Malta will be implementing new residence regulations that can lead to citizenship and that take into account the recommendations given by the European Commission, as these rules come into force from Nov 20, 2020.
The new legal framework, introduced in November, takes into account the European Commission’s set of recommendations.
• Applicants cannot apply for citizenship immediately after obtaining the status of legal resident in Malta.
• Applicants are only allowed to apply for citizenship after having legal resident status for a period of three years, with the exception of higher investment, where they can apply after one year.
• Applicants are required to undergo a rigorous due diligence exercise before being eligible to apply for Maltese citizenship. This is a new step being introduced to give the Agency enough time to conduct a thorough investigation into a set of criteria. These include controls on the source of wealth, control on individual funds, studies on money laundering risks and controls on security issues.
• Findings of irregularities can be communicated to appropriate networks, such as Egmont and security services for EU-wide cooperation, in order to combat money laundering and all security-related risks.
• The Agency will carry out an appropriate risk assessment exercise related to each application.
• The Agency will ensure that the source of funding of the applicant is legitimate. It will pay due attention to ensuring that there is no money laundering, and that there is no terrorist financing. This is always in accordance with the guidelines issued by the competent authorities.
• The new regulations have eliminated the time limit limiting the time during which the Agency must carry out due diligence.
• This due diligence should be done on all adult family members in the application.
• The number of successful applicants is being limited to 1,500 in total, with no more than 400 per year
The Agency, which was previously in charge of the Individual Investment Program, will cease to operate from January 2021. The Agency, which has operated the IIP since last August, has stopped receiving new applications. The Malta Individual Investor Program Agency has now closed. Accordingly, a new agency has also been set up under the name of Community Malta which will administer matters related to the citizenship of our country and which will replace the previous agency.
Agents are now governed by dedicated subsidiary legislation. Only a limited set of professionals can be licensed as agents, these are: lawyers, auditors, public accountants and licensed financial advisers. This ensures that licensees are well acquainted with money laundering, financial legalism and anti-terrorist financing directives. Agents must present a certificate of clean criminal conduct. The agent shall be subject to due diligence by the Agency, both on application and annually thereafter. If an agent is no longer fit after the set period, the license will not be automatically renewed.
The Agency is banning aggressive advertising and the promotion of regulations conducive to citizenship. Any such activity may lead to the suspension or revocation of the agent’s license.
The Maltese government will continue to publish the names of all applicants who receive Maltese citizenship with both exceptional merit and naturalization. Names of persons who will not be granted Maltese nationality will also be published.
The official announcement is available here
