Vakituinen Asuinpaikka

The Scheme is regulated by the Residents Scheme Regulations, 2004. An individual who satisfies the conditions stipulated under the scheme will be provided with a certificate issued by the Commissioner of Inland Revenue that entitles him/her for the benefits of the scheme.

Such certificate shall also be deemed to constitute a permit issued in terms of article 7 of the Immigration Act and the holder thereof shall be entitled to reside in Malta subject to such conditions as specified in the regulations.

Income Tax Benefits

An individual qualifying for the scheme will benefit from the flat rate of 15% on all income received in, or remitted to, Malta from either local or foreign sources as regulated by Article 56(10) of the Income Tax Act. This is subject to a minimum tax payment of €4,150 per annum.

Residence Certificate - Article 56(10)

Once an application is approved, the applicant is obliged to pay four thousand one hundred and fifty euro (€4,150 ) - tax by not later than 30 days from such approval. The amount of tax paid will be held on account and credited in the first year of assessment for which a tax return is required.

A residence certificate shall be issued by the Commissioner, within 30 days from such payment. The certificate will entitle the holder to reside permanently or indefinitely in Malta but it does not entitle him/her to any of the rights mentioned in the Immigration Regulations, 2004.

The certificate shall be withdrawn if the applicant does not take up residence within 12 months from its date of issue. In these circumstances the applicant will be entitled to a refund not exceeding two thousand nine hundred and eighty five euro (€2,985) of the tax paid.

If the holder of a certificate is a Citizen of the Union as defined in the Immigration Regulations, 2004, he/she may at any time opt to renounce to such certificate and apply for a residence permit or a residence document under the Immigration Regulations, 2004 in which case the provisions of those Regulations shall apply. When such option is exercised, the applicant will still be liable to the minimum tax of Four thousand one hundred and fifty euro (€4,150) for that particular year.

The certificate shall be deemed to have been withdrawn with immediate effect if the holder of the certificate is issued with a residence permit or a residence document in terms of Regulation 9 of the Immigration Regulations, 2004.

The certificate shall be monitored annually and it shall be considered as having been withdrawn if the holder infringes any condition stipulated in the Regulations.

Conditions

• Any foreigner, of whatever nationality, may submit an application under the scheme provided the specific conditions are satisfied may apply for the scheme.

• An individual will be eligible if:
• He/she has an annual income equivalent to €23,300 arising outside Malta or capital equivalent to €350,000.
• If he/she remits annually to Malta an income equivalent to €14,000 in his/her respect and €2,400 in respect of each dependent.


For the purpose of this scheme 'dependent' means:
• The spouse;
• Sons and / or daughters under 21 years of age;
• A parent or grandparent who is financially dependent on the applicant.


• Once in possession of a certificate the holder:
• Will be required to take up residence by not later than one year from the issue date of the certificate. The holder has to complete a prescribed document which has to be presented together with identification documents to the Department of Inland Revenue, Expatriates Division, within 15 days of arriving in Malta.
• Must either purchase immovable property valued at not less than €165,000 (€99,100 in the case of an apartment), or lease/rent immovable property for not less than €4,200 per annum within twelve months of taking up residence in Malta.


• Applications for a certificate must be made on the appropriate prescribed form from the Inland Revenue Department or from the Malta Diplomatic Mission in the country of nationality. The application must also be accompanied by
• A certificate from the applicant's bankers (or as applicable) showing either (i) that he/she has an annual income equivalent to €23,300 arising outside Malta; or (ii) capital equivalent to €350,000. It must also certify that the applicant will be able to import into Malta a minimum annual income of €14,0000 plus €2,400 for each dependant.
• A Conduct certificate, in respect of each adult (18 years or over) whose name appears on the said application, from the Police authorities of the country where the applicant and his/her dependants have resided.
• Such certificate/s should indicate whether the applicant/dependants ever had any criminal convictions or whether the applicant/dependants have any ongoing criminal proceedings.
• If the certificate/s issued by the Police authorities does not contain such information, the applicant/dependents should make a declaration on oath before a Commissioner for Oaths attesting whether the applicant and his dependants, if any, ever had any criminal convictions or have any ongoing criminal proceedings.
• If the Police authorities in any of the countries where the applicant/dependant have resided do not issue conduct certificates, character references would be required from any three of the following:
banker;
solicitor;
medical practitioner;
employer (or previous employer);
accountant; or
any person of a similar standing,

together with the declaration as already specified above.
• A copy of the marriage certificate is required in the case of a married couple, a married woman who is applying on her own behalf, a divorced woman, or a widow. Otherwise full birth certificates should be submitted.
• A written declaration by the applicant stating that parents and/or grandparents are financially dependent on him (where applicable).
• Three passport-sized photographs and photocopies of the relevant pages of passport/identification card of each person whose name appears on the application form.
• A copy of either the deed of purchase or the lease/rent agreement if the applicant already owns or has leased/rented immovable property in Malta.
• The supporting documents, indicated under notes 1 to 5 above, attached to this application MUST be certified original documents attested for correctness by a warranted notary public of the country of nationality. Furthermore, all supporting documents must be legalised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country of nationality and counter-legalised by an official of the Malta Diplomatic Mission in the country of nationality.
• An administrative fee of €115, or equivalent in foreign currency, is charged by the Malta Diplomatic Mission against an official receipt, for the processing of the application and its transmission to Malta. This fee is not refundable even in those instances where the Commissioner refuses the application.




• The processing of applications under the scheme normally takes about 3 months.



• At the end of the first year of residence and subsequently at the end of every calendar year, a permanent resident will be required to complete the annual tax return and specific attachments to confirm that he/she has fulfilled the conditions attaching to the permit.

Source

All the above information is an extract from the Inland Revenue Department website.

For further information click here to visit the official Inland Revenue Department web site.

Downloads

Application Form

The above file is in Acrobat pdf format. Click here to download the pdf reader for free.