Malta residency by marriage with an investor: how to join a spouse from a second marriage

In 2019, Dikran participated in Malta Permanent Residence Programme to get visa-free access to European countries for himself and his family: a wife and a son. But in 2020, the investor got divorced.

Igor Buglo,

Head of the Maltese office, MBA

In case of divorce, a spouse is no longer financially dependent on an investor. That means a spouse does not comply with Malta Permanent Residence Programme and cannot have the status. The status of the spouse would remain if the investor and his spouse divorced, having Malta citizenship.

In 2020, Immigrant Invest lawyers submitted the compliance form to the Residency Malta Agency for Dikran with supporting documents that he complies with the program terms. The lawyers indicated Dikran’s new marital status on the form and attached a copy of the divorce certificate and his ex-wife’s permanent residence card.

The son of Dikran and his ex-wife, Tigran, retains the status of a permanent resident of Malta as long as he is financially dependent on the investor.

It is important to report the change in the investor’s marital status to the Residency Malta Agency for two reasons:

• it is evidence of the investor’s reliability and responsibility for the information provided and that the investor meets the programme conditions;

• it is a potential opportunity to add a new spouse.

Failure to comply with the program conditions is the basis for the deprivation of permanent residence.

Two years after obtaining Malta permanent residence, Dikran entered a new marriage. His wife has two minor children from her first marriage. The investor wanted them all to get Malta permanent residence. On 25 May 2021, Dikran contacted Immigrant Invest.

After receiving a certificate of residency, an investor can add to permanent residence:

• a spouse, financially dependent on the investor;

• children of both an investor or a spouse, financially dependent on the investor;

• parents and grandparents of both an investor or a spouse;

• grandchildren; provided that they are not financially dependent on the investor and that their parents, the investor’s children, are included in the application;

• daughters-in-law or sons-in-law, provided they are not financially dependent on the investor and their spouses, the investor’s children, are included in the application.

Igor Buglo,

Head of the Maltese office, MBA

An investor pays an additional fee for joining family members. In 2021, investors paid €5,000 for each family member over eighteen.

In 2022, new rules are valid. Investors pay €7,500 for adding a spouse, parent, grandparent, daughter-in-law or son-in-law, and €5,000 for adding a child over eighteen or a grandchild.

The fee is free for adding children under eighteen and disabled children.

Since Dikran applied to add his family members to Malta permanent residence in 2021, he paid €5,000 for his wife. The spouse’s two children are under eighteen, and their joining is free.

1. Documents collection and submitting. Dikran signed a document in which his new family composition is fixed in the consulate of Malta in Yerevan. The investor signed the same document when he applied for Malta permanent residence for the first time.

To the document, Immigrant Invest lawyers filled out all the necessary forms to join Karine and her children to the program. The forms were the same if they were submitted simultaneously with the investor. Also, the lawyers attached Karine’s passport, Karine’s and her children’s international passports, children’s birth certificates, and Karine’s police clearance certificates.

2. Getting approval. A month after submitting the documents, Dikran got approval to join his family members to Malta residence permit.

Immigrant Invest lawyers registered Karine and her children for submitting the biometrics in Malta — Karine chose 8 August 2021.

3. Submitting biometrics. In 2021, Malta did not issue visas for Permanent Residence Programme participants due to covid. But it was possible to visit Malta on an open Schengen visa.

Karine and her children received a Schengen visa to Greece in a week. They flew to Athens and spent two weeks on the coast of Greece.

After that, they flew from Athens to Malta with new PCR tests. At the airport in Malta, they showed the Schengen visa of Greece, PCR and a record for biometrics.

Karine and her children were accompanied by an Immigrant Invest lawyer from the airport to the Residency Malta Agency.

4. Obtaining residence permit cards. In two weeks, the Residency Malta Agency issued certificates of residence and permanent residence cards for Karine and her children and sent them to Immigrant Invest lawyers in Malta.

Karine and her children got the documents by courier to the address Dikran had indicated.

Excluding the two weeks clients spent in Athens and the one month between approval and the client’s chosen biometric day, the process took two months.

2 months to join family members to Malta permanent residence

1

25 May 2021

Turning to Immigrant Invest

2

+ 2 weeks

Collecting the documents, paying the fee €5,000

3

+ 1 month

Due Diligence

4

+ 1 day

Submitting biometrics

5

+ 2 weeks

Permanent residence cards issuing and paying for it €330

6

23 July 2021

Obtaining Maltese permanent residence cards

1

25 May 2021

Turning to Immigrant Invest

2

+ 2 weeks

Collecting the documents, paying the fee €5,000

3

+ 1 month

Due Diligence

4

+ 1 day

Submitting biometrics

5

+ 2 weeks

Permanent residence cards issuing and paying for it €330

6

23 July 2021

Obtaining Maltese permanent residence cards

With Malta permanent residence, Dikran and Karine no longer worry about visas. Now, Karine can accompany her husband on each travelling to Europe, as Maltese permanent residents can visit other Schengen countries without visas. The visa-free stay is up to 90 out of 180 days.

Maltese permanent residence holders do not need visas for medical treatment in Maltese clinics or study in local schools and universities. They can also access clinics and educational institutions in other Schengen countries.

In Malta, there is a high level of education. Maltese secondary and higher education certificates are accepted in universities in Malta and other countries of the European Union and Great Britain. Karine is glad her children would get the best education with Malta Permanent Residence.

Dikran’s son, Tigran, is about to finish high school in Yerevan. Dikran suggested that the son get higher education in Malta. Here, students are trained by one of the oldest universities in Europe. Malta universities are included in the top universities in the world according to the QS World University Ranking. At the same time, the cost of education is two times lower than in UK universities. Now Tigran is choosing a university in Malta.

Immigrant Invest is a licensed agent for government programs in the European Union and the Caribbean.