose the route

Nationality decides the menu: non-EU nationals look at the MPRP, GRP, Nomad Permit or MRP; EU/EEA/Swiss nationals register residence with Identità and layer TRP or MRP status on top. We match capital, income and days abroad to the right one.

02

Collect and apostille documents

Police conduct certificate for everyone aged 18 and over, birth and marriage certificates, bank statements, proof of income or assets — apostilled and, where not in English, translated. Residency Malta programmes add a source-of-funds file.

03

Secure the qualifying property and insurance

Sign the lease or promise of sale that meets your programme's band (e.g. €14,000 rent for MPRP, €9,600 for GRP) and buy health insurance covering Malta and the EU. Non-EU buyers outside Special Designated Areas usually need an AIP permit.

04

Lodge with a licensed agent

MPRP files go through a Licensed Agent; GRP, TRP and MRP through an Authorised Registered Mandatory; the Nomad Permit is filed online with Residency Malta. Fees are paid on submission and due diligence starts.

05

Approval, biometrics and card

Attend Residency Malta or Identità in Msida for biometrics and collect the residence card (Nomad cards take 3–4 weeks; MPRP cards run 5 years).

06

Register for tax and close the loop at home

Register with the Commissioner for Tax and Customs, decide what you will remit, and request a Tax Residence Certificate once you qualify. Then finish your old-country exit file — see the Exit sites.

03 / Living there

Living there: the practical facts

The things people ask us after the paperwork: money, health, language and a roof.

Banking

Maltese banks are document-heavy on source of wealth and may take weeks to onboard a new non-EU resident; most programmes only require bank statements, not a local account, so many people keep their main banking abroad and open a Maltese account for rent and daily spending.

Healthcare

Every programme requires private sickness insurance covering Malta and the EU (the Nomad Permit specifies at least €100,000 of cover, fully prepaid for a year). Public hospitals exist, but programme beneficiaries are expected to rely on their own cover.

Language

English and Maltese are both official. Government forms, tax filings, contracts and banking are all in English, and English is the working language of finance, gaming and professional services.

Property

Qualifying property bands are fixed by law: €375,000 purchase or €14,000 rent for the MPRP; €275,000 / €220,000 purchase or €9,600 / €8,750 rent for GRP, TRP and MRP. Purchase duty is 5% (3.5% on the first €200,000 for a first sole residence). Non-EU buyers generally need an AIP permit unless buying in a Special Designated Area.

Where are you leaving from?

Each departure has
its own rules.

Getting a card in Malta does not end tax residency where you came from. Pick your departure country to see its residency test, exit tax and departure filings.

🇨🇦 Exit Canada🇺🇸 Exit USA🐻 Exit California🗽 Exit New York🇬🇧 Exit the UK🇮🇪 Exit Ireland🇫🇷 Exit France🇧🇪 Exit Belgium🇳🇱 Exit Netherlands🇪🇸 Exit Spain🇮🇹 Exit Italy🇩🇰 Exit Denmark🇳🇴 Exit Norway🇸🇪 Exit Sweden🇦🇺 Exit Australia🇿🇦 Exit South Africa🇩🇪 Exit Germany🇦🇹 Exit Austria🇫🇮 Exit Finland🇧🇷 Exit Brazil🇯🇵 Exit Japan🇮🇱 Exit Israel🇳🇿 Exit New Zealand🇵🇹 Exit Portugal🇰🇷 Exit South Korea🇦🇷 Exit Argentina🇮🇳 Exit India🇨🇭 Exit Switzerland
Good questions. Clear answers.

Before you
get started.

Answers reflect the official rules as checked on 8 September 2026.

Do I have to live in Malta full-time?

No programme demands full-time presence. The MPRP has no published minimum-stay rule. GRP and TRP beneficiaries may not spend more than 183 days in any other single jurisdiction in a calendar year but have no minimum days in Malta. The Retirement Programme requires at least 90 days a year averaged over five years. The Nomad Permit is renewed only if you can show at least five months of residence in the preceding 12 months. Tax residence is a separate question — see below.

How is Maltese tax residency triggered?

The Income Tax Act defines a resident as someone who resides in Malta apart from reasonable temporary absences; the Commissioner's practice is that more than 183 days of presence in a calendar year makes you resident, and a settled pattern of living here makes you ordinarily resident. Domicile is different and is normally retained from your country of origin, which is what puts you on the remittance basis.

Can my family come?

Yes. The MPRP allows up to four generations in one application (spouse, children, parents and grandparents), with a €7,500 fee for each adult dependant other than the spouse. GRP, TRP and MRP cover the spouse or partner, minor children, non-economically active children under 25, disabled adult children and dependent relatives living with you. The Nomad Permit covers spouses, minor children and dependent adult children.

Is there a path to citizenship or a second passport?

