Everyday practicalities once you have arrived: phones, transport, driving, schools. Status labels are explained on the Starting in Malta home page.
11.1 How do I get a SIM card, mobile and home internet?
Choose between prepaid (top-up) and postpaid (signed contract with a minimum term). A contract takes effect only after the consumer confirms agreement to the contract summary.
Number portability should take no more than one working day, with a two-month minimum commitment after porting. Internet contracts should state typical speed ranges and traffic management policies.
Complain to the provider first, then to the MCA, which acknowledges within 2 working days and aims to reply within 20 working days.
Official source: Malta Communications Authority: Consumer FAQs (MCA)
Status: ✅ Verified · checked 2026-10-21 · For: Newcomers, nomads
11.2 How do I get around: buses, the Tallinja card, ferries?
A personalised tallinja card is registered online, vetted in about two working days and posted, aimed within two weeks.
Card types include:
- children
- students
- adults
- concessions
- Gozo residents
Tallinja cardholders pay less than cash-ticket holders. A cash single ticket is valid for two hours.
The Infrastructure Malta page says that from 1 October 2022 all citizens and residents who hold a personalised tallinja card qualify for free public transport.
Official source: gov.mt: Public Transport; Infrastructure Malta: Free Public Transport (Government of Malta)
Status: 🟡 Needs checking · For: Newcomers, nomads
11.3 Can I drive on my foreign licence, and how do I register a vehicle?
Licences from these countries can be exchanged if you take up normal residence, shown by at least 185 days in Malta over the previous 12 months:
- other EU states
- Norway
- Iceland
- Liechtenstein
- Switzerland
- Australia
- the UK
- the UAE (for Malta or UAE citizens)
Holders of other licences may drive for up to twelve months from their last entry. A valid unexpired licence is exchanged for EUR 7 per year of validity.
A vehicle imported from the EU must be inspected and registered within 30 days, or a EUR 30 daily fine applies, with a EUR 55 inspection fee, EUR 15 registration fee, circulation fee and registration tax.
Official source: Transport Malta: Exchange your foreign driving licence; Registering a vehicle imported from an EU state (Transport Malta)
Status: ✅ Verified · checked 2026-10-21 · For: Residents
11.4 How do I enrol my children in a school or find childcare?
Students between 3 and 15 years, including foreign students and those moving to church or independent schools, can apply for admission to state schools.
Third-country-national children register with the International Learners Directorate after a visit to the Ministry for Education one-stop shop, where permits are checked (ildmalta.gov.mt/registration). Identità says children of compulsory school age on a family permit must be enrolled in school.
Official source: Servizz.gov.mt: Admission into Maltese State Schools; International Learners Directorate registration (Ministry for Education)
Status: ✅ Verified · checked 2026-10-21 · For: Families
11.5 What does it cost to live in Malta, and where are the coworking spaces and communities?
No confirmed answer yet.
Source: none identified yet.
Status: ⚪ No official source found · For: Newcomers, nomads