Henley & Partners/the government of Malta are selling passports already, with an announcement of “the official market launch”

Published: January 27, 2014 at 2:29am

A reader sent a faux enquiry to Henley & Partners and immediately received this reply.

Dear

I am pleased to announce the official market launch of the Malta Individual Investor Programme (MIIP). Please find hereafter all the relevant information.

The Proposition

The Malta Individual Investor Programme (MIIP) requires a person to make a significant economic contribution to the country. In exchange, and subject to a stringent vetting and diligence process, including thorough background checks, the applicants and their families are granted citizenship. To qualify for citizenship, the primary applicant must be at least 18 years of age and meet the following application requirements:

– A contribution to the National Development and Social Fund (NDSF) in the amount of EUR 650,000; and
– The acquisition of real estate with a minimum value of EUR 350,000 to be held for at least 5 years; or
– Lease a residential immovable property in Malta for a period of 5 years, at an annual rent of at least EUR 16,000; and
– An investment in stocks, bonds or special purpose vehicles to be identified by Identity Malta, for a minimum value of EUR 150,000; and
– Global Health Insurance coverage for at least EUR 50,000 for all applicants.

Principal Applicants can include in their MIIP application:

– Spouse
– Dependents of 26 years of age and under
– Dependents over the age of 55 years (e.g. parents)

The Process

In brief, the steps will be as follows:

1. The main applicant completes Form N and sends it to his consultant at Henley & Partners.

2. IIP Malta Ltd will complete a first background verification.

3. Should there be no issues of concern, then IIP Malta Ltd will issue an invoice for €10,000, being the Henley & Partners non-refundable retainer.

4. The applicant settles the invoice.

5. The applicant with the help of his/her consultant finalizes the government application forms and collects the relevant supporting documentation.

6. The complete application pack is sent by the local office to IIP Malta Ltd where it is checked for completeness, accuracy and due diligence vetting.

7. Should there be no issues of concern with the application, IIP Malta Ltd will issue an invoice for the,
(a) balance of the Henley & Partners client fees,
(b) the government due diligence fees,
(c) the €10,000 non-refundable contribution, which counts as a partial payment towards to the NDSF contribution amount that is required upon issuance of the Letter of Approval in Principle, and
(d) the bank charges.

8. The Henley & Partners Client Agreement is then countersigned and the client settles the invoice.

9. After receipt of these sums, IIP Malta Ltd will then submit the complete application pack to the government (i.e. Identity Malta, the government entity responsible for approving applications under the programme) and arrange for the due diligence fees to be sent to Identity Malta upon their request.

10. Identity Malta gives its decision on the application and, if favourable, issues the Letter of Approval in Principle to IIP Malta Ltd. The intention of Identity Malta is to provide a response – approval, refusal or request for interview – within 120 days of their receipt of the application.

11. Within 5 days of the Letter of Approval in Principle, IIP Malta Ltd will issue an invoice to the client asking for the balance of the contribution, which must be paid within 25 days of the Letter of Approval in Principle.

12. Within 4 months of the letter of approval in principle, proof must be submitted to Identity Malta that the client has a contractual undertaking to complete the real estate purchase or fulfil the lease, as well as complete the requisite €150,000 investment required by Identity Malta.

13. Once the letter of approval in principle has been issued, Malta Immigration will be able to grant the client a National Visa for a period 90 days or more, allowing the client (and his/her family) to visit Malta in order to take the Oath of Allegiance, complete any property viewings and/or purchases, and provide their biometric data so that the passports can be issued and collected.

14. Within 2 years and no earlier than 6 months from the date of the application, provided all conditions have been met, a Certificate of Naturalisation will be issued. This will only become available to the applicant once the Oath of Allegiance has been taken at Identity Malta’s office in Valletta, Malta.

15. The Certificate of Naturalisation will be required to complete the passport application.

16. All applicants over the age of 12 must collect their passports in person in Malta.

Fees and Programme Cost

The following contributions and fees shall be required to qualify for citizenship under the MIIP:

Contribution

– Principal applicant: €650,000
– Spouse: €25,000
– Each Dependent child aged 0-17: €25,000
– Each Dependent aged 18-26: €50,000
– Each Dependent aged 55 or above: €50,000

Due diligence fee

– Principal applicant €7,500
– Spouse €5,000
– Each Dependent child aged 0-17: €3,000
– Each Dependent aged 18-26: €5,000
– Each Dependent aged 55 or above: €5,000

Passport fees per person: €500

Bank charges per application: €200

Henley & Partners client fees
– Principal applicant: €70,000
– Spouse: €15,000
– Each Dependent child aged 0-17: €10,000
– Each Dependent aged 18-26: €15,000
– Each Dependent aged 55 or above: €15,000

Next Steps

You will therefore receive in the next days the invoice for €10,000, being the Henley & Partners non-refundable retainer.

