Henley & Partners have made a total of €28,800,000 as the Concessionaire of Malta’s IIP’s passport sale scheme since its launch.

This information was made available through the Fifth Annual Report on the Individual Investor Programme of the Government of Malta.

During the period under review by this Report (1st July 2017 – 30th June 2018), the contributions collected by the Malta Individual Investor Programme Agency (MIIPA) amounted to €162,375,000.

“The contributions so collected initially go into a Suspense Account and it is only after the Oath of Allegiance is taken that the distribution of funds is carried out in accordance with the provisions governing the IIP. Taking all inputs from the IIP related to property purchases and rent, investments and contributions during the period covered by this Report, the sum total (€246,088,758) would equate to approximately 2.09% of the GDP relative to the same period.”

When the amount of contributions collected during the period covered by this Report is added to the contributions previously collected by the MIIPA since the launching of this Programme, this would result in a grand total of €672,025,000 contributions collected by the MIIPA in respect of this Programme.

During the period 1st July 2017 – 30th June 2018 the funds distributed were as follows: €159,075,550 to the National Development and Social Fund; €68,000,445 to the Consolidated Fund; €11,827,500 to Identity Malta Agency/Malta Individual Investor Programme Agency; €9,746,000 to Henley & Partners.

This means that since the launching of the IIP, the total amount of funds distributed were as follows: €408,404,349 to the National Development and Social Fund; €174,855,645 to the Consolidated Fund; €35,529,000 to Identity Malta Agency/Malta Individual Investor Programme Agency; €28,800,000 to Henley & Partners.

The balance in the Suspense Account, which was still awaiting distribution, as on 30 June 2018 stood at €24,436,006

 

Applications received

The number of applications received during the period in question amounted to 330, 47 applications less than the previous twelve months (377).

The report highlights that the largest number of main applicants originated from Europe (141 applications). The second most popular region was, once again, Asia (107 applications). Africa (30 applications) surpassed the Middle East (26 applications) in third place with the latter region experiencing a 5.6% drop during the past twelve months.

The number of dependants included in the 330 applications amounted to 818 of which 243 were spouses, 398 were minor dependants and 177 were adult dependants (either adult children or parents/grandparents).

The amount of applications which were approved (i.e. applications for which the due diligence has been positively concluded and a letter of approval in principle has been issued) was 223. “When adding these figures to those included in previous reports one will note that the total number of letters of approval issued till 30th June 2018 amounts to 961.”

In terms of applications which were either rejected or withdrawn, the number of applications during the period in question was 75.

During the period in question 266 applications had reached the final stage (i.e. when the naturalisation process was completed). In total (since the launch of the Programme) up till the end of June 2018, there have been 833 successful main applicants. “Considering that Regulation 12 of the current version of the IIP Regulations stipulates that the number of successful main applicants (excluding dependants) shall not exceed 1,800 for the whole duration of the Programme, the aforementioned figure constitutes 46.3% of the indicated pre-established target.”

 

Property requirements

The IIP Regulations highlight that the main applicants “are obliged to invest in a residential immovable property in Malta, either by acquiring and holding one having a minimum value of €350,000 or by taking one on lease for a minimum annual rent of €16,000.” In this regard, during the period in question, there were 266 properties that were either purchased or leased.

Between July 2017 and June 2018, the value of the 25 purchased properties amounted to €29,600,500, averaging €1,184,020 per property. In the case of leased properties, the rental value for the duration of the 5-year contract is projected to be €23,062,687.64 averaging €95,695.80 per contract. On an annual basis, this translates into an average of €19,139.16 per lease.

The report also highlights that an IIP applicant shall make a minimum investment of €150,000 in Malta Government Stocks. “In this regard, the amount invested in such Stocks between July 2017 and June 2018 totalled €39,991,242.79. Taking into consideration all investments made since the launch of the Programme the total amount adds up to €126,015,542.50.”

 

Agents

The total number of Accredited Agents as at the end of June 2018 now stands at 159, an increase of 18 when compared with the amount registered a year before, the report reads. “Of these 22 were upgraded to the status of Approved Agents.