Incorporating a company in Malta is fast. Three to five business days if your documents are in order. The company registry — the Malta Business Registry (MBR) — is efficient by EU standards, everything is in English, and the process is well-documented.
The banking is where most people hit a wall.
Here is the full picture — incorporation through to operational status — so you know what you are getting into before you start.
The Right Structure: Almost Always the Private Limited Company
Malta’s Companies Act (Cap. 386) provides for several corporate structures. For international founders and investors, the private limited liability company (Ltd.) is the right choice in almost every case. It provides:
- Limited liability protection for shareholders
- Flexible share structures (different classes of shares, different voting rights)
- Access to the full imputation / 5% effective tax system
- The ability to hold subsidiaries and use the participation exemption
- No residency requirement for shareholders or directors (though substance requirements mean local directors matter in practice — see below)
Minimum share capital: €1,165, of which 20% (€233) must be paid up on incorporation.
Step-by-Step: From Decision to Incorporation
Step 1: Name reservation Reserve your company name with the MBR. Names must be unique and not misleading. Reservation costs approximately €10 and holds the name for three months.
Step 2: Prepare the Memorandum and Articles of Association This is the founding document — it sets out the company’s objectives, share structure, and governance rules. For a standard trading company, a template is sufficient. For iGaming, fintech, or financial services companies, the objectives clause must be drafted carefully to support any licence applications.
Step 3: Collect KYC documentation for all shareholders, directors, and UBOs For each person: certified copy of passport, proof of address (utility bill or bank statement, dated within three months), and a source of funds declaration. Corporate shareholders need their own chain of documentation.
Step 4: Deposit share capital The minimum paid-up capital must be deposited into a Maltese bank account in the company’s name. This creates the first banking challenge — more on this below.
Step 5: Submit to MBR Documents are filed electronically. The MBR processes and issues the Certificate of Incorporation, typically within 3–5 business days.
Step 6: Obtain a tax identification number (TIN) Register with the Malta Tax and Customs Administration (MTCA) for corporate income tax. This is required before trading.
Step 7: VAT registration (if applicable) If your company will supply goods or services and turnover exceeds the threshold (€35,000 for local supplies; any amount for EU cross-border supplies), VAT registration is required. iGaming and certain financial services are VAT-exempt.
Step 8: Appoint an auditor All Maltese companies are subject to statutory audit. Most companies must file audited accounts annually. Small company exemptions exist but are narrow. Budget approximately €3,000–€8,000/year for audit and accounting fees for a straightforward structure.
Total government fees for incorporation: approximately €245 (share capital deposit) plus MBR registration fees (scaled by share capital, typically €100–€350). Professional fees for a corporate service provider: €1,500–€4,000 depending on complexity.
The Registered Office and Local Director
A registered office in Malta is legally required. This is not the same as substance — it is simply a legal address for official correspondence. Corporate service providers supply this from approximately €500–€1,500/year.
There is no legal requirement for a Maltese-resident director. However, for the following reasons, a local director is strongly advisable:
- Banks are more comfortable opening accounts for companies with Maltese-resident directors
- Tax residency of the company depends on where management and control resides — if all directors are non-resident, the Maltese company may be treated as resident elsewhere
- MGA and MFSA licences require specific resident directors as key functionaries
A local nominee director is not a substitute for genuine governance. If you use a nominee, they must be genuinely informed and genuinely involved — not a name on a form.
The Banking Bottleneck — In Detail
We covered this in our banking article, but the corporate banking situation deserves specific attention here.
The share capital deposit problem: To file incorporation documents, you need the share capital deposited. To deposit the share capital, you need a bank account. To open a bank account for a new company, the bank wants to see the incorporation documents. This circular problem is real.
The standard solution: some corporate service providers have arrangements with specific banks or EMIs to deposit share capital into a temporary account on behalf of the new company, which is then replaced by the full corporate account after incorporation.
Post-incorporation account opening timeline:
- EMI (Wise Business, Revolut Business, Airwallex): 3–10 days
- Local Maltese bank (BOV, HSBC Malta, APS): 4–12 weeks — sometimes longer
Start the local bank application the same week you file incorporation documents. Do not wait.
For iGaming and fintech companies: The banking timeline can extend to 3–6 months and may require approaching multiple institutions. Our network includes introductions to banking partners who understand regulated sectors. Book a consultation before you start.
Ongoing Compliance Costs
Running a Malta company involves annual obligations:
| Obligation | Approximate Annual Cost |
|---|---|
| Registered office | €500–€1,500 |
| Statutory audit | €3,000–€8,000 |
| Tax return preparation | €1,000–€3,000 |
| MBR annual return | €100 |
| Local director (if used) | €3,000–€10,000 |
| Total baseline | €7,600–€23,600 |
These numbers make a Malta Ltd uneconomical for very small businesses. The structure pays for itself when the tax savings on meaningful profits exceed the compliance cost. As a rough guide, a Malta Ltd starts to make economic sense when the company generates €100,000+ in annual profit.
iGaming, Fintech, and Regulated Sectors
These deserve their own articles — and they get them in this series. Short version: Malta is the EU jurisdiction for iGaming (MGA licensing is globally respected), and an increasingly important hub for fintech and crypto (MFSA’s VFA framework is one of Europe’s most developed). But the licensing process is serious, the capital requirements are real, and the compliance overhead is significant.
See the dedicated iGaming and fintech article here.
Book a consultation to discuss your company structure.
