CITIZENSHIP BY INVESTMENT BLOG

August 2019: Is attending high school or university free for EU citizens?

Answer: EU citizens enjoy free access to world-renowned, public education programs in any of the EU member countries. This includes kindergarten to high school to public university.

To use a concrete example: You recently filed for Malta citizenship for yourself, your spouse, and your children. Your application has been processed, approved, and the passports have been issued. Now, Malta has excellent (English language) schools which are available to you, but you prefer to enroll your children in Germany (or any other EU country) as you have heard that the public school system is very good there. But you have a Malta  passport – so how does this work?

There are several options to get your children educated in the EU. Here are three of the most popular procedures:

First, in order to enjoy entirely free (or very low) tuition/fees in any EU member country you would become a resident of this EU member country. This means you would move there with your family so that your children become local residents. To continue our example case, if you prefer the public education system of Germany you would move your family to Germany and then enroll your children in any public school there.

The second option entails not moving to Germany, but sending your kids to school there. In other words, you have received your new EU passport, but wish to continue living in your original country of residence. This is fine as well, and you can still enroll your children in a German university, but in this case you might have to pay a higher “international student” tuition rate and fees.

The third option is the Erasmus Program. This program allows students to start their studies in one country, but then change universities to study for up to one year in another country. As of 2013, more than 4,000 higher institutions across 37 countries are participating in the Erasmus program, which means your children could start school at your present location and then switch to a German university participating in the Erasmus program.

As there are many options available please don’t hesitate to contact us with your specific questions.


Because the Malta immigration by investment program details can change over time please contact us about the current rules and regulations.

Click here for the Malta citizenship by investment program. Click here for the Malta residency programs.

To start the application process online please register here.

For a detailed cost estimate or to schedule a confidential consultation please use our contact form.