Malta Retirement Programme

Beneficiaries under the Malta Retirement Programme will be issued with a residence permit entitling them to reside in Malta.

The programme is designed to attract nationals of the EU, EEA and Switzerland, as well as Third Country Nationals, who are not in an employment relationship and are in receipt of a pension as their regular source of income.

The main applicant must pay a minimum annual tax of €7,500 per year. Any foreign sourced income remitted to Malta will be taxed at a special fixed tax rate of 15%.

All other foreign sourced income which is not remitted to Malta will not be taxed in Malta. Whereas income generated in Malta is taxable at 35%, however this must not exceed 25% of the total chargeable income earned by the beneficiary. 

Eligibility to Apply under the Malta Retirement Programme

An individual shall be eligible to apply for the Malta Retirement Programme subject to satisfying the following criteria:

• The applicant must be in receipt of a pension that is remitted to Malta and constitutes at least 75% of the beneficiary’s chargeable income;
• He/She is not a person who benefits under the Global Residence Programme Rules; the High Net Worth Individuals – EU / EEA / Swiss Nationals Rules; the High Net Worth Individuals Rules – Non-EU / EEA / Swiss Nationals Rules; the Highly Qualified Persons Rules; the Qualifying Employment in Aviation (Personal Tax) Rules; the Qualifying Employment in Innovation and Creativity (Personal Tax) Rules; the Qualifying Employment in Maritime Activities and the Servicing of Offshore Oil and Gas Industry Activities (Personal Tax) Rules; the Residence Programme Rules; the  Residents Scheme Regulations or the United Nations Pensions Rules;
• The applicant must rent an immovable property in Malta for not less than €9,600 per annum (or rent an immovable property in Gozo or South of Malta for not less than €8,750 per annum) or purchase an immovable property in Malta for a value of not less than €275,000 (reductions apply in respect of properties in Gozo and the South of Malta);
• The immovable property must not be shared with individuals not listed as dependants on the applicant’s certificate (exemption applies for special carers);
• Applicant must be in possession of health insurance policy coverage in respect of all risks across the whole of the European Union;
• Applicant must be deemed to be a fit and proper person, and therefore, an international due diligence exercise shall be carried out by the Maltese International & Corporate Tax Unit prior to the granting of the special tax status;
• A non-refundable one-off fee of €2,500 must be paid by the applicant upon submitting the application;
• Beneficiaries must not reside in any other jurisdiction for a period exceeding 183 days in a calendar year.

Annual Compliance Obligations

Any individual that has been granted special tax status under the Malta Retirement Programme must comply with the following obligations on a yearly basis:

• The immovable property holding must be retained;
• The applicant must retain the health insurance policy;
• The applicant must not reside in any other jurisdiction for more than 183 days;
• Special reporting obligations (the filing of an annual declaration together with the annual tax return).

GVZH as authorised registered mandatory undertakes the annual compliance obligations.

Tax Treatment

• Any foreign sourced income which has been remitted to Malta shall be taxable at a fixed rate of 15%, with the possibility of claiming double tax relief on such income;
• Applicant must pay a minimum tax of €7,500 every year;
• Foreign sourced income which is not remitted to Malta is not taxed in Malta;
• Income generated in Malta will be taxed at a flat 35%.

Authorised Registered Mandatory

Any application for special tax status under the Malta Retirement Programme must be made through the services of a person that is licensed as an “Authorised Registered Mandatory” with the Office of the Commissioner for Revenue.