Head to head · verified July 2026
Italy vs Malta
Italy scores 1 point higher on our balanced view — but that gap is small enough that your own priorities can flip it. The breakdowns below show exactly where each one earns and loses.
Italy
Western Europe
Italy's 7% flat-tax deal is the romantic's bargain: all foreign income, ten years, in exchange for living in a southern town under 30,000 people. The SSN healthcare buy-in (~€2k/yr) is world-class, and the EU permanent-residency clock runs at five years. Residential-facility accreditation sits with the Regions; a national FAR monitoring system is not a public name register — Italy stays unchecked here. The consulate decides your Elective Residence visa at its own discretion — real applications get refused, so over-prepare the file.
Full Italy guide
Malta
Mediterranean
Malta is the EU with English as an official language and a flat 15% tax on the pension you remit — a clean, treaty-backed deal for Australians. The fine print: at least 75% of your pension must be remitted, the minimum tax is €7.5k a year, and you'll need a €275k property or €9.6k rent to qualify. OPSA publishes a searchable register of licensed older-persons providers — around ninety-six entries when opened. Small island, dense, superbly safe.
Full Malta guideSide by side
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Showing the open fields. 17 more criteria — tax-residency day counts, capital gains, forced heirship, setup costs and processing times — need a free Thon account. Sign in to see the full table.
Why Italy scores 79
Why this number
Every point is accounted for. Nothing is hidden in a weighting you cannot see.
- Base country quality80Italy scores 80/100 before anything about you is applied — visa system, tax regime, healthcare, safety and property rights.
- Australian passport-1Worse than average for Australian retirees: Long flight; bureaucracy
- Best fit for you79A decision aid, not a prediction. Two people with the same passport can rank these differently — that is the point of showing the working.
Why Malta scores 78
Why this number
Every point is accounted for. Nothing is hidden in a weighting you cannot see.
- Base country quality80Malta scores 80/100 before anything about you is applied — visa system, tax regime, healthcare, safety and property rights.
- Australian passport-2Worse than average for Australian retirees: Housing cost; 24h from Sydney
- Best fit for you78A decision aid, not a prediction. Two people with the same passport can rank these differently — that is the point of showing the working.