Naturalisation under the Maltese Citizenship Act requires residence throughout the 12 months before application and at least 4 years in aggregate during the 6 years before that, plus adequate Maltese or English and good character; the grant is at the Minister's discretion. A separate 'exceptional services' route exists under article 10(9) of the Act, but the residency programmes on this page do not themselves lead to citizenship.

What does it cost in government fees?

MPRP: €60,000 administrative fee, €37,000 Government contribution, €7,500 per adult dependant (not the spouse), €2,000 NGO donation and €500 per person for the five-year card. GRP and TRP: €6,000 administrative fee (€5,500 south of Malta). MRP: €2,500. Nomad Permit: €300 application fee plus €100 card fee per person. EU/EEA nationals register with Identità free of charge. Long-term residence status for non-EU nationals after five years costs €500.

Do I need a lawyer?

For the MPRP, yes in substance — applications must be submitted through a Licensed Agent. GRP, TRP and MRP applications go through an Authorised Registered Mandatory. The Nomad Permit can be filed directly online. Exit Global is independent, is not a government body and does not grant residency; only Residency Malta Agency, Identità and the Commissioner do. We review the file and hand it to a vetted licensed agent.

Can I keep working remotely for a foreign employer?

Yes, and the Nomad Residence Permit is designed for exactly that: a foreign employer, foreign company or foreign clients, with income from that 'authorised work' taxed at 10% under S.L. 123.210. Under the other programmes, remote employment income is foreign-source income and is taxed only on the amount received in Malta, but the employer's obligations and any permanent-establishment risk need checking.

What about my old country's tax residency?

Getting residency here does not end tax residency where you came from. Use the relevant Exit site — see exitglobal.app.

The next chapter starts with a plan

Arrive in Malta with a file
the authority will accept.

Start my residency file — $497 →

MoveToMalta · part of the Exit Global network

The Exit network

One process. Every country.

Each site covers one departure, in that country's own rules. The destination sites cover where you're going. All reviewed by the same team at Exit Global.

Leaving
🌐Exit GlobalPortfolio home🇨🇦Exit CanadaNR73 + departure file🇺🇸Exit USAExpatriation + Form 8854🐻Exit CaliforniaFTB residency🗽Exit New YorkDomicile + statutory residency🇬🇧Exit the UKStatutory Residence Test🇮🇪Exit IrelandOrdinary residence tail🇫🇷Exit FranceArt. 167 bis exit tax🇧🇪Exit BelgiumSpecial departure return🇳🇱Exit NetherlandsM-form + conserverende aanslag🇪🇸Exit SpainArt. 95 bis + quarantine rule🇮🇹Exit ItalyAIRE + black-list presumption🇩🇰Exit DenmarkFraflytterskat🇳🇴Exit NorwayUtflyttingsskatt🇸🇪Exit SwedenTen-year share rule🇦🇺Exit AustraliaCGT event I1🇿🇦Exit South AfricaSection 9H exit charge🇩🇪Exit Germany§ 6 AStG Wegzugsbesteuerung🇦🇹Exit Austria§ 27 (6) Wegzugsbesteuerung🇫🇮Exit FinlandThree-year rule🇧🇷Exit BrazilSaída definitiva🇯🇵Exit JapanExit tax on ¥100m+ assets🇮🇱Exit IsraelCentre of life + s.100A🇳🇿Exit New Zealand325-day rule + IR886🇵🇹Exit PortugalArt. 16 CIRS residency🇰🇷Exit South KoreaExit tax on large shareholders🇦🇷Exit ArgentinaPérdida de residencia + baja🇮🇳Exit IndiaSection 6 residency + RNOR🇨🇭Exit SwitzerlandWegzug + pension withholding
Arriving
🇵🇦Move to PanamaTerritorial tax, Friendly Nations🇦🇪Move to DubaiNo personal income tax🇲🇹Move to MaltaRemittance basis, EU🇨🇾Move to Cyprus60-day rule, non-dom🇵🇾Move to ParaguayTerritorial tax, fast residency🇺🇾Move to UruguayTax holiday for new residents🇨🇷Move to Costa RicaTerritorial tax🇧🇸Move to BahamasNo income tax🇵🇹Move to PortugalD7, D8, Golden Visa, IFICI🇹🇭Move to ThailandLTR visa, remittance basis🇲🇾Move to MalaysiaMM2H, territorial tax🇮🇩Move to IndonesiaSecond Home visa, Bali🇬🇪Move to GeorgiaForeign income exempt, 1% SBS🇵🇷Move to Puerto RicoAct 60 for US citizens🇮🇹Move to ItalyFlat tax, 7% pensioner regime🇬🇷Move to GreeceGolden Visa, non-dom flat tax🇭🇰Move to Hong KongTerritorial, no CGT🇸🇬Move to SingaporeForeign income exempt, no CGT