Greece Golden Visa vs Malta MPRP (Permanent Residence) 2026: side-by-side comparison
A neutral, field-by-field reference built from the same facts registry as the Golden Visa Index. It compares programmes; it does not recommend one.
Freshness: verified through Scope: programme rules recorded for Greece and Malta only
Answer first
The decisive differences
Investment: Malta has the lower headline figure: €250,000 for Greece vs €99,000 for Malta. Malta registry context: €99K verified government fees post-L.N. 146/2025 (€60K administrative fee [€15K on submission + €45K on approval] + €37K contribution + €2K NGO donation; adult dependants €7.5K each). PLUS a mandatory property commitment: €375K purchase OR €14K/yr lease anywhere in Malta or Gozo (no lower tier) for 5 years (Residency Malta). True minimum entry ≈ €169K via the lease route.
Citizenship timeline: Greece’s recorded eligibility field is 7 years to eligibility subject to the conditions in the registry note; Malta’s is 5 years to eligibility as a separate discretionary naturalisation timeline; this programme is permanent residence only and does not provide a citizenship pathway; these are conditional eligibility fields, not citizenship promises.
Programme stability: Greece has the lower internal closure-risk score: 3 for Greece vs 4 for Malta.
Source at every cell
Side-by-side programme table
Every value below is projected from the programme registry. The authority hostname and verification date remain visible inside each programme cell so a figure never loses its provenance when quoted out of context.
Dimension
🇬🇷Greece Golden Visa
🇲🇹Malta MPRP
Programme status
Open, with reforms
Law 5275/2026 reshaped the tiers; a short-term-rental registration freeze applies in central Athens (districts 1–3, through end-2026) and Thessaloniki (from Mar 2026) — an urban registry rule, not a Golden-Visa threshold change.
€99K verified government fees post-L.N. 146/2025 (€60K administrative fee [€15K on submission + €45K on approval] + €37K contribution + €2K NGO donation; adult dependants €7.5K each). PLUS a mandatory property commitment: €375K purchase OR €14K/yr lease anywhere in Malta or Gozo (no lower tier) for 5 years (Residency Malta). True minimum entry ≈ €169K via the lease route.
Real estate:€375,000Property purchase in Malta or Gozo, held 5 years.
Capital transfer:€70,000 (€14,000/year × 5 years) · primary registry routeRental property at no less than €14,000/year, for a property in Malta OR Gozo — the lower Gozo/southern-Malta tier no longer exists (S.L. 217.26 as amended by L.N. 310 of 2024 and L.N. 146 of 2025). Held 5 years.
MPRP is PR-only — NOT a citizenship programme. The 5-year figure is generic Maltese naturalisation (a separate, discretionary process: Maltese-language fluency, integration test, continuous residence), not an MPRP entitlement.
Reformed in 2024 rather than closed; unlikely to close outright but thresholds may rise further.
Internal risk score 4
Malta EU-scrutinised; IIP (passport sales) already closed in 2025. MPRP reformed rather than terminated but future tightening possible.
Registry change notes
What changed
These notes reproduce the registry’s status, original-amount, and closure-risk fields. Statutes appear only when the registry itself names them.
🇬🇷 Greece Golden Visa
Current registry status
Open, with reforms. Law 5275/2026 reshaped the tiers; a short-term-rental registration freeze applies in central Athens (districts 1–3, through end-2026) and Thessaloniki (from Mar 2026) — an urban registry rule, not a Golden-Visa threshold change.
Original-amount context
No original-currency amount is recorded for this programme’s routes.
Stability / closure context
Reformed in 2024 rather than closed; unlikely to close outright but thresholds may rise further.
Open, with reforms. Legal Notice 146 of 2025 (July 2025) reformed fee structure: unified €37K government contribution, spouse+minor children free, adult dependants reduced to €7.5K.
Original-amount context
Capital transfer: €14,000/year × 5 years. Rental property at no less than €14,000/year, for a property in Malta OR Gozo — the lower Gozo/southern-Malta tier no longer exists (S.L. 217.26 as amended by L.N. 310 of 2024 and L.N. 146 of 2025). Held 5 years.
Stability / closure context
Malta EU-scrutinised; IIP (passport sales) already closed in 2025. MPRP reformed rather than terminated but future tightening possible.
Which has the lower listed investment, Greece or Malta?+
Malta has the lower headline registry minimum. Greece: €250,000 — €250,000 for commercial→residential conversion or listed-building restoration, nationwide. Malta: €99,000 — €99K verified government fees post-L.N. 146/2025 (€60K administrative fee [€15K on submission + €45K on approval] + €37K contribution + €2K NGO donation; adult dependants €7.5K each). PLUS a mandatory property commitment: €375K purchase OR €14K/yr lease anywhere in Malta or Gozo (no lower tier) for 5 years (Residency Malta). True minimum entry ≈ €169K via the lease route. Sources: migration.gov.gr (verified 2026-08-07); residencymalta.gov.mt (verified 2026-08-09).
What citizenship pathways apply to Greece and Malta?+
Greece: 7 years to eligibility. Requires B1 Greek language test. Malta: 5 years to eligibility. MPRP is PR-only — NOT a citizenship programme. The 5-year figure is generic Maltese naturalisation (a separate, discretionary process: Maltese-language fluency, integration test, continuous residence), not an MPRP entitlement. These figures describe conditional eligibility, not guaranteed citizenship, and the permit-maintenance stay rule is not a substitute for naturalisation residence conditions. Sources: migration.gov.gr (verified 2026-08-07); residencymalta.gov.mt (verified 2026-08-09).
Which programme includes parents, Greece or Malta?+
Greece: parents are listed on dependency terms. Malta: parents are listed on dependency terms. Dependency and evidence conditions still apply where the registry marks them. Sources: migration.gov.gr (verified 2026-08-07); residencymalta.gov.mt (verified 2026-08-09).
What is the minimum stay for Greece and Malta?+
Greece: 0 days per year; No minimum stay required to maintain the permit. Malta: 0 days per year; No minimum stay. Residence is permanent from day one. These are permit-maintenance figures, not citizenship-residence rules. Sources: migration.gov.gr (verified 2026-08-07); residencymalta.gov.mt (verified 2026-08-09).