Cyprus vs. Malta’s Citizenship by Investment Programs

Their offers might seem identical, and one might struggle to decide which between them to pick.

This post compares them on various grounds, and hopefully, at the end of it, you should find it a little easier to make critical decisions.

Similarities

• Both investment programs offer access to the rest of the EU for business, work as well as services such as healthcare
• Both countries use the Euro currency
• They do not subject applicants to language proficiency tests
• They can only accept your application if you are over 18 years of age (but dependents of the primary applicant can be younger)
• They require applicants to have private health insurance cover worth more than €50,000 for each family member.
• They have the same taxation regimes
• Their passports have almost the same power with regard to international travel

Differences

• Cyprus has a larger population (over 1 million) than Malta (about 0.5 million
• Malta passport gives you access to the Schengen area, while that of Cyprus does not.
• Malta has Maltese and English as their official languages, while Cyprus has Greek and Turkish.
• Malta requires an applicant to buy a home worth at least €350,000 or rent one for more than five years at an annual cost of €16,000. You can sell the property after five years
• Meanwhile, Cyprus requires you to purchase property worth at least €500,000, which you should keep for life.
• Cyprus requires applicants to either buy real estate worth at least €2 million or put an equal amount in a business. You can also split that amount into €500,000 to go to government bonds and the remainder to real estate or a company.
• Malta demands that an applicant donates €650,000 to a special government fund and invest €150,000 in government bonds.
• Cyprus will charge you €2,000 processing and €5,000 for the naturalization certificate as additional fees for the Cyprus investment program.
• Malta charges you diligence fees of €7,500. If you have dependents, you are supposed to €5,000 for each. You are also charged €500 for a passport and €200 bank charge for the application.

Recently the Cyprus citizenship program has become stricter and even more beneficial.

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