Malta Golden Visa for Chinese Nationals: The 2026 Guide

Chinese nationals are eligible for Malta permanent residency under the Malta Permanent Residence Programme (MPRP). It is a residence status, not a second nationality, and it does not make you Maltese. Any investment must be funded in line with China’s foreign exchange rules. This guide is written for Chinese nationals who live outside mainland China, or whose assets are already lawfully held outside it.

On this page

• Can Chinese nationals get the Malta golden visa?
• Residence, not nationality
• What Chinese investors need to invest
• China’s foreign exchange rules
• State Council Order No. 841
• The application steps and payment milestones
• Malta vs other programmes popular with Chinese investors
• Frequently asked questions

This guide is general information about the Malta Permanent Residence Programme and is not legal, tax or immigration advice. It gives no advice on Chinese foreign exchange or nationality law. Programme terms, figures and eligibility lists can change. Obtain independent professional advice, including from qualified PRC counsel, before making any application or investment decision.

Can Chinese nationals get the Malta golden visa?

Yes. Malta’s Permanent Residence Programme is open to third-country nationals and China is not on Residency Malta’s ineligible list. Applicants pass the capital test, buy or lease a qualifying property, pay the fixed contributions and clear due diligence. The result is permanent residence in Malta, not Maltese citizenship.

The programme rests on Subsidiary Legislation 217.26, most recently amended by Legal Notice 146 of 2025. It excludes EU, EEA and Swiss nationals and anyone named in international sanctions the Residency Malta Agency follows. As of September 2026, China does not appear on the ineligible-country list in the Agency’s MPRP FAQ (version 2.6.5). The Agency says that list may be revised from time to time, so check the current version when you apply.

Who can be included

One application can cover four generations:

• your spouse, at no dependant fee;
• minor children, at no dependant fee;
• adult children certified as disabled, at no dependant fee;
• unmarried adult children aged 18 to 28 (under 29 when you apply) who are principally dependent on you, at EUR 7,500 each;
• parents and grandparents of you or your spouse who are not in full-time employment and are principally dependent on you, at EUR 7,500 each.

Residence, not nationality: Malta PR and Chinese nationality law

Two articles of the Nationality Law of the People’s Republic of China (1980) frame this question.

• Article 3: China does not recognise dual nationality for Chinese citizens.
• Article 9: a Chinese citizen settled abroad who voluntarily acquires a foreign nationality automatically loses Chinese nationality. According to the PRC consular explanation, a person in that position then enters China on a foreign passport with a Chinese visa.

Article 9 turns on acquiring a foreign nationality. The MPRP grants permanent residence in Malta. It does not grant Maltese nationality, so on our reading of the law as written the residence status itself does not involve acquiring a foreign nationality. That is not an official Chinese ruling. Article 9 also applies only to citizens “settled abroad”, and PRC consular guidance on nationality treats foreign permanent residence as relevant to that question, so holding Malta PR could matter if you later acquire another country’s nationality. Your own position depends on your facts. Take advice from qualified PRC counsel on your case.

There is also no Maltese passport on offer through investment. Malta’s citizenship by investment route closed following the EU Court of Justice judgment in case C-181/23 of 29 April 2025. For the programme overview, see our Malta golden visa guide.

What Chinese investors need to invest

Property or lease, and the capital test

You choose one property route:

• Buy a property for at least EUR 375,000, or
• Lease one for at least EUR 14,000 a year.

Both thresholds apply anywhere in Malta or Gozo; the regional discount that older guides quote was removed by Legal Notice 310 of 2024 with effect from 1 January 2025. You must keep the qualifying property, owned or leased, for at least five years from the grant of residence, and after that you must still hold a residential property in Malta or Gozo, owned or leased.

Separately, you must show assets of at least EUR 500,000, including EUR 150,000 in financial assets, or at least EUR 650,000, including EUR 75,000 in financial assets. This is a wealth test, not a payment, but you must keep that level of capital for five years from the grant of residence.

Public costs in CNY and HKD

Converted at EUR 1 = CNY 7.6302 and EUR 1 = HKD 8.9148, European Central Bank euro reference rates of 24 September 2026, rounded to the nearest 100. Figures in EUR are the legal amounts. Conversions are illustrative only and say nothing about how funds may be transferred.

Not included, because they vary by case and are not fixed in the programme rules: property purchase taxes, notary and legal costs, insurance, due diligence costs and advisory fees, which are quoted per engagement. We do not estimate them. Also outside the table: Residency Malta’s current programme brochure lists a residence card fee of EUR 500 per person, covering five years.

Worked example: a family of four, and a three-generation variant

Take a main applicant, a spouse and two children under 18.

Now add the main applicant’s two dependent parents. Each adds a EUR 7,500 dependant fee, so EUR 15,000 in total (about CNY 114,500).

On the purchase route, EUR 375,000 of the total is a property the family owns; the fixed charges never become an asset.

China’s foreign exchange rules: what the law says

This section states the rules as published by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE). It does not advise on them.

The USD 50,000 annual quota and what it cannot be used for

Under the implementing rules for individual foreign exchange (汇发〔2007〕1号, article 2), each individual has an annual foreign exchange purchase quota of USD 50,000 equivalent. SAFE Shanghai restated the same figure on 2 April 2026.

The quota cannot be used for property abroad. The SAFE individual purchase application form (个人购汇申请书) requires the buyer to declare that the foreign exchange will not be used for overseas property purchases, securities investment, life insurance or other capital account items not yet opened.

The form also sets out the consequences of a breach: placement on a watch list with no quota for that year and the following two years, administrative penalties under the foreign exchange regulations, referral for anti-money-laundering review, and an entry in the person’s credit record.

