Malta Residence and Visa Programme

L.N. 189 of 2017

IMMIGRATION ACT

(CAP. 217)

Malta Residence and Visa Programme

(Amendment) Regulations, 2017

IN exercise of the powers conferred by article 7 and 8 of the

Immigration Act, the Prime Minister has made the following

regulations:-

The title of this regulation is the Malta Residence and Visa Citation.

Programme (Amendment) Regulations, 2017 and these regulations

shall be read and construed as one with the Malta Residence and Visa S.L. 217.18

Programme Regulations, hereinafter referred to as "the principal

regulations".

Regulation 2 of the principal regulations shall be amended Amends

regulation 2 of

as follows

the principal

regulations.

(a)

the definition of the term "appointed day" shall be

substituted by the following

" "appointed day" means the date on which Malta

Residence and Visa Agency shall determine in writing that

a beneficiary is issued a certificate under these

regulations;";

(b)

the definition of the term "certified copy" shall be

substituted by the following

" "certified copy" means a photocopy of an original

document certified by a duly warranted lawyer, or notary

public, a Maltese consular or diplomatic officer, Malta

Residence and Visa Agency or a senior officer of an

authority appointed by Malta Residence and Visa Agency

in terms of regulation 11(2);";

(c)

the definition of the term "contribution" shall be

substituted by the following

" "contribution" means a contribution of thirty

thousand euro (€30,000), and, where applicable, five

thousand euro (€5,000) per parent or grandparent of the

main applicant or of the spouse paid in accordance with

these regulations;";

(d)

the definition of the term "dependant" shall be

substituted by the following

" "dependant" in relation to another person means –

(a) the spouse of the main applicant in a

monogamous marriage or in another relationship having

the same or a similar status to marriage, unless the

Minister authorizes otherwise on a case by case basis;

(b)

a child, including an adopted child, of the

main applicant or of his spouse who at the time of

application is less than eighteen years of age;

(c) a child, including an adopted child, of the

main applicant or of his spouse, who at the time of

application is not yet born or not yet adopted by the main

applicant or by his spouse, and is born or becomes so

adopted after the appointed day;

(d)

a child, including an adopted child, of the

main applicant or of his spouse, who at the time of

application is over eighteen years of age, not married, and

who proves, to the satisfaction of the Minister that at the

time of application he is not economically active and is

principally dependant on the main applicant;

(e) a parent or grandparent of the main applicant

or of his spouse who proves to the satisfaction of the

Minister that at the time of application he is not

economically active and is principally dependant on the

main applicant; or

(f)

an adult child of the main applicant or of the

spouse of the main applicant who has been certified by a

recognized medical professional/Authority as having a

disability in terms of the Equal Opportunities (Persons

with Disability) Act

Provided that in any case is not a beneficiary under

the Residents Scheme Regulations, the High Net Worth

Individuals – EU / EEA / Swiss Nationals Rules, the Malta

Retirement Programme Rules, the Residence Programme Rules,

the Qualifying Employment in Innovation and Creativity Rules

or the Highly Qualified Persons Rules, and resides with the

beneficiary in the qualifying property;

(e)

immediately after the definition of the term "long-

term resident" there shall be added the following new

definitions

" "main applicant" means an individual who has

filed an application in terms of regulation 5;

"Malta Residence and Visa Agency" means the

agency established by the Malta Residence and Visa

Agency (Establishment) Order;"; and

(f)

the definition of the term "qualifying owned

property" in shall be substituted by the following

" "qualifying owned property" means an immovable

property purchased at a consideration of not less than

(a)

subject to the provisions of paragraph (b),

three hundred twenty thousand euro (€320,000) for a

property situated in Malta; or

(b)

two hundred and seventy thousand euro

(€270,000) for a property situated in Gozo or in the south

of Malta

Provided that an immovable property purchased

before the date of coming into force of these regulations for a

consideration which is less than the amounts indicated in

paragraphs (a) or (b) above shall be considered to be "qualifying

owned property" insofar as the value of such immovable

property, as declared on the date of application by the main

applicant, is not less than the amounts indicated in paragraphs

(a) or (b) above as supported by a separate and independent

architect valuation including architect’s plan which are

delivered to Malta Residence and Visa Agency upon

application

Provided further that the Malta Residence and Visa

Agency Executive Chairman authorises, a Malta Residence &

Visa Agency Officer and/or third party, architect or surveyor

who shall have full and free access to the qualifying owned

property to the extent that such access is likely to assist him in

determining the value of the said property;".

Regulation 3 of the principal regulations shall be Substitutes

regulation 3 of

the principal

regulations.

substituted by the following

3. For the purposes of these regulations a

certificate issued under these regulations shall be

deemed to constitute a permit issued in terms of Article

7 of the Immigration Act.".

