Malta Immigration Services

Newland Chase offers full support with all aspects of corporate immigration to Malta. Please find an overview of the typical corporate immigration processes below. Every situation is unique, so please do get in touch, either through your usual Newland Chase contact or using