Malta Scores Highly on Residency Index

Malta Scores Highly on Residency Index

Malta has been ranked third best place to live worldwide, in a recent survey undertaken by InterNations , narrowly behind Ecuador and Mexico. Just under 15,000 expatriates on a worldwide basis were asked to participate in the survey, and to answer a series of question, ranging from the professional, to healthcare to personal financial and cost of living to establish which jurisdictions were better placed, in providing expatriates with what they perceived as being the optimal basis in an excellent standard of living.

Unsurprisingly, Malta scored highly with British expatriates, based no doubt on the linguistic proficiency of the natives (English is one of the official languages at par with Maltese). Other factors which scored highly was cost of living and friendliness towards foreigners.

Other factors, which scored highly on the list were the pleasant climate (the adage of 330 sunny days holds true), varied and rich heritage, comparatively low cost of living, skilled workforce, quality education, proximity and connections to mainland Europe and superb medical infrastructure. The lack of bureaucracy was also cited by many as one of the underlying reason for choosing Malta as a jurisdiction for the establishment of business, coupled with low labour costs, and multilingual staff.

Malta has a number of bespoke residence schemes, which allow expatriates (EEA and non-EEA) and their respective households to establish their residence in Malta. These schemes consist of a pledge of renting or owning property (the value of which varies on the location of property on the island) as well as a minimum tax endowment. Furthermore, there are a number of bespoke tax incentives for high ranking officers employed in key industries such as remote gaming, insurance, aviation and financial services.