Regulation 4 of the principal regulations shall be

substituted by the following

4. A certificate issued by the Malta Residence

and Visa Agency in accordance with these regulations

shall entitle the beneficiary of such a certificate and his

registered dependants to reside, settle or stay

indefinitely in Malta, provided that

(a)

the certificate shall be monitored

annually for the first five years from its issue, and

every five years thereafter, and it shall be

considered to have been ipso iure withdrawn as

soon as the beneficiary thereof infringes any of

the provisions of these regulations; and

(b)

the said certificate shall not by itself

entitle the holder thereof to any other rights

mentioned in the Immigration Regulations.".

Regulation 5 of the principal regulations shall be

substituted by the following

5. (1)

An individual, as duly represented

by a registered approved agent and, or registered

accredited person may apply to Malta Residence and

Visa Agency for the issuance of a certificate under

these regulations, in such form as Malta Residence and

Visa Agency may require and by paying a non-

refundable administrative fee of five thousand five

hundred euro (€5,500).

(2) Where it is established that the individual

mentioned in sub-regulation (1) qualifies as a

beneficiary, the Malta Residence and Visa Agency

shall determine in writing that such individual is to be

issued a certificate under these regulations.

(3) Upon such determination in writing in

terms of sub- regulation (2) and prior to the issuance of

the certificate, the main applicant, as duly represented

by a registered approved agent and, or registered

accredited person, shall pay the contribution less the

non-refundable administrative fee already paid upon

presentation of the application, and present the

necessary title to a qualifying property, and a

certificate to a qualifying investment, and any other

document as may be required from time to time by

notice issued by Malta Residence and Visa Agency

Provided that no certificate shall be issued

to the main applicant or any of his dependants even in

the case that Malta Residence and Visa Agency has

issued its approval in principle in terms of these

regulations, unless the conditions above referred to are

satisfied to the full satisfaction of Malta Residence and

Visa Agency.

(4) Following the death of a beneficiary, in

exceptional circumstances, Malta Residence and Visa

Agency shall be empowered to determine that the

certificate issued in terms of sub-regulation (3) shall

be issued to a dependant of that deceased beneficiary.

Such certificate shall be issued once the said

dependant provides proof to Malta Residence and Visa

Agency that all the requirements of these regulations

are satisfied in such manner as Malta Residence and

Visa Agency may determine.

(5) The beneficiary under these regulations, as

duly represented by a registered approved agent and,

or registered accredited person may apply to Malta

Residence and Visa Agency for the issuance of a

certificate under these regulations, in such form as

Malta Residence and Visa Agency may require, for

any dependant as referred to in the definition in

paragraph (c) regulation (2) who is born or adopted

after the appointed day, subject to a successful due

diligence check.

(6) The beneficiary under these regulations, as

duly represented by a registered approved agent or

registered accredited person may apply to Malta

Residence and Visa Agency to include on the Main

Beneficiary certificate issued under these regulations,

and against a non-refundable supplementary

administration fee of five thousand euro (€5,000), the

spouse of the beneficiary’s or his spouse’s approved

child being a child who would have been previously

accepted as a dependant in the residence certificate,

subject to a successful due diligence check.

(7) The beneficiary under these regulations, as

duly represented by a registered approved agent and,

or registered accredited person may apply to Malta

Residence and Visa Agency to include on the Main

Beneficiary certificate issued under these regulations,

and against a non-refundable supplementary

administration fee of five thousand euro (€5,000), any

dependant who, after the appointed day, is born to, or

adopted by an approved child as defined in the

precedent sub-regulation (6) or his spouse, where such

spouse is herself already a beneficiary under these

regulations according to sub-regulation (6), subject to

a successful due diligence check

Provided that an approved dependant, being

a child of the main applicant or spouse, who gets

married, his or her direct dependants will not derive

residency rights under these regulations automatically.

In this respect Malta Residence and Visa Agency will

consider residency under these regulations, against a

non-refundable supplementary administration fee of

five thousand euro (€5,000) per dependant and subject

to a successful due diligence check.

(8) The beneficiary under these regulations, as

duly represented by a registered approved agent and,

or registered accredited person may apply to Malta

Residence and Visa Agency to include on the Main

Beneficiary certificate issued under these regulations,

and against a non-refundable supplementary

administration fee of five thousand euro (€5,000), the

spouse or minor/child of a dependant as defined in

regulation 2 of the principal regulations and subject to

a successful due diligence check.".

