Malta Citizenship by Investment: What Changed and the Best Alternatives

Short answer: Malta no longer offers citizenship by investment. On 29 April 2025 the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that Malta's 2020 scheme, citizenship by naturalisation for exceptional services by direct investment, breached EU law. Malta then amended its Citizenship Act, and the investment route ended when Act XXI of 2025 came into force on 24 July 2025. Malta still runs residence programmes, and several live EU residence and Caribbean citizenship routes can meet similar goals.

Key facts

• Status: the direct investment citizenship route is closed. It ended when the Maltese Citizenship (Amendment) Act, Act XXI of 2025, came into force on 24 July 2025.
• Why: in Commission v Malta (case C-181/23, Grand Chamber, 29 April 2025), the Court held that granting nationality in exchange for predetermined payments or investments amounts to a commercialisation of citizenship, contrary to Article 20 TFEU and Article 4(3) TEU.
• What remains: naturalisation for exceptional merit (for example scientists, researchers, athletes, artists, entrepreneurs, philanthropists and technologists). It is discretionary and not an investment product.
• Residence in Malta: the Residency Malta Agency lists the Malta Permanent Residence Programme, the Nomad Residence Permit, the Startup Residence Programme and Family Office Residency as open. The Global Residence Programme is a separate tax-status programme run by the Malta Tax and Customs Administration.
• Residence is not citizenship: none of these residence routes gives a Maltese passport.

What happened and when

The timeline below uses dates from the Court of Justice, the European Commission, the Parliament of Malta and the Government of Malta. Sources are listed at the end of this guide.

What the Court decided

Member States decide who their nationals are, but they must use that power in line with EU law. Nationality of a Member State automatically carries EU citizenship, with rights across the whole Union. The Court found that Malta's scheme set up a transactional procedure: nationality was in substance granted in return for predetermined payments or investments. In the Court's words, the acquisition of Union citizenship cannot result from a commercial transaction.

The judgment concerns the 2020 scheme. It does not ban residence by investment programmes, and it does not deal with other countries' schemes outside the EU. For the wider EU picture, read the EU's stance on citizenship by investment.

What it means for you

If you were thinking of applying

You can no longer obtain Maltese citizenship through an investment. Treat any offer of a "Maltese passport for investment" after 24 July 2025 with caution. The remaining merit route is decided case by case by the Minister responsible for citizenship and cannot be bought.

If you had an application in process

The official sources we reviewed confirm that the investment route ended on 24 July 2025. They do not give a public, general statement on how every pending file is handled. Speak to your licensed agent and the Community Malta Agency about your own case, and keep your filing records and payment receipts.

If you already hold Maltese citizenship

The judgment found Malta in breach of its obligations; it does not itself contain an order withdrawing citizenship already granted. Any future decision on an individual's nationality would be a matter for Maltese law. We have not seen an official source announcing a general review of existing citizens. If you are concerned, take individual legal advice in Malta.

What Malta still offers

These are residence programmes. They can give you the right to live in Malta and, for permanent residents, to travel in the Schengen area for short stays under the usual rules. They do not give citizenship. Requirements and government fees change; check the current rules with the agency before you commit funds.

• Malta Permanent Residence Programme (MPRP): listed as open by the Residency Malta Agency. Permanent residence for qualifying non-EU applicants and their families, based on capital, property and contribution requirements set by legal notice.
• Nomad Residence Permit: listed as open. For remote workers employed by, or running, a business outside Malta who meet the income threshold.
• Startup Residence Programme and Family Office Residency: listed as open by the Residency Malta Agency, for founders and for family office principals and staff.
• Global Residence Programme (GRP): a special tax-status programme for non-EU nationals, administered by the Malta Tax and Customs Administration under the Global Residence Programme Rules. It is a tax regime with property and minimum tax conditions, not a route to citizenship.

The best alternatives by goal

You want to live, study or do business in the EU

A golden visa gives residence in an EU country, usually with visa-free short stays across the Schengen area. Citizenship, if you want it later, follows the country's normal naturalisation rules.

• Greece golden visa: residence through a qualifying investment, typically real estate, with no minimum stay to keep the permit. See the Greece golden visa guide.
• Portugal golden visa: residence through qualifying routes such as investment funds, with low minimum stay requirements and a path to apply for citizenship under the general naturalisation rules. See the Portugal golden visa guide.

You want a second citizenship and passport

Caribbean citizenship by investment programmes remain open under their own national laws. They give citizenship, not EU residence.

• St Kitts and Nevis citizenship
• Dominica citizenship
• Antigua and Barbuda citizenship
• Compare them in our Caribbean citizenship by investment comparison.

You want to stay in Malta

Use one of the residence programmes above. Long lawful residence can count towards ordinary naturalisation under Maltese law, but there is no fast track and no guarantee.

Comparison at a glance

Thresholds, fees and processing times change. Check each programme page for the current figures, or compare programmes side by side.

How to choose your next step

1. Decide whether you need residence (a place to live) or citizenship (a second passport). Malta now offers only the first.
2. Check which routes fit your nationality, family and budget with our eligibility checker.
3. Read how citizenship by investment works and the latest on Malta's changes.
4. Talk to an adviser. There is no charge to ask and no payment is needed to start a conversation.