|
Buying Property in European Malta
Malta has successfully concluded its negotiations for accession to the
European Union. On the 16th April 2003, Malta signed the EU Accession
Treaty. Malta will formally join as a full member of the European Union in
May 2004.
 As a result of negotiations, the present situation regarding AIP will be retained on a permanent basis even after membership even though
EU law allows EU citizens to purchase property in any EU country without
restrictions.
During negotiations, the EU agreed that considering the limited number of
residences in Malta and the limited land available for construction, which
can only cover the basic needs of the present residents, Malta may maintain
restrictions, on a non-discriminatory basis, on the right of EU citizens,
who have not legally resided in Malta for at least five years, to acquire
and hold secondary residences.
This means that EU citizens seeking to buy a secondary house in Malta will
still need to apply for authorisation and satisfy conditions as is now. They
will also not be entitled to buy more than one property unless they reside
in Malta for at least five years.
The five-year period as a residence requirement was the balance that was
struck between the two diametrically opposed positions in Maltese and EU
law. Under Maltese law, foreigners can never have full rights to buy
property in Malta unless they obtain Maltese nationality. Under EU law, EU
citizens would have full rights to buy as much property in Malta as they
like without any need to reside in Malta.
Instead, Malta agreed to give equal rights to EU citizens to buy property
freely in Malta only if they first resided here for a period of five years.
In practice, this means that only those EU citizens who settle in Malta
permanently can do so.
This was done in order to eliminate the possibility of foreigners freely
buying as much property in Malta as they like. More important, Malta wanted
to reduce the possibility of an increase in property prices because of EU
membership.
The following tables give an easy comparison between the situation today,
the situation under EU law and the situation that will prevail after
membership as negotiated by Malta. This comparison illustrates the salient
points that were negotiated.
|
Purchase of FIRST property in MALTA |
|
|
|
Position Today |
Position under EU law
WITHOUT negotiations |
Position AFTER EU
Membership AS NEGOTIATED BY MALTA |
|
Maltese Citizens |
FREE to buy |
Free to buy (ALSO IN EU) |
Free to buy (ALSO IN EU) |
|
EU Citizen residing
ABROAD |
Permit granted |
FREE to buy |
Permit granted |
|
EU Citizen residing in
Malta |
Permit granted |
FREE to buy |
FREE to buy |
|
Non-EU Citizen |
Permit granted |
No change |
Permit granted |
|
Purchase of SECOND or FURTHER property in MALTA |
|
|
|
Position Today |
Position under EU law
WITHOUT negotiations |
Position AFTER EU
Membership AS NEGOTIATED BY MALTA |
|
Maltese Citizens |
FREE to buy |
Free to buy (ALSO IN EU) |
Free to buy (ALSO IN EU) |
|
EU Citizen residing
ABROAD |
No permit granted |
FREE to buy |
No permit granted |
|
EU Citizen residing in
Malta LESS than 5 years |
No permit granted |
FREE to buy |
No permit granted |
|
EU Citizen residing in
Malta MORE than 5 years |
No permit granted |
FREE to buy |
FREE to buy |
|
Non-EU Citizen |
No permit granted |
No change |
No permit granted |
|
HOME