Regulation 6 of the principal regulations shall be amended

(a)

paragraph (a) of sub-regulation (2) thereof shall be

substituted by the following

"(a) a police certificate in relation to the main

applicant and any dependant who is older than fourteen

years of age at the time of application, issued by the

competent authorities in the country of origin and in the

country or countries of residence where such a person

would have resided for a period of more than six months

during the last ten years, or in exceptional cases, where it is

proved to the satisfaction of Malta Residence and Visa

Agency that such a certificate is not obtainable, a sworn

affidavit made by the main applicant, either on his own

behalf or on behalf of each of his minor dependants who

are over fourteen years of age, and any adult dependant, on

his own behalf, declaring a clean criminal record; in

certain circumstances Malta Residence and Visa Agency

may accept that such certificates are submitted at a later

date but in any case before the application is approved in

principle;".

(b)

paragraph (f) of sub-regulation (2) thereof shall be

substituted with the following

"(f) a certificate as requested from a reputable

health system to the satisfaction of Malta Residence and

Visa Agency, that the main applicant and his dependants

are not suffering from any contagious disease and that they

are otherwise in good health and will not be, in terms of

the medical review carried out by Malta Residence and

Visa Agency, of an unreasonable burden on the national

health system;"; and

(c)

paragraph (g) of sub-regulation (2) thereof shall be

substituted by the following

"(g) any other document as may be required from

time to time by notice issued by Malta Residence and Visa

Agency.".

Regulation 7 of the principal regulations shall be Substitutes

regulation 7 of

substituted with the following

the principal

regulations.

7. In addition to the qualifications and general

requirements as set out in regulation 6, the minimum

eligibility criteria for an application under these

regulations, for the main applicant and any of his

dependants, shall be as follows

(a)

a proper background verification of

the main applicant and his dependants over the

age of fourteen years, as the case may be;

(b)

a police certificate in relation to the

main applicant and any dependant who is older

than fourteen years of age at the time of

application, issued by the competent authorities

in the country of origin and in the country or

countries of residence where such a person would

have resided for a period of more than six months

during the last ten years, or in exceptional cases,

where it is proved to the satisfaction of Malta

Residence and Visa Agency that such a certificate

is not obtainable, a sworn affidavit made by the

main applicant, either on his own behalf or on

behalf of each of his minor dependants who are

over the age of 14, and any adult dependant, on

his own behalf, declaring a clean criminal record;

in certain circumstances Malta Residence and

Visa Agency may accept that such certificates are

submitted at a later date but in any case before

the application is approved in principle;

(c)

the main applicant and, or any of his

dependants are not individuals indicted before an

International Criminal Court or who appeared at

any time before an International Criminal Court,

whether such persons have been found guilty or

otherwise by such Court;

(d)

the main applicant and, or any of his

dependants, are not persons listed with the

International Criminal Police Organization

(INTERPOL) at the time of application;

(e)

the main applicant and, or any of his

dependants is not, or may not be a potential threat

to national security, public policy or public

health;

(f)

the main applicant and, or any of his

dependants shall not be an individual who, at any

time, had pending charges related to crimes of

terrorism, money laundering, funding of

terrorism, crimes against humanity, war crimes,

or crimes that infringe upon such Protection of

Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms as

established by the European Convention on

Human Rights, or who has been found guilty of

any such crimes;

(g)

the main applicant and, or any of his

dependants is not an individual who has been

found guilty or has charges brought against him

regarding any of the criminal offences that

disturb the good order of the family, which

criminal offences include, without limitation, the

following

(i) paedophilia,

(ii) defilement of minors,

(iii) rape,

(iv) violent indecent assault,

(v) inducing persons under age to

prostitution, and

(vi) abduction;

(h)

the main applicant and, or any of his

dependants is not be an individual who at any

time was found guilty, or, at the time of the

application, is being interrogated and suspected,

or has criminal charges brought against him for

any criminal offence, other than an involuntary

offence, punishable with more than two years’

imprisonment. The main applicant shall attach

with his application a sworn declaration before a

Commissioner for Oaths, lawyer or notary public

that the said information that he has provided is

true and correct;

(i)

where a document is required to be

produced under these regulations in support of an

application

(i) such document must be an

original document or if not an original, it

must be a certified copy; and

(ii)

the person certifying the

document shall provide the full name,

capacity in which the person is acting,

residential or business address, telephone

number and email address;

(j)

the application is not deemed to be

against public interest.".

Regulation 8 of the principal regulations shall be

substituted by the following

8. (1)

For the purposes of these

regulations, and without prejudice to any rights and

duties emanating from the Immigration Regulations

and unless any individual is already in possession of a

residence document or a residence permit issued under

the Immigration Regulations, an individual shall be

deemed to be a beneficiary of a certificate issued under

these regulations only if he, as from the appointed day

and throughout the entire duration and persistence of

the certificate, proves to the satisfaction of Malta

Residence and Visa Agency that

(a)

he is a third country national and is

not a Maltese, EEA or Swiss national;

(b)

he is not a person who benefits

under the Residents Scheme Regulations, the

High Net Worth Individuals - EU / EEA / Swiss

Nationals Rules, the Malta Retirement

Programme Rules, the Residence Programme

Rules, the Qualifying Employment in Innovation

and Creativity Rules or the Highly Qualified

Persons Rules;

