These are the questions where the official pages we read were silent, conflicting or not yet read, grouped by who to ask. If you work at one of these entities, or you have asked one and got an answer, tell us and we will update the page.
Where official sources disagree
- Key Employee Initiative salary threshold (1.7, 7.9). Identità says EUR 45,000. The Jobsplus employer page says EUR 35,000, and describes a Specialised Employee Initiative at EUR 25,000.
- Posted workers: who notifies DIER (7.8). The DIER posted-workers site says the foreign provider notifies before or on the first day. The Jobsplus page says the Maltese host notifies within 24 hours.
- Lease registration deadline (9.3). Servizz.gov.mt says within 10 days of the lease starting. The consolidated Private Residential Leases Act text read says within 30 days.
- Winding-up form names (2.19). The MBR insolvency page names Forms B1 and B2. The MBR forms page lists B1(A) and B(2).
- Maltese lessons for non-Maltese pupils (12.1). gov.mt says non-Maltese families may opt children out of Maltese lessons. The International Learners Directorate says no child in a state school is exempt from learning Maltese and English.
Open questions by entity
Identità
- 🟡 1.7 Is there a fast track for highly skilled hires (Key Employee Initiative)? Two official pages disagree on the KEI salary (Identità €45,000, Jobsplus €35,000).
- 🟡 1.12 Do I need a visa to enter Malta? Also National Visa page: https://identita.gov.mt/central-visa-unit-sec-page-national-visa/.
- 🟡 1.13 Can I start work before my permit card arrives? The reported October 2025 interim-permit rule for visa-exempt TCNs is not confirmed on an official page.
- 🟡 1.16 Can my partner join me, and what proves a stable relationship? The Maltese-citizen route is covered.
- 🟡 2.12 Can I be self-employed in Malta as a non-EU national? Find the Identità self-employment page and criteria.
- 🟡 7.12 Can I hire an EU/EEA/Swiss national from abroad? Read the Jobsplus employer pages for EU hires and the Identità EU Nationals page.
- 🟡 8.3 How do I get an identity card or eResidence document? Page exists but we have not read it yet.
Identità (family permits)
- 🟡 1.18 Family Reunification: fees and processing times. The Family Members Policy page states no fees, and the Servizz.gov.mt page shows processing times that look wrong. How non-EU family members of an EU citizen register is not covered on the pages read.
Identità / Jobsplus
- ⚪ 1.14 What happens if I lose my job on a Single Permit? Secondary sources disagree on the grace period (10 days vs 60 days).
Identità / Gozo
- 🟡 1.15 How do I move to long-term or permanent residence?
MBR
- 🟡 2.3 What does incorporation cost? Page located; fee table not yet read.
- 🟡 2.20 Shutting down: is there a simplified dissolution procedure for a dormant company? Procedure, conditions and fees not found.
MTCA
- 🟡 2.11 Is there a lower tax rate for part-time self-employment? Page located; conditions and rate not yet read.
- 🟡 2.17 Upkeep: what are the VAT return cycle and deadlines? The page read covers only the sole-proprietor deadline extension (7 days later for online filing under Article 10) and does not state filing frequency or the standard deadline.
- 🟡 2.27 Can I give employees equity or share options, and how are they taxed? The page read does not mention share options, shares or securities, so the tax treatment of employee equity is not confirmed.
- 🟡 9.13 Can a non-EU or non-resident person buy property in Malta? The page is unclear on whether a non-EU person can buy a primary residence without a permit, and no value thresholds were found.
- 🟡 10.1 How is a company taxed, and what do shareholders get back? The MTCA page read does not explain the refund fractions, the tax accounts or how to claim, so the effective rate (5 to 10% in guides) is unconfirmed.
- 🟡 10.4 Which double tax treaties does Malta have, and how do I claim relief? The page shows 'last updated 13 October 2020' and does not describe how to claim relief.
No official owner identified
- ⚪ 2.22 What is the leanest way for a solo founder to set up from abroad? No single official page answers this.
- ⚪ 3.4 How do I open a business bank account for a startup? No official source found.
- ⚪ 3.5 Can I open an account before I arrive in Malta? No official source found.
- ⚪ 7.17 Can I employ staff in Malta without setting up a company (employer of record)? No official source found.
- ⚪ 9.15 How do I find a property to buy and a notary or agent I can trust? No official source found.
- ⚪ 9.16 Where can I stay while I look for a long-term place? Not yet researched.
- ⚪ 11.5 What does it cost to live in Malta, and where are the coworking spaces and communities? No official source.
Childcare (no official owner)
- ⚪ 12.6 What childcare is there if I don't qualify for the free scheme, or want a private centre or nanny? No official source found.
Malta Venture Capital (MVC)
- ⚪ 6.18 What is Malta Venture Capital (MVC), and how do startups approach it? MVC's own website is expected; details should come from MVC directly.
Ministry for Education
- 🟡 12.8 How do I register with a church or independent school, and how do I pick a school? The pages read do not describe how to apply or how places are allocated.
- 🟡 12.9 Where do I go for learning support or special educational needs? The Student Wellbeing Services site was not read.
Government of Malta
- 🟡 2.25 Does my activity need a licence or regulator approval (for example fintech, gaming, financial services)? Financial services and food are not listed on the category page, and no regulator is named for gaming, transport, tourism or regulated professions.
- 🟡 11.2 How do I get around: buses, the Tallinja card, ferries? The free-travel page says card applications were open 'until the end of February 2024', so whether free travel is still available and how a newcomer qualifies is unclear.
Ministry for Health
- 🟡 5.4 How do I get entitled to public healthcare as a resident? The page is written for visitors and UK nationals.
Malta Enterprise
- 🟡 6.3 What other Malta Enterprise schemes exist (Business Start, Business Development, venture capital)? Amounts and deadlines appear only in secondary sources so far.
MCST
- 🟡 6.4 What research and innovation funding does MCST offer? Page date unclear.
- 🟡 6.5 Is there help applying for the EIC Accelerator? Page describes the 2022 work programme; confirm the scheme is still running.
Xjenza Malta
- 🟡 6.13 Can a startup get Xjenza Malta industrial R&D funding? None of the Xjenza pages mention startups, and the 2026 deadlines have passed or the call is unpublished.
MDIA
- 🟡 6.15 Does the MDIA give grants? Boost Your Coding dates have passed. Other MDIA funding was not found.
EIT
- 🟡 6.17 Can a Malta startup apply directly to other EIT Community programmes? Individual EIT Community calls were not read.
Malta Enterprise (provider listing)
- 🟡 6.10 Which other schemes pay for services from an approved or external provider, and how do I get listed? We have not read the current incentive guidelines for provider conditions or any provider list.
Residency Malta Agency + Malta Enterprise
- 🟡 6.7 How does funding interact with my residence permit?
Jobsplus / Identità
- 🟡 7.9 Which fast-track route applies to a skilled non-EU hire, and at what salary? Unresolved conflict between official pages.
DIER
- 🟡 7.14 What minimum wage and employment conditions apply? Page referenced by Jobsplus; not yet read.
Legislation Malta
- 🟡 7.15 How do dismissal and termination work? Primary law located; a DIER explainer should be added.
Jobsplus
- 🟡 7.16 What termination-rate rules apply to employers of non-EU staff? Read the Labour Migration Policy PDF for the thresholds.
Unofficial sources in use
- 🔵 6.8 Where can I browse all the schemes I might qualify for? grants.mt is run by one individual and some of its dates differ from official pages.
- 🔵 9.1 How do I find a place to rent? No public authority runs a rental listing service that I found.
- 🔵 9.9 What will it cost me upfront to rent (rent, deposit, agent fee)? Agent fees are not set by law, so confirm in writing.
- 🔵 9.10 What are the common rental pitfalls and scams? Matches what the law requires (written contract, inventory, registration).
Housing Authority / Legislation Malta
- 🟡 9.3 Who must register my lease, by when, and what happens if it is not registered? Conflict between two official sources (10 days vs 30 days).
Housing Authority
- 🟡 9.8 What is a fair rent in my area? Official rent tool and a Housing Authority report on registered rental contracts exist.
- 🟡 9.17 Is there housing help for tenants? Scheme exists and is run by the Housing Authority.
Claims we left out because we could not confirm them
- Nomad Residence Permit health cover must include the UK (repeated in two guides, not on any official page we read).
- The Startup Residence Programme requiring EUR 25,000 paid-up capital and limiting to four key employees (not in the official eligibility PDF).
- An interim permit rule for visa-exempt third-country nationals from October 2025 (reported by secondary sources only).
- The grace period for a Single Permit holder who loses their job (10 days or 60 days, sources disagree).
Investors (topic 13)
- Fees, process and timing for citizenship by merit (13.1): the Community Malta Agency page gives no amounts. Ask the Agency.
- Whether citizenship by investment has ended (13.2): only commercial guides say so. Ask Community Malta Agency.
- Individual Tax Programme (13.4): the official Legal Notice 195 of 2026 exists, but we read the figures only in law-firm summaries. Check the Rules text and the Commissioner for Tax and Customs' guidelines.
- Public co-investment fund (13.5, also 6.18): operator, eligibility and application route are not stated. Ask Malta Venture Capital or the Ministry.
- Investor tax on returns and gains (13.6): not yet researched. Ask MTCA or an adviser.
- Seed Investment Scheme (6.19): a commercial guide mentions a February 2026 amendment. Ask MIMCOL.
Patent Box (rows 2.28 and 2.29)
- Tax return step and fees: the Malta Enterprise guidelines do not explain how the deduction is claimed in the return, or what a determination costs and how long it takes. Ask Malta Enterprise and MTCA.
- Legal reference: the guidelines cite S.L. 123.194, while summaries cite Legal Notice 208 of 2019. Likely the same rules, not confirmed.
- Whether a startup counts as a small company, and how qualifying income is defined, are not set out in the pages read.
Other IP incentives (rows 2.30 to 2.33)
- The Malta Enterprise R&D incentive (2.30) had an application deadline of 30 September 2026, and INVEST (2.32) is closed. Ask Malta Enterprise what opens from 2027.
- The older R&D tax credit page (2.31) dates from 2017 and may be superseded.
- EUIPO SME Fund (2.33): the Malta rate, 2026 dates and caps were not read.