Malta and Latvia offer the cheapest residency bond scheme in Europe, both of the residency schemes require EUR 250,000 purchase of Government stocks or bonds in exchange for residence permit. Hungary had similar residency bond scheme but it was closed in since 2017.
Residency bonds are nothing but purchase of Government guaranteed interest free bonds, stocks and securities EUR 250,000. After 5 year holding period, the Government repays back the entire investment but investors keep their residence permit valid for indefinite period.
Malta and Latvia residency bonds scheme though have the same EUR 250,000 investment, they have subtle differences and Malta is a better scheme compared to Latvia. This is because Malta offers permanent residence card while Latvia offers temporary residence card valid for 5 years. One other difference is parents and all family members can be included in Malta residency visa scheme while parents cannot be included for Latvia. Malta is a much better scheme when it comes to family.
Here we compare the difference between the malta and latvia residency bond schemes
| Malta Residency Bond Visa | Latvia Golden Visa (Residency bonds) | |
| Minimum Investment | EUR 250,000 in Malta Government stocks locked for 5 years. Debt or equity securities listed on the Official List of the Malta Stock Exchange also allowed. | EUR 250,000 invested in Latvia Government bonds for 5 years |
| Additional Fees |
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| What You get | Permanent residence card | Temporary Residence Card valid for 5 years |
| Schengen | Free movement in Schengen area | Free movement in Schengen area |
| Housing and address | Must rent a property for a minimum of €10,000 for a period of five years or purchase a property for a minimum of €270,000. | Must Rent a property for home address |
| Health Insurance | – Provide a Health Insurance to cover the entire family/dependants; | Required health insurance coverage for all family and members |
| Processing time | 2-4 months | 2-4 months |
| Residence obligation | No requirement to live in the country | No requirement to live in the country. |
| Family | All family members, including biological adopted children and parents can be included in the application. | Spouse and immediate |
| Children | Children no longer lose residency status upon attaining age 27. Age restrictions for adult dependents removed. | – |
Statistics
- Malta receives on average about 50-6 applications per month, in total over 1000 applications have been received for residency bonds
- Latvia has approved 36 applications under those invested in Government securities for residence permits, according to migration office, since the start of the scheme
Residency bonds schemes in EU and other countries
Residency bond schemes are also available in other EU member states but the investment requirement are much higher, only suitable for UHNW clientele.
- Italy Government bonds – EUR 2 million
- Spain Treasury bonds – EUR 1 million
- Cyprus – EUR 2 million (citizenship)
- United Kingdom – GBP 2 million
- Ireland – €1m
- Bulgaria – €1m
- Cyprus – €2m (citizenship)
- Turkey – $500,000 (citizenship)
- Australia Investor visa ($15m)
- Canada ($1.2m)
- New Zealand ($3m)
- Saint Lucia $500,000 (citizenship)
Please contact us if you are interested in apply for Malta or Latvia.