Following this e-mail, two subsequent e-mails containing all the government application forms with instructions will be sent. – I suggest that you review them and begin preparing the supporting documentation.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Best regards,




19 Comments Comment

  1. ciccio says:

    Henley & Something makes millions from the sale of the EU citizenship while we steal the chickens.

  2. krakatoa says:

    It results that applicants need only step on Maltese soil twice: to take the oath of allegiance and then to collect their passport.

  3. vanni says:

    “Principal Applicants can include in their MIIP application:

    – Spouse
    – Dependents of 26 years of age and under
    – Dependents over the age of 55 years (e.g. parents) ”

    And you can buy the envelopes from Henley for the Henley & Partners non-refundable fee of €1000.

    God, how amateurish.

  4. The chemist says:

    We can safely assume that the Chinese billionaire has already picked up his passport, which is why he was here in person.

    What a bunch of liars.

  5. curious says:

    Bank charges per application: €200

    Will they be working with a bank of their choice?

  6. Nuri Katz says:

    Daphne,

    Henley & Partners and the government of Malta have no shame. They are calling the Henley subsidiary that handles this program for Henley IIP Malta Ltd.

    They did not even bother to come up with an original name.

    They are just trying to make consumers think that they are the Maltese government, which actually come to think of it, in this case they are.

    Again, follow the money as it all goes to Henley and not to Malta, for up to two years at least.

    History in the making is all I can say about what is happening in Malta. It is the first time that a government supposedly in the interests of the country, puts the country at financial risk by trying to make a private foreign company so much money.

    Amazing that the government wants to take the money from the sales price away from Malta and Maltese for up to two years.

    I wonder how your minister of finance would justify this.

    • Tabatha White says:

      “History in the making is all I can say about what is happening in Malta. It is the first time that a government supposedly in the interests of the country, puts the country at financial risk by trying to make a private foreign company so much money.

      Amazing that the government wants to take the money from the sales price away from Malta and Maltese for up to two years.”

      Malta is playing second fiddle to Henley & Partners.

      The government is fiddling away valuable time, opportunity and alliances.

      The government and Henley & Partners are fiddling with the electorate, Malta’s image and finances.

      The government is busy fiddling while Malta is burning.

      The government and Henley & Partners are on the fiddle.

    • Gahan says:

      As PN EP candidate Jonathan Shaw said: IIP stands for Indecent Investor Programme.

      Whichever way one looks at the scheme, it IS an indecent proposal put in front of us, the starving chicken-thieves.

      Mr Katz, the majority of the people in Malta are amazed and disgusted with this government’s shameless and amoral behavior.

      Even MPs on the government benches are avoiding talking about the scheme because they don’t want to have to defend it.

  7. Thomas Fenech says:

    Do these fees include VAT, jew kollox bla VAT?

    I believe there is no mention of this and if so, why not?

  8. C Micallef says:

    Who are Henley & Partners’ Maltese network?

  9. And we are supposed to believe that Joseph Muscat will be discussing his ‘individual investor programme’ with the European Commission, with a genuine intention to listen to what it has to say.

    His intention to go on with his scheme as it is, regardless of what others may say, is glaringly obvious.

    • ciccio says:

      His intention is to say that he discussed with the Commission, then show them defiance, and tell the Maltese electorate that, “unlike the nekitif and celis PN,” he looked after the national interest and does not give a hoot about the EU Commission “u ghaddiet tieghu kontra l-Ewropa.”

      The national socialists are back in power, in Malta. Riding on a wave of nationalism against “the enemy which must be annihilated.”

  10. Gahan says:

    I always noticed how our Joey ‘takes over’ something which is beyond his control but gives the impression that it was he who made it happen or at least had a say in it.

    Take for example the discussions with EU Commissioner Reding. We all know that she called him and he had to go, or else face the wrath of the EU Commission.

    But our little emperor wants to give the impression that he decided to talk to Reding himself, and that’s why he decided to stop the discussions with the Opposition.

    Those discussions ended on 23 December. Is he now stopping them again? There weren’t any discussions to stop.

    The Commissioner had already made it amply clear, in the plenary session of the EU parliament, that she would be talking to the Maltese government about the selling of EU citizenship.

    In the (pre-empted stunt) emergency parliamentary debate on the IIP scheme, Joey angrily declared that he won’t be kneeling down in front of “some Foreigner”. He said that he will be discussing with the EU Commissioner on an equal footing.

    We will see what the Commission wants. I really am glad that the Commission looks over and checks the behaviour of my irresponsible politicians.

    The cock does not order the sun to rise. The sun rises just the same even if the cock does not crow.

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