(c)

he holds a qualifying property for a

minimum five (5) year period from the date of

issuing of certificate;

(d)

he holds a qualifying investment for

a minimum period of five (5) years from the date

of issuing of certificate;

(e)

without prejudice to any other

provision of this regulation, he is in receipt of

stable and regular resources which are sufficient

to maintain himself and his dependants without

recourse to the social assistance system of Malta;

(f)

he is, and his dependants are, in

possession of a valid travel document;

(g)

he is in possession of sickness

insurance in respect of all risks normally covered

for Maltese nationals for himself and his

dependants, across the whole of the Schengen

Area and states associated with the Schengen

activities of the European Union;

(h)

he provides an affidavit declaring

that from the date of the application referred to in

regulation 5 onwards he has either an annual

income of not less than hundred thousand euro

(€100,000) arising outside Malta or has in his

possession a capital of not less than five hundred

thousand euro (€500,000).

(2) For the purposes of these regulations, and

without prejudice to any rights and duties emanating

from the Immigration Regulations and unless any

individual is already in possession of a residence

document or a residence permit issued under the

Immigration Regulations, an individual shall be

deemed to be an approved dependant as included on

the certificate issued under these regulations only if he,

as from the appointed day and throughout the entire

duration and persistence of the certificate, proves to the

satisfaction of Malta Residence and Visa Agency that

(a)

he is a third country national and is

not a Maltese, EEA or Swiss national;

(b)

he is not a person who benefits

under the Residents Scheme Regulations, the

High Net Worth Individuals - EU / EEA / Swiss

Nationals Rules, the Malta Retirement

Programme Rules, the Residence Programme

Rules, the Qualifying Employment in Innovation

and Creativity Rules or the Highly Qualified

Persons Rules;

(c)

he is in possession of sickness

insurance in respect of all risks normally covered

for Maltese nationals across the whole of the

Schengen Area and states associated with the

Schengen activities of the European Union.".

Regulation 9 of the principal regulations shall be amended

as follows

(a)

paragraphs (b) and (f) of sub-regulation (1) thereof

shall be deleted;

(b)

paragraph (c), (d), (e) and (g) of sub-regulation (1)

thereof shall be re-numbered as paragraphs (b), (c), (d) and (e)

respectively;

(c)

paragraph (a) of sub-regulation (2) thereof, shall be

substituted with the following

"(2) (a) An individual who ceases to benefit from

a certificate issued in terms of these regulations for any of

the reasons specified in sub-regulation (1) shall notify

Malta Residence and Visa Agency of such event by not

later than four weeks from the date when he becomes

aware of such event. This notification shall be made on

such form as may be required by Malta Residence and Visa

Agency.";

(d)

sub-regulation (3) thereof shall be substituted with

the following

"(3) An individual shall, with immediate effect,

cease to benefit from a certificate issued in terms of these

regulations if he notifies Malta Residence and Visa Agency

of his intention not to remain a beneficiary in terms of

these regulations on such form as Malta Residence and

Visa Agency may require.".

Regulation 10 of the principal regulations shall be

substituted with the following

10. (1)

For the purpose of ascertaining an

individual’s entitlement to rights acquired under these

regulations and ensuring the proper application of

these regulation, Malta Residence and Visa Agency

may require that individual or the relevant registered

approved agent and, or registered accredited person to

produce, within the time indicated by Malta Residence

and Visa Agency in that request, such information and

documents as Malta Residence and Visa Agency may

consider necessary, including certifications and

declarations.".

(2) Notwithstanding any other provision in any

law, Malta Residence and Visa Agency may exchange

information that is in its possession concerning an

individual –

(a)

making an application in terms of

regulation 5;

(b)

that is a beneficiary; or

(c)

that has long-term residence status

in terms of the Status of Long-term Residents

(Third Country Nationals) Regulations

Provided that such information may be

exchanged only for the purposes of these regulations

and for the purposes of the long-term residence status

in terms of the Status of Long-term Residents (Third

Country Nationals) Regulations.".

Regulation 11 of the principal regulations shall be Substitutes

substituted with the following

11. (1)

Any decision, determination or

verification to be made the Malta Residence and Visa

Agency under these regulations shall be made at that

agency’s absolute discretion and any such decision,

determination or verification shall be final and shall

not be subject to an appeal.

(2) The Malta Residence and Visa Agency shall

have the right to delegate any of their respective

functions under these regulations, save for the Malta

Residence and Visa Agency functions arising under

regulation 3, to each other or to any other authority

duly constituted under any other law capable of

exercising such functions.".

In the Schedule to the principal regulations, immediately Amends the

after the word "Luqa" there shall be added the word "Marsa".

B

€1.26