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A company or a body corporate constituted outside Malta under an approved jurisdiction may be redomiciled/continued to Malta. Companies incorporated in Malta may likewise be redomiciled to another country. Redomiciliation is allowed if made to or from one of the following approved jurisdictions – these include EU member states and EEA members, OECD members, Jersey, Gibraltar, Isle of Man, Guernsey, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Bahamas and Mauritius.
The company wishing to redomicile to or from Malta (as the case may be) must submit a request to the Malta Registrar of Companies. This request is to be accompanied by a number of supporting documentation including a resolution authorising the company to change its domicile and a legal opinion as to company's capacity to do so.
Redomiciliation / Continuation from Malta
Once the Malta Registrar of Companies is satisfied with all the required documentation, the Registrar will publish a notice describing the proposed continuation. Any creditors of the company whose debt existed prior to the publication of the notice may object by filing an application in the Maltese Courts against the continuation of the company within three months from the date of publication of the notice. The Court may uphold the objection or allow the continuation of the company on sufficient security being given by the company in favour of its creditors.
As soon as the Maltese company obtains consent from the Malta Registrar of Companies to apply to the authorities in the target country or jurisdiction, the company may apply to be registered in that country or jurisdiction. As soon as the company is registered outside Malta, it will be required to provide the Malta Registrar of Companies with evidence of registration outside Malta. The company will be deemed not to exist any longer in Malta on the date on which its continuation in the foreign country takes effect and the name of the company will be struck off the Maltese Register of Companies
Redomiciliation / Continuation to Malta
Once the Malta Registrar of Companies is satisfied with all required documentation submitted by a foreign company, a Provisional Certificate of Continuation will be issued in favour of the company. The provisional registration of the company does not operate so as to create a new legal entity nor does it affect the company's assets, rights and liabilities or pending litigation or proceedings.
Within a period of 6 months from the date of issue of a Provisional Certificate of Continuation in favour of the company, the applicant company will be required to submit documentary evidence to the Malta Registrar confirming that it has ceased to be a company registered in the country of origin and the Maltese Registrar will issue a Final Certificate of Continuation. The company will be deemed to have registered in Malta on the date on which the company was provisionally registered.
Effects of redomiciliation/ continuation
The change in domicile of a company (to or from Malta, as the case may be) does not:
- affect the property of the company
- affect the jurisdiction of any court in Malta or abroad to take cognizance and determine any proceedings initiated by or against the company before it ceased to be a company registered in its country of origin
- render defective any legal or other proceedings which have been initiated or which are to be initiated by or against the company
- release or impair any conviction, judgement, ruling, order, debt, liability or obligation due or to become due or any cause existing against the company or any other person.
Official fees
Official fees are payable to the Malta Registrar of Companies by companies seeking to continue/redomicile to and from Malta. In the case of continuations from Malta, the fees is €1,000, whilst in the case of continuations to Malta the fee depends on the authorised share capital of the company as at the date of its provisional registration - these vary between a minimum of €210 and a maximum of €2,250.
Tax implications of redomiciliation
A foreign company that redomiciles to Malta is treated as domiciled and ordinarily resident for Maltese tax purposes and becomes subject to tax on its world-wide income including foreign capital gains. At the same time, the company will acquire access to Malta's extensive double taxation treaty network and may become entitled to certain exemptions, including for instance, a Participation Exemption on certain foreign dividends and capital gains.
The shareholders of the Maltese company will become entitled to refunds on tax suffered by the Maltese company and certain other benefits.
The continuation of a foreign company to Malta does not trigger any Maltese tax nor does it becomes subject to any duty or entry tax.
A Maltese company that transfers its domicile to another country will no longer be treated as taxable in Malta on its world wide income. A company that transfers its seat from Malta to another country may opt to remain taxable in Malta if it retains its management and control in Malta - this will render the company taxable in Malta on a remittance basis only. Foreign income that is not remitted to Malta and foreign capital gains will not be taxable in Malta.
Corporate redomiciliation from Malta does not attract any Maltese, tax, exit tax or duty.
For further information about corporate tax, please visit our Tax Section.
Our services
We can assist clients wishing to relocate foreign companies to Malta. Through our network of international law firms and consultants, we can also assist Maltese companies in their redomiciliation process to another jurisdiction. We can handle the registration process and provide tax planning advice on the redomiciliation and related matters.
For further information please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or Damien Fiott.