Malta Holds World’s Most Expensive Visa Title for 2025

(MALTA) Malta took the top spot in 2025 for the most expensive visa in the world, with officials and industry trackers pointing to the country’s Permanent Residence Programme, often described as a Golden Visa route, as the driver of that status. The minimum investment tied to the programme is pegged at approximately USD 6.2 million, placing the Mediterranean nation ahead of other popular investor pathways.

The figure, current in 2025, sets a high bar for applicants but reflects the scope of what is on offer: full Maltese citizenship, a European Union passport, and deep access to the EU single market.

What applicants receive

The programme’s draw rests on a package of rights that goes far beyond basic residency. Successful applicants gain EU citizenship rights, which include the ability to live and work across the bloc, as well as visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to over 190 countries.

In practical terms, this opens travel routes that reach nearly every major business hub and many smaller markets. Applicants also secure access to European healthcare and education systems, adding family benefits that many investor migrants weigh alongside business mobility.

Maltese citizenship under the programme includes political rights that are rare in high-cost migration pathways. New citizens receive voting rights in Malta, a step that marks full membership in the national community rather than a limited residency status.

The tax profile described for the offer is also part of the appeal: there are no wealth, inheritance, or gift taxes on foreign income, which can matter for cross-border families and business owners who manage assets in several countries.

Timing and process

Processing times form part of the calculation for investors who are sensitive to market cycles and family timelines. Authorities and advisors say the process typically runs from 12 to 36 months, a window that allows for due diligence, investment deployment, and the gradual build-out of ties to Malta.

While the timeframe is not instant, it remains defined and predictable, which is often as important as speed for those planning a relocation or a second-citizenship strategy in stages.

Important: Plan for a 12–36 month timeline. This structure aligns with due diligence checks and investment verification and affects decisions about housing, schooling, and business relocation.

How Malta compares with other investor routes

The price tag stands out even in a crowded field of investor schemes. Examples cited in 2025 include:

• Singapore — Global Investor Program: USD 7.78 million (for an investment-based permanent residency pathway)
• Turkey — Citizenship by Investment: USD 400,000–500,000 (depending on asset class)
• Egypt — Golden Visa: USD 200,000 (for long-term residency)

Although Singapore’s threshold is higher than Malta’s headline figure, it is tied to a different outcome. When all visa types—residency and citizenship—are viewed together, Malta’s programme tops the global ranking in 2025, underscoring how the country has positioned its offer at the premium end of the market.

Why the high cost attracts demand

Public interest tends to sharpen wherever a pathway promises both mobility and stability. Malta’s combination of citizenship, EU-wide rights, and stable processing times has given it an outsized profile among high-net-worth families.

According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, the high cost aligns with the breadth of benefits, especially the promise of EU citizenship rights and wide travel access built into the Maltese passport. For prospective applicants, the package creates a direct link between capital outlay and the personal, professional, and family freedoms that follow a successful grant.

The government’s branding of its Permanent Residence Programme as part of the Golden Visa family gives would-be applicants a familiar label, even as the Maltese offer sits at the upper end of the cost range. The appeal for some buyers is the one-stop nature of the outcome: a single, heavy investment that closes off future uncertainty about status, travel, and family plans within the EU.

Broader context: visa costs across the spectrum

The wider landscape also matters, particularly for travelers who move frequently for business. For standard tourist visas, the United States 🇺🇸 holds the highest average fee in 2025, with USD 127–185 per application, depending on category and the applicant’s nationality.

This figure does not compete with investment thresholds, but it shows how costs scale across the visa spectrum — from short-term travel permissions to multi-million-dollar pathways that result in citizenship. That contrast helps explain why investor routes sit in their own category and draw a specific type of applicant.

Practical considerations for prospective applicants

• Financial threshold: Expect to commit around USD 6.2 million.
• Timeline: Plan for a 12–36 month application and verification process.
• Benefits: EU citizenship, visa-free travel to 190+ countries, access to EU healthcare and education, and voting rights in Malta.
• Tax features: No wealth, inheritance, or gift taxes on foreign income (relevant for cross-border asset management).
• End-state: Full citizenship — not just residency — making it suitable for those seeking long-term settlement in the EU.

Authorities point interested readers to official sources for programme details and application steps, with the Residency Malta Agency serving as the government’s hub for investor information. While advisors can guide families through the steps, the decision remains personal and shaped by travel needs, family goals, and comfort with the USD 6.2 million threshold.

Conclusion

For now, Malta’s place at the top of the global league table stands as a marker of how far investor migration has moved since the earliest Golden Visa models. In 2025, the country’s Permanent Residence Programme, known widely as a Golden Visa route, defines the upper limit of cost while offering one of the most complete benefit packages on the market.

Whether that balance holds as other countries adjust their own programmes remains to be seen, but the Maltese benchmark sets a clear reference point for anyone assessing the trade-off between price and outcome.