Malta MPRP for a Qatari Family With Three Children

Why the family needed permanent residence in an EU country

Fahad lived in Qatar with his wife and three children. They had no plans to relocate immediately. Their home, daily routine, and financial interests remained in Qatar.

Fahad was thinking further ahead. His eldest son was already 16, while the two younger children had several more years before adulthood. The parents wanted all three children to have a permanent legal base in an EU country before university and career plans became more immediate.

A temporary residence permit did not fully address that goal. Fahad was looking for a status that did not depend on the family moving immediately or spending a specified part of every year in the country.

The timing also mattered because of his eldest son. Fahad wanted to include him in the family application while he was still a minor and before the eligibility conditions applicable to adult children became relevant.

The family's priorities were to:

• obtain permanent residence in an EU member state;
• include both parents and all three children in one application;
• secure the eldest son's status while he was still under 18;
• avoid mandatory relocation;
• continue living primarily in Qatar;
• keep Malta as a long-term base if the children's education or career plans later brought them to Europe.

Comparison of EU residence options for the family

Spain. The family contacted Passportivity in March 2025. At that time, changes to European residence by investment programmes were particularly relevant to their choice.

Passportivity lawyers continuously monitor legislation governing residence and citizenship programmes, including announced amendments and programme closures. 

By March 2025, the termination of the Spain Golden Visa was already confirmed: the relevant law had been published in January, and new investor applications were to stop on April 3rd, 2025.

The lawyers therefore excluded Spain from the family’s long-term strategy and focused on a programme that better matched Fahad’s priorities: permanent status for all five family members without a requirement to relocate from Qatar.

Portugal offered residence through the Golden Visa programme. However, it is a temporary residence status and requires minimum physical presence in Portugal. 

Holders may later qualify for permanent residence if they meet the applicable requirements, but permanent status is not granted at the initial stage.

Malta therefore addressed the main difference between Fahad’s objective and the other options: the family wanted permanent residence from the outset rather than a temporary permit that might lead to another status later.

Residence options the family compared

Country	Type of status	Fit for Fahad’s family
Malta	Permanent residence under MPRP	Best fit — permanent status in Malta without mandatory relocation
Portugal	Temporary residence under Golden Visa	Required minimum presence and did not provide permanent residence at the initial stage
Spain	Investor route closed to new applicants	Did not provide the permanent family solution required and is no longer open to new investor applications

Why Malta permanent residence matched the family’s plans

The Malta Permanent Residence Programme, MPRP, grants qualifying third-country nationals the right to settle, stay, and reside permanently in Malta. The residence certificate is permanent provided the programme conditions continue to be met, while residence cards are renewed periodically.

For Fahad, the programme was relevant because its main advantages corresponded directly to the family's long-term plans.

1. All 5 family members could obtain permanent residence

Fahad could apply together with his wife and three children. MPRP permits the main applicant to include a spouse and children. Children under 18 qualify as minor dependants. 

The permanent nature of the status was particularly important to Fahad. The residence certificate does not have the standard 2- or 5-year validity associated with a temporary residence permit, although the physical residence cards require renewal.

2. Why the eldest son’s age mattered

Fahad’s eldest son was 16 when the family started the process. At that age, he qualified as a minor child. The rules change once a child reaches 18: an adult child who is included in a new application must be under 29, unmarried, and principally dependent on the main applicant.

Turning 18 therefore would not automatically have made the son ineligible. It would, however, have introduced additional eligibility conditions.

Submitting the family application while he was 16 made his position more straightforward. Passportivity was able to include him as a minor without proving the financial dependence required for an adult child.

In practice, proving dependence may require additional documents, such as:

• evidence of regular financial support; 
• bank transfers; 
• tuition payments; 
• shared living arrangements. 

Applying before he turned 18 reduced this extra administrative burden for the family.

The age threshold also does not mean that the permanent residence certificate simply expires when a minor reaches adulthood. Residence cards have specific age cut-offs at 14 and 18 and must be renewed accordingly. The underlying residence certificate remains valid provided the programme obligations continue to be met.

This distinction was central to Fahad’s decision. He was not arranging a temporary status for his son that would disappear at university age. He was establishing permanent residence in Malta while his son still fitted the simpler minor-dependant category.

3. Family did not have to relocate from Qatar

Fahad did not want residence to determine where the family had to spend most of the year. MPRP does not impose a minimum physical residence requirement. The family could therefore maintain its main home in Qatar and use Malta as a long-term alternative rather than moving immediately.

The immigration status itself does not determine the family's tax residence. It remains a separate matter and depends on the applicable tax legislation and the family's actual circumstances.

4. Residence cards simplified travel in the Schengen Area

MPRP residence cards allow short visa-free trips across the Schengen Area for up to 90 days within any 180-day period.

For the family, travel was secondary to permanent residence but still useful. The children could visit universities, attend short educational programmes, and travel with their parents without arranging a separate Schengen visitor visa for every trip.

