A revised version of the Permanent Residence Scheme will be announced in the coming weeks, Finance Minister Tonio Fenech said in Parliament today.

The scheme was abruptly suspended at the end of last year and there have been calls by the opposition and the real estate section of the Chamber of Commerce to reinstate it.

Mr Fenech said in reply to a parliamentary question that the scheme was being revised so that it could again conform to its original purpose of attracting high income people to Malta.

This was never a scheme to encourage the sale of property, and the purchase of a property was just one of the conditions required for a person to benefit from the scheme, the minister said.

He explained that EU nationals enjoyed the freedoms given in all member states and therefore did not need this scheme to be able to buy property in Malta.

He said there had been a number of instances where the scheme was incorrectly advertised so that people could become residents of Malta and thus be eligible for the same benefits enjoyed by the Maltese and EU nationals resident in Malta, including health services, which constituted a heavy burden for taxpayers.

The minister said the government had noted the representations made by the Chamber of Commerce and other bodies.

See also:

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110322/local/call-to-reactivate-scheme-to-entice-foreigners-to-buy-property-in-malta