Jean-Philippe Chetcuti

• Citizenship by Merit

• Residence and Citizenship Programme Advisory

• Citizenship and Nationality Law

• Private Wealth Law

• Immigration and Global Mobility

• European Residency & Citizenship

• International Private Client Tax

• Family Office Advisory and Structuring

Dr Jean-Philippe Chetcuti is Co-Managing Partner of Chetcuti Cauchi Advocates and Senior Partner – Citizenship, Residency & Private Client Tax. He heads the firm’s Citizenship and Residency Practice and co-heads its Private Client Tax Practice. He is also co-founder and Managing Partner of CCLEX.

Jean-Philippe co-founded Chetcuti Cauchi Advocates in 2002 and has more than 25 years of specialised private client experience. His practice focuses on citizenship, residency, international personal tax, wealth structuring and the legal and tax considerations affecting internationally mobile families.

He previously chaired the STEP Malta Branch and serves as the international associate for Malta within the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s Global Migration Section.

He is a regular speaker at STEP conferences in Europe, the International Bar Association’s Biennial Global Immigration Conferences in London and the American Immigration Lawyers Association Global Migration Conferences in the United States.

• Chamber of Advocates, Malta

• Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners

• American Immigration Lawyers Association – Global Migration Section

• International Bar Association

• International Fiscal Association

• Malta Institute of Taxation

• International Tax Planning Association

• Author of The Dual Citizenship Report, including its Global and European editions

• Co-author of the Malta chapter in International Relocation and Tax Planning for High-Net-Worth Individuals: A Legal and Lifestyle Guide for Clients and Their Advisors, edited by Jack Bernstein and forthcoming from Wolters Kluwer

• Contributor to STEP publications on residence, citizenship, family businesses and Malta’s private wealth framework

• Contributor to International Bar Association and American Immigration Lawyers Association conference publications

• Regular contributor to Investment Migration Insider on citizenship and global mobility

• Author of the CCLEX Mobility Assets Spectrum

• Proponent of the Doctrine of Contributive Belonging in European citizenship law

• High-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals

• International and multigenerational families

• Entrepreneurs, founders and business families

• Family offices

• Technology entrepreneurs and innovators

• Artists, musicians and creative professionals

• Athletes and sportspersons

• Philanthropists and impact families

• International investors

• Private banks and wealth managers

• Trustees, tax advisers, immigration lawyers and other professional intermediaries

• International businesses relocating founders, executives and key personnel

Jean-Philippe was raised and educated in Malta and pursued postgraduate legal studies in the United Kingdom. His interests include legal technology, innovation and family enterprise.

• Advises internationally mobile HNW and UHNW families on the interaction between citizenship, residence, tax residence, succession and long-term family strategy

• Advises applicants under Malta’s citizenship-by-merit framework on eligibility, evidence, legal positioning and the presentation of exceptional contribution or service

• Advises families and family offices on Malta-based governance, holding, succession and private wealth structures

• Advises on pre-immigration tax planning, Malta residence programmes and the interaction between legal residence and Malta’s resident non-domiciled tax system

• Has handled more than 2,000 citizenship and residence applications during a career spanning more than 25 years

• Handles complex citizenship, immigration, tax, enhanced due-diligence and risk-profiling matters involving clients from multiple jurisdictions

• Contributes to professional and policy discussions concerning citizenship, residence and the attraction of internationally active families, entrepreneurs and investors

Jean-Philippe has more than 25 years of experience advising HNW and UHNW individuals, international families, entrepreneurs and family offices on citizenship, residence, international personal tax, succession and wealth structuring.

He heads Chetcuti Cauchi Advocates’ Citizenship and Residency Practice and co-heads its Private Client Tax Practice. His work focuses on the interaction between mobility status and private wealth planning, including nationality, residence rights, tax residence, property ownership, family governance and estate planning.

He has handled more than 2,000 citizenship and residence applications and regularly advises on complex matters requiring coordinated legal, tax, due-diligence and risk analysis.

He works with private banks, wealth managers, trustees, tax advisers, immigration lawyers and other professional intermediaries on multijurisdictional private client mandates.

Central Law Training

Diploma in International Trust Management

2007 - 2008

Malta Institute of Taxation

Diploma in Taxation

2006 - 2007

University of Warwick

LL.M. in International Economic Law, with distinction

2001 - 2002

University of Malta

Doctor of Laws

1999 - 2001

University of Malta

Notary Public qualification

1998 - 1999

University of Malta

Bachelor of Arts in Law and English

1995 - 1998

Notable Tax Practitioner

ITR World Tax

2025

• Malta – legal qualification and principal jurisdiction of practice

• European Union – citizenship, nationality and free-movement law

• Cyprus, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Portugal and Greece – comparative residence, citizenship and personal tax experience

• Selected international citizenship and residence jurisdictions relevant to globally mobile families

• English

• Maltese

• Italian