Italy vs Malta: Golden Visa Programmes Compared
The lowest qualifying amount is €250,000 in Italy and €99,000 in fees, plus property in Malta. Here is how the two programmes differ on time in the country, the path to citizenship and processing, side by side.
Open
Malta
€99,000 in fees, plus propertyminimum
Malta Permanent Residence Programme (MPRP)
Read the Malta guide →At a glance
| Italy | Malta | |
|---|---|---|
| Programme | Investor Visa for Italy (visto per investitori) | Malta Permanent Residence Programme (MPRP) |
| Status | Structurally unchanged since 2017; suspended for Russian and Belarusian nationals | MPRP open and repriced by Legal Notice 146 of 2025; the separate citizenship-by-investment scheme was repealed in July 2025 after the CJEU ruled against it |
| Lowest qualifying amount | €250,000 | €99,000 in fees, plus property |
| Time you must spend there | No minimum stay set | No minimum stay |
| Route to citizenship | 10 years of actual legal residence | No direct path |
| Typical processing | Nulla osta often weeks; visa and permit add months | Reported at roughly 4-6 months to approval in principle |
| Main routes |
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Which is cheaper, Italy or Malta?
The lowest qualifying amount is €250,000 in Italy and €99,000 in fees, plus property in Malta. The cheapest route is not always the practical one: some low-entry routes are donations or contributions you never get back, while others are investments that can lose value independently of the permit. Add government fees, legal costs and, where relevant, family members before comparing totals.
How much time do you have to spend in each?
Italy: No minimum stay set. Malta: No minimum stay. A permit that asks for little time in the country is convenient, but a path to citizenship usually depends on genuinely living there.
Which leads to citizenship?
Italy: 10 years of actual legal residence. Malta: No direct path. Naturalisation rules are set separately from the investment programme and can change while you are part of the way through.
The biggest caveat for each
Italy: The permit is easy to hold from abroad, but only real registered residence in Italy counts toward the ten-year naturalisation requirement.
Malta: Malta has reset the MPRP fee structure twice by legal notice since 2021 and can do so again at short notice, with no guarantee that terms are held open for applications not yet submitted.
More programme comparisons
Information reflects our own independent research as understood in September 2026. These rules change often and differ by nationality. Plain Investor does not sell or advise on any programme. This is general information, not legal, immigration or tax advice; check the official government source and a licensed immigration lawyer before committing money.