The Maltese residence card does not give unrestricted residence or employment rights in every EU country. The family’s permanent right to reside applies to Malta; stays in other Schengen states remain subject to the short-stay rules.

5. Renting property suited a family that did not plan to move

MPRP offers two qualifying property options: purchasing residential property for at least €375,000 or renting accommodation for at least €14,000 per year. The property must be maintained for at least 5 years.

Fahad chose the rental route because the family did not yet know whether Malta would eventually become a place where one of the children studied or lived.

Purchasing a property immediately would have tied more capital to a home the family was not planning to occupy on a permanent basis.

A lease gave them the required registered residential base while preserving flexibility. The minimum rental expenditure over the first 5 years was €70,000.

After the initial 5-year period, MPRP beneficiaries must continue maintaining residential property in Malta or Gozo, either by ownership or lease.

6. Permanent status left the children with a choice rather than a relocation plan

Fahad did not know whether his children would eventually study in Malta, another European country, Qatar, or elsewhere. For that reason, the family did not build its strategy around a specific university or future job.

MPRP created a legal base in Malta that could remain available while those decisions developed. The children were not required to relocate simply because their parents obtained permanent residence.

For Fahad, this was the main value of the programme. Residence became an option the children could use later rather than an obligation that changed the family's life immediately.

How Passportivity prepared the family application

Passportivity first reviewed the entire family composition rather than treating Fahad’s application separately. The lawyers confirmed that his wife and all three children could be included and paid particular attention to the eldest son's age. The application was structured while he still qualified as a minor dependant.

MPRP applications must be submitted through a licensed agent. The programme also requires Due Diligence on the main applicant and family members.

Passportivity prepared a family document file that included:

• passports;
• marriage certificate;
• birth certificates for the three children;
• proof of the family's residential address;
• police conduct certificates for family members who were required to provide them;
• financial documents;
• evidence of Fahad’s source of funds and wealth;
• programme application forms.

Malta requires police conduct certificates for the main applicant and dependants older than 14 at the time of application. as Fahad’s eldest son was 16, his documentation therefore required additional attention compared with that of a younger child.

The financial part of the application had two separate objectives. Passportivity had to document the lawful origin of the money used for the programme and prove that Fahad met the MPRP capital requirement.

Applicants may demonstrate either at least €500,000 in capital, including €150,000 in financial assets, or at least €650,000 in capital, including €75,000 in financial assets. The required capital must be maintained for the first 5 years.

Passportivity checked the financial evidence before submission so that the documents presented a consistent picture of Fahad’s assets and available funds.

The family also prepared documents for certification and translation where required. Passportivity coordinated the file so names, dates, family relationships, and financial information were consistent across the application forms and supporting documents.

Expenses on obtaining Malta permanent residence

The family's programme-related budget under the rental option was at least €177,500.

All three children were under 18 at the time of application. The additional €7,500 administrative fee for an adult dependant therefore did not apply to them, while a spouse is expressly excluded from this additional fee.

Fahad’s estimated expenses were:

1. Qualifying property rental for 5 years — €70,000+.
2. Government contribution — €37,000.
3. Non-refundable administrative fee — €60,000.
4. Donation to an eligible Maltese NGO — €2,000.
5. Residence cards for 5 family members — €2,500.
6. Translations, apostilles, and notary services — €5,000+.
7. Health insurance for the family — €1,000+.

The €70,000 rental figure represents the minimum €14,000 annual qualifying rent over 5 years. The actual property cost may be higher depending on the accommodation selected.

The calculation does not include the family's travel to Malta, personal expenses, or other services outside the programme budget.

Permanent status in Malta without relocating from Qatar

The family continued living primarily in Qatar. Malta remained available if the children later needed a place to live, study, or establish a longer-term base.

Fahad’s eldest son entered the programme as a minor at 16 rather than having to qualify later under the additional conditions applicable to adult children. 

When he reaches the relevant age cut-off, his residence card requires renewal. This is an administrative renewal of the card rather than the creation of an entirely new residence strategy. The residence certificate itself remains permanent provided the programme obligations continue to be met.

The status also gives the family the ability to travel throughout the Schengen Area for short stays under the 90-in-180-day rule. Permanent residence in Malta does not, however, create an unrestricted right to settle or work in every other EU country.

For the first 5 years, Fahad must continue meeting the MPRP conditions, including the property and capital requirements. Compliance is monitored, and the residence certificate may cease to apply if the statutory conditions are no longer met.

Passportivity can continue supporting the family after approval by:

• maintaining a calendar for residence card renewals;
• helping file annual compliance documentation;
• monitoring the qualifying property requirement;
• checking documents before the eldest son’s card renewal at 18;
• assisting with updates to the family file;
• supporting future applications to add eligible family members.

Fahad did not have to decide where his children would live as adults. By obtaining permanent residence while all three were still minors, he gave them a legal base in Malta that could remain available while their education and career plans developed.