How to enter, live and work in Malta. The route depends first on whether you are an EU/EEA/Swiss national or a third-country national (TCN), then on whether you are an employee, a remote worker or a founder. Status labels are explained on the Starting in Malta home page.
1.1 Do I need a residence permit to live and work in Malta?
EU citizens may stay up to three months without a registration certificate. Non-EU nationals need a valid residence permit to work and reside.
Official source: Identità: Working & Residing in Malta (Identità)
Status: ✅ Verified · checked 2026-10-21 · For: All
1.2 I'm an EU/EEA/Swiss national staying longer than 3 months. What do I register?
EU, EEA and Swiss nationals intending to reside or work longer than three months apply for a residence certificate; an eResidence document is issued based on scope of residence.
Official source: Identità Expatriates Portal (Identità)
Status: ✅ Verified · checked 2026-10-21 · For: EU/EEA/Swiss
1.3 What are the ways I can enter Malta for work as a non-EU national?
Portal routes for employment and self-employment:
- Single Permit (SL 217.17)
- Blue Card (SL 217.15)
- Intra-Corporate Transferee (SL 217.21)
- self-employment
Separate programmes:
- Key Employee Initiative
- Nomad Residence Permit
- Startup Residence Programme
Official source: Identità Expatriates Portal (Identità)
Status: ✅ Verified · checked 2026-10-21 · For: TCN employee, founder, remote worker
1.4 Who is eligible for a Single Permit?
- Needs a job offer from a company registered and operating in Malta; the employer must be registered with Jobsplus.
- The TCN cannot apply directly.
- The applicant must be still abroad or hold legal status in Malta.
Official source: Identità: Single Permit, who is eligible (Identità)
Status: ✅ Verified · checked 2026-10-21 · For: TCN employee, employer
1.5 How does a non-EU hire get a Single Permit, and what does it cost?
Only the employer applies, through the Single Permit Online Portal.
Fees:
- €600 first-time
- €150 per year for renewal
Official source: Identità: Applying for a Single Permit (Identità)
Status: ✅ Verified · checked 2026-10-21 · For: TCN employee, employer
1.6 Do I have to complete a pre-departure course before applying?
Required for first-time Single Permit applicants since 2026; Identità verifies certificates from 1 March 2026.
Course details:
- Two online modules with assessments
- a 20-minute live interview
- up to 42 days to complete Part 1
- fee €250
Official source: Ministry for Home Affairs: Pre-Departure Course (Home Affairs / Identità)
Status: ✅ Verified · checked 2026-10-21 · For: TCN employee, employer
1.7 Is there a fast track for highly skilled hires (Key Employee Initiative)?
For managerial or highly technical roles.
- Salary: Identità states a minimum annual gross salary of €45,000 (page modified 1 Aug 2025), plus certified qualifications or proof of experience.
- Processing: expected time five working days.
- Validity: permit valid one year initially, renewable up to three years.
- Job advert: proof of a job advert (two weeks, within the prior two months) is required.
- Fees: €600 first-time, €150 per year renewal.
The Jobsplus employer page instead states €35,000 for the KEI and describes a Specialised Employee Initiative at €25,000 with MQF level 6 or three years' experience.
Official source: Identità: Key Employee Initiative, who is eligible (Identità)
Status: 🟡 Needs checking · For: TCN employee, employer
1.8 Can I live in Malta and keep working for my foreign employer (Nomad Residence Permit)?
- Non-EU nationals only.
- Minimum gross yearly income €42,000 for applications from 1 April 2024 (€32,400 for earlier applicants).
- Needs a valid rental or purchase agreement, police conduct certificate and background check.
- People providing services to Malta-based companies or individuals are ineligible.
Official source: Residency Malta: Nomad Residence Permit eligibility (Residency Malta Agency)
Status: ✅ Verified · checked 2026-10-21 · For: Non-EU remote worker
1.9 What does the Nomad permit cost and how long does it last?
- Fees: €300 non-refundable application fee per person and €100 residency card fee (the older FAQ listed €27.50).
- Validity: one year; may be renewed three times, up to four years in total.
- Renewal: requires proof of at least five months' residence in Malta over the previous twelve.
Official source: Residency Malta: Nomad application process and FAQs (Residency Malta Agency)
Status: ✅ Verified · checked 2026-10-21 · For: Non-EU remote worker
1.10 Can my family join me on a Nomad permit?
Family members can be included at application or added later. Their permit duration depends on the main applicant's.
Official source: Residency Malta: Policy on Family Members of Nomad applicants (Residency Malta Agency)
Status: ✅ Verified · checked 2026-10-21 · For: Non-EU remote worker
1.11 Which founders and employees qualify for the Startup Residence Programme?
Open to founders, co-founders, core employees and their family.
Requirements:
- Startup registered no more than seven years
- business plan approved by Malta Enterprise
- at most six co-founders
Fees: €750 per adult for the 3-year programme plus €82.50 for the residence card.
Official source: Residency Malta: Startup Residence Programme eligibility (Aug 2024) (Residency Malta Agency + Malta Enterprise)
Status: ✅ Verified · checked 2026-10-21 · For: Non-EU founder, startup employee
1.12 Do I need a visa to enter Malta?
No confirmed answer yet.
Official source: Identità Central Visa Unit: Schengen Visa (Identità)
Status: 🟡 Needs checking · For: TCN
1.13 Can I start work before my permit card arrives?
For live-in carers, an Interim Receipt with Temporary Authorisation to Work is issued after biometrics. The general rule for other Single Permit holders is not confirmed.
Official source: Identità: Applying for a Single Permit (Identità)
Status: 🟡 Needs checking · For: TCN employee
1.14 What happens if I lose my job on a Single Permit?
No confirmed answer yet.
Source: none identified yet.
Status: ⚪ No official source found · For: TCN employee
1.15 How do I move to long-term or permanent residence?
Lists:
- Permanent Residence and Long-Term Residence applications for non-EU nationals
- permanent residence for EU nationals
Criteria not read.
Official source: e-Residence Unit Gozo (lists schemes) (Identità / Gozo)
Status: 🟡 Needs checking · For: TCN, EU
1.16 Can my partner join me, and what proves a stable relationship?
For a third-country national in a de-facto relationship with a Maltese national, Identità accepts evidence of a steady relationship such as:
- utility bills
- lease or purchase agreements
- joint bank statements
- flight tickets
- dated photographs
- sworn affidavits from family
It may interview the couple, and the partner may work with a Jobsplus licence.
For partners of other non-EU sponsors, the Identità FAQ mentions spouses (at least 21, monogamous marriage) and children, and says unmarried adult family members may qualify under the Family Members Policy only if dependency is proven. Unmarried partners of non-EU sponsors are not mentioned.
Official source: Identità: Temporary permit, partner of a Maltese citizen; Residence permits FAQ (Identità)
Status: 🟡 Needs checking · For: All TCN
1.17 Which residence route fits me: Schengen short stay, national visa, Nomad permit, Global Residence Programme or permanent residence?
The Residency Malta Agency runs:
- the Malta Permanent Residence Programme
- the Nomad Residence Permit
- the Startup Residence Programme
- a Family Office Residency
MTCA lists five special tax schemes for individuals:
- Residence Programme
- Global Residence Programme
- Malta Retirement Programme
- United Nations Pensions Programme
- High Net Worth Individuals Rules
Each taxes remitted foreign income at 15% and other Maltese income at 35%, subject to a minimum annual tax.
The Global Residence Programme is for non-EU applicants only (EU, EEA, Swiss excluded), with:
- a minimum tax of EUR 15,000 a year
- a qualifying home owned from EUR 275,000 (EUR 220,000 in the south or Gozo) or rented from EUR 9,600 a year (EUR 8,750)
- health insurance covering all risks in the EU
- an application through an Authorised Registered Mandatary
- a EUR 6,000 administrative fee
The gov.mt moving-to-Malta page separates a tourist Schengen visa from ordinary and permanent residence.
Official source: Residency Malta Agency; MTCA: Special Schemes; Global Residence Programme guidelines (Residency Malta Agency / MTCA)
Status: ✅ Verified · checked 2026-10-21 · For: Nomads, founders
1.18 Can I bring my spouse and children if I am a non-EU national (Family Reunification)?
Applies to a non-EU sponsor who is legally resident in Malta on a residence permit valid for at least one year, and normally only after 12 calendar months from the issue of the first permit.
Family members are:
- a spouse (at least 21, monogamous marriage)
- unmarried minor children (18 or under, including recognised adopted children)
Unmarried adult children may be admitted if financially or physically dependent. Parents and unmarried partners are not listed.
The sponsor needs:
- stable resources above the median wage (EUR 18,940 per the 2024 figure) plus 20% for each family member
- accommodation details
- health insurance of at least EUR 100,000 per family member for the whole permit duration
The sponsor applies through the Non-EU Applicants portal before the family travels, and applications for people already in Malta are inadmissible except for minor children born in Malta. Identità confirms eligibility in writing within 60 days.
Family members then collect a temporary residence permit at the Expatriates Unit on arrival. Permits start at one year, can be shortened to match the sponsor's permit, and renew yearly while conditions are met.
Key Employee and Specialist Employee Initiative permit holders can be exempt from the one-year wait, with:
- income of at least EUR 50,000 gross for the sponsor and one dependant plus EUR 6,000 per additional dependant
- health insurance
- a private school application for school-age children
Family permits do not automatically allow work; a change to a single permit is needed.
Official source: Identità: Family Members Policy (non-employment permits); Identità FAQ on family members; Servizz.gov.mt: Family Reunification Residence Permit (Identità)
Status: ✅ Verified · checked 2026-10-21 · For: TCN, family