Malta is the only EU state that offers citizenship for investment CIP (or exceptional services) by direct investment. Although, the waiting time for Malta CIP may be from 1-3 years. However, many investors can be granted the Maltese original passport in one year depending on the amount of their investment.
Malta CIP investors first receive the residence permit. After one year, they can apply for citizenship by naturalisation, after making an investment of €750,000+. If the investor wishes to invest a smaller amount of €690,000+, they can obtain the residence permit and wait three years before applying for citizenship. Three years waiting time until the citizenship is granted might seem a long time compared to other countries’ CIP rating, but Malta CIP is certainly the fastest path to citizenship in a European country, with all the benefits of the EU passport.
Benefits
Maltese citizens can travel to 186 countries without visas. This puts Malta citizenship in the top 10 most powerful in the global passport index. Visa-free destinations benefit Malta’s high passport ranking. Malta is an EU member state and participates in the Schengen Agreement. Therefore, the Maltese citizens have the freedom movement (work and study) within the EU region without limits. The total number of European visa-free countries for Maltese citizens reach is currently 46. The UK is visa-free too for Maltese citizens. However, the stay period is limited to 90 days in half a year after Brexit. Malta has a visa-waiver agreement with the USA and Canada. To be able to visit Americas countries, Maltese citizens may get an electronic travel visa/authorisation online. In addition, more than 21 Latin American states, including Brazil, Argentina and Peru can be visited on a Maltese passport without visas. Moreover, a Maltese passport gives visa-free access to the 24 Caribbean countries. Maltese citizens may also visit Singapore and Hong Kong for a period of 90 days in half a year without visas. This also applies to many other Asian destinations including Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea and 18 other Asian destinations. Maltese citizens may travel to the Middle East visa-free, including to destinations like Israel, Qatar and the UAE. Maltese citizens may enter 33 African destinations visa-free too. Maltese citizens may visit Australia and New Zealand upon getting an electronic travel/visa authorisation. Visas are not needed for visiting some of the Oceania destinations such as Fiji, Micronesia and Palau Islands.
How else can Maltese citizenship help improve your quality of life?
Besides visa free travel, investors gain new opportunities with Maltese passports or citizenship, allowing them to:
• Establish business in Malta or any EU state
• Create and develop an international business making Malta a base for it
• Get access to most reliable banks in the European Union
• Study in Malta or in any of the European countries
• Buy property in the elite Maltese resorts
• The Malta citizenship benefits extend to the investor’s family members, including a spouse, children under 29, and parents and grandparents over 55 can also get Maltese passports within the investor’s main application.