Why this guide is written for assets already held lawfully outside mainland China

According to Residency Malta’s MPRP FAQ, every application includes a statement of source of funds and wealth (Form MPRP2), backed by bank statements for the account from which the fees and the contribution are paid. Showing that the money was lawfully earned and lawfully held is the applicant’s responsibility. For that reason this guide addresses readers whose assets are already lawfully held outside mainland China. It does not describe any way of moving funds out of mainland China, and Aegir Global does not advise on one. If your position is different, speak to qualified PRC counsel before taking any step.

State Council Order No. 841: what changed on 15 September 2026

The State Council’s Provisions on Exit and Entry Administration (国务院关于出境入境管理的规定, Order No. 841) run to 19 articles and took effect on 15 September 2026. The points most relevant to readers of this guide:

• Article 3: the stated reasons for exit and entry, and for any stay or residence, must be true and lawful. False materials or statements allow the authorities to refuse documents or to refuse exit or entry.
• Article 4: exit bans of 6 months to 3 years can apply for document fraud, illegal exit or entry, or unlawful activity abroad that harms state interests.
• Article 7: exit and entry intermediaries must file with the immigration authority within 15 days of set-up. Existing intermediaries have 90 days from 15 September 2026.
• Article 10: intermediaries must refuse, and report, public officials or military personnel who use them to obtain foreign nationality or permanent residence in violation of the rules.
• Articles 10 and 13: false or exaggerated advertising by intermediaries is banned, with fines of RMB 20,000 to 50,000 or one to five times illegal gains.

One widely repeated claim is wrong. The Order does not require public officials to choose between foreign permanent residence and their post by 15 September 2026. Article 10 only requires intermediaries to refuse and report officials who seek foreign nationality or residence in breach of the rules.

The application steps and payment milestones

The programme rules fix the payment timetable:

1. Submission to the Residency Malta Agency through a licensed agent, with the evidence for the capital test and the statement of source of funds and wealth. EUR 15,000 of the administrative fee is due within one month.
2. Due diligence on the applicant and every dependant, including against the sanctions lists the Agency follows.
3. Letter of Approval in Principle. The remaining EUR 45,000 of the administrative fee is due within two months of this letter.
4. Government contribution of EUR 37,000, due within eight months of the Letter of Approval in Principle.
5. Property, donation and insurance. Within the same eight months you present title to the qualifying property (purchase or lease), make the EUR 2,000 NGO donation and show health insurance. The Agency may extend these time limits where good cause is shown. Confirm the deadlines for your case against the Agency’s current guidance.

The programme rules fix no total processing time, so we do not quote one.

Malta vs other programmes popular with Chinese investors

Three structural points separate the European residence programmes: property or fund, the status granted, and family reach.

• Malta is completed through a property purchase or lease, grants permanent residence, and covers up to four generations.
• Hungary has no property route since 30 December 2024. Its guest investor route is a EUR 250,000 subscription to a real estate fund registered with the Hungarian central bank, or a EUR 1,000,000 donation. Chinese nationals start with a guest investor visa from a Hungarian consulate.
• Greece runs a property-based investor permit with thresholds of EUR 250,000, EUR 400,000 and EUR 800,000, depending on the property’s location and type.

For more on the two nearest alternatives, see Malta residency by investment and Hungary vs Malta golden visa. For another nationality’s view of the same programme, see the Malta golden visa for Indian nationals.

Frequently asked questions

Can Chinese citizens get Malta permanent residency?
Yes. The MPRP is open to third-country nationals, and as of September 2026 China is not on Residency Malta’s published ineligible list. Applicants must meet the capital test, buy or lease a qualifying property, pay the fixed charges and pass due diligence.

Will Malta PR make me lose Chinese nationality?
The MPRP grants residence, not Maltese nationality. Article 9 of China’s Nationality Law concerns a citizen settled abroad who acquires a foreign nationality, which the residence status does not involve on its own terms. Foreign permanent residence can be relevant to whether you are “settled abroad” if you later acquire another nationality. Your own facts matter, so take advice from qualified PRC counsel on your case.

Can I use my USD 50,000 annual FX quota to buy property in Malta?
No. The SAFE purchase declaration states that quota foreign exchange will not be used for overseas property purchases, securities investment, life insurance or other capital account items not yet opened.

How much does Malta PR cost for a Chinese family?
For a couple with two minor children, fixed charges are EUR 99,000 (about CNY 755,400 at the ECB rate of 24 September 2026), plus a EUR 375,000 purchase or a EUR 14,000 a year lease. Each dependent parent adds EUR 7,500.

Can I include my parents?
Yes. Parents and grandparents of the main applicant or spouse can be included on the same application if they are not in full-time employment and are principally dependent on the main applicant, at a dependant fee of EUR 7,500 each.

What is State Council Order No. 841?
The State Council’s exit and entry provisions, in force since 15 September 2026. Among other things they require exit and entry intermediaries to register and ban false advertising by intermediaries.

The bottom line

For Chinese nationals, the Malta golden visa is permanent residence under the MPRP: EUR 99,000 in fixed charges for a family of four, EUR 114,000 with two dependent parents, plus a EUR 375,000 property or a EUR 14,000 a year lease. It is residence, not nationality, and it offers no Maltese passport. China’s rules on foreign exchange and on exit and entry sit alongside the Maltese file and need their own advice from qualified PRC counsel. For the full programme context, see the pillar guide to the Malta Permanent Residency Programme. To discuss the Malta side of your application, speak with an accredited adviser. Advisory fees are quoted per engagement.