Malta

The Office of the Regulator for the Individual Investor Program released its fourth annual report enclosing a selection of statistical data related to Malta’s citizenship by investment program (MIIP) , between July 1st, 2016 and June 30th 2017 . 

 The report reveals that while interest in the program remains strong, the number of applications submitted in the period decreased from the 451 recorded in 2016 to 377 until June 30th 2017.

Also , the data reveal that the largest source of applicants, the share of Russians and Ukrainians applying to the program remained steady at 44.5%, almost unchanged since 2016 , while the proportion of applicants hailing from Asia is up markedly since 2016 (15.3%) to 21.5%.

Nationals of the Gulf Region, Africa, and North America accounted for 8.2%, 5.6%, and 4.8% of applications, respectively.

The report also showed a severe increase in the number of investors receiving their Maltese citizenship, as 386 main applicants – as well as 1,023 dependents – were naturalized during the period, up from 137 in 2016. The rise in naturalizations can be accredited to the 18-month lead time usually required to attain the final stage.

The 386 additional Maltese citizens bring the total number of naturalizations fulfilled under the program since inauguration to 566 main applicants and about three times as many dependents. The Malta IIP has a cap of 1,800 naturalizations (excluding dependents), which means a third of the spots have been filled so far. 

Worth mentioning is that while females made up only 8% of main applicants in the period July 2014 to June 2015 (the first year such data was reported), their representation grew to 12% a year later and has now reached a full 21% of the total. This rise has matched with the surge in interest from the Mainland Chinese, who commonly have a higher share of female main applicants for residence and citizenship by investment programs around the world, particularly for programs with residence requirements.

Of the 377 submitted applications during the above period , 83 were either rejected or withdrawn, a figure that’s up from the 52 recorded during the same period in 2016.

Malta further recorded an increase in accredited agents to a total of 141, up from 132 last year and 115 in 2015.

For more information on Malta’s Individual Investor Program, please click here.

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