Malta Announces How Many Years Foreigners Must Live in the Country to Qualify for Citizenship
- The Maltese government has published the residency conditions foreigners must meet to qualify for citizenship by naturalisation, and it applies in 2026
- Applicants must show at least 12 consecutive months of residence in Malta immediately before submitting their application
- The residency requirement implies that a foreigner must have a substantial and recent history of living in Malta before the government will consider their application
PAY ATTENTION: Find it fast with our new search feature at Legit.ng!
The Maltese government has set out the residency conditions that foreign nationals must satisfy before they can apply for Maltese citizenship through naturalisation based on residence.
According to the official guidance, an applicant must have lived in Malta without interruption for the 12 months directly before the date they submit their application.
Source: Getty Images
Beyond that, the person must also show they have spent a combined minimum of four years in Malta during the six-year period that falls immediately before those 12 months.
What the residency rules mean in practice
Taken together, the requirements mean that a foreign national must have a substantial and recent history of living in Malta before the government will consider their application. The 12-month continuous residence period is treated as a separate condition from the four-year aggregate, and both must be met for an application to proceed.
The Maltese government did note one exception to the four-year aggregate requirement. Where the applicant is a person of full age who does not have full legal capacity, someone else may submit the application on their behalf, provided the Civil Court under its Voluntary Jurisdiction gives its authorisation.
In that specific situation, the four-year aggregate condition does not apply.
In a related story, Legit.ng reported that Malta had outlined six conditions that foreigners must satisfy before becoming citizens.
Malta names countries eligible for visa-free entry
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that Malta had released a full list of countries whose citizens can visit the country without a visa.
The list covers nationals who are not required to hold a visa when crossing Malta's external borders.
A total of around 60 countries appear on the official exempted list, spanning North America, South America, Asia, Oceania, Europe, and a small number of African nations.
Source: Legit.ng
