Issuance of the Tenth Annual Report on MEIN and MIIP, the Malta Citizenship by Investment Program

The Court of Justice of the European Union is scheduled to announce its final judgment in the case of the European Union versus Malta on April 29, 2024 (this week). Although the Advocate General's opinion is inclined to support Malta, this does not necessarily mean that the Court of Justice will deliver the same ruling.

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Background

Since 2020, the European Parliament first called on Malta to terminate its citizenship by investment scheme. Then, in 2022, it brought Malta before the Court of Justice of the European Union. In March 2023, the Court of Justice of the European Union formally initiated proceedings.

Over the four-year period, the Maltese government has consistently maintained a firm stance, resolutely defending national sovereignty, and emphasized that “this is a matter of national prerogative, and we will not shut it down,” highlighting its unwavering commitment to safeguarding the integrity of EU citizenship and its firm belief that the programme has never contravened the values of EU law.

Aspects of golden passport and visa schemes in the EU | Think Tank | European Parliament

Under the current circumstances, all parties are closely monitoring the latest developments in this litigation, with the future direction still fraught with uncertainty.

As a leader in the global investment immigration sector, Globevisa always keeps a close eye on changes in immigration policies of various countries. Moving forward, our team will continue to bring you the latest updates and insights.

The Latest Annual Report Has Been Released

On April 14, 2025, following the release of the ninth annual report by the Maltese government in February, the government published the tenth annual report of the Malta Citizenship by Investment Programme (Granting of Citizenship for Exceptional Services). The report covers the statistical data for the entire calendar year of 2023 for the programme, including data from the ongoing MEIN Exceptional Citizenship by Investment Programme and the now-closed MIIP Individual Investor Programme.

https://orgces.gov.mt/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Annual-Report-2023.pdf

Applications submitted to the CMA

From the application data perspective, the Citizenship Malta Agency (CMA) received a total of 299 applications for citizenship by investment in 2023. When combined with the application data from the previous MIIP scheme, the cumulative number of applications has reached 2,721 since the inception of the programme in 2014.

Compared with the 175 applications lodged in 2022, the application volume surged by 71% in 2023. Notably, in August 2023 alone, as many as 38 applications for eligibility assessment were received. This demonstrates that the Malta’s CBI Programme sustained a robust growth trajectory in 2023, with its appeal to applicants continuously intensifying, thereby further consolidating its pivotal status.

In 2023, applicants originated from eight geographical regions, with Asia and North America being the primary sources of applications, accounting for relatively higher proportions. Notably, the number of applications from the Asian region saw a significant increase.

Compared with 2022, the proportion of applications from Asia rose remarkably from 38% to 51.2%, making Asian applicants an increasingly important group for the programme. In contrast, the number of applications from Europe and North America showed a declining trend, with Europe decreasing from 23% to 13.4% and North America from 29% to 12.7%. Meanwhile, applications from the Caribbean region were recorded for the first time in 2023.

It is noteworthy that the data indicates 252 applicants declared only one nationality. Should these applicants be approved during the eligibility assessment phase and subsequently succeed in the citizenship phase, Maltese citizenship would become their second nationality. In this cohort, 46 applicants already possessed multiple nationalities prior to applying for Maltese citizenship, representing 15%. Additionally, one applicant declared themselves as stateless, accounting for 0.3%.

Outcome of Eligibility Applications

Similar to the ninth annual report, this latest annual report also details the specific number of approvals and applications for each month. As can be seen from the chart, in 2023, a total of 141 applications were approved to proceed to the citizenship application stage.

Among these approved applications, November was the most remarkable month, with 30 applications successfully passing the eligibility assessment, accounting for approximately 21% of the total number of approvals for the year.

Compared with the 70 approvals in 2022, the number of approvals in 2023 has significantly increased, doubling that of 2022, and the overall trend is more positive.

As always, the Malta CBI Programme is renowned for its rigorous multi-layered due diligence. Turning to the rejection statistics, in 2023, 23 applications were not approved, which included both direct rejections and cases where applicants voluntarily withdrew their applications. In terms of geographical distribution, applications from the Asia region accounted for 60% of the total. The overall disapproval rate stood at 7%, marking the first time in history that the rejection rate has been this low.

Employment Status and Educational Level

The application for the Malta CBI Programme does not have any language or educational requirements. According to the official data, 87 applicants successfully obtained citizenship approval. Among these successful applicants, the majority declared their employment status as self-employed. Specifically, 52 applicants (60%) were self-employed, 30 applicants (34%) were employed by others, and another 5 applicants (6%) declared themselves as non-economically dependent, four of whom stated that they were retired.

In terms of educational background, over 92% of the successful applicants who were naturalized in 2023 held a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Gender of Applicants

Consistent with previous years, the gender of the main applicants still skewed predominantly towards males, with male main applicants accounting for 81% and female main applicants comprising 19%. Among them, over half of the applicants fell within the age range of 45-64 years.

Properties

Pursuant to the provisions of the Malta CBI Programme legislation, in addition to the prescribed government donation, successful applicants are required to either purchase a residential property valued at over EUR 700,000 for a minimum holding period of five years, or lease a residential immovable property with an annual rent of at least EUR 16,000. Comparatively, the leasing option is more flexible and does not tie up a significant amount of the applicant's funds, making it the more popular choice for the majority of applicants.

In 2023, 95% of the 87 properties involved were acquired through leasing, with the remaining 5% obtained through purchase.

In summary, this is an excerpt of the Globevisa team’s analysis of the Tenth Annual Report on the Malta CIP.

The Future of the EU Citizenship by Investment Program

In the preface of the annual report, the Programme Supervisor, Carmel L. De Gabriele, stated: "We are eager for the European Court to recognize the unique value of the Malta Citizenship by Exceptional Contribution Programme and to acknowledge Malta's consistently stringent standards in the approval process, ensuring that only third-country nationals who truly meet the criteria are granted Maltese citizenship."

The future trajectory of the Malta CBI Programme remains uncertain. Now, the moment to reveal the fate of the programme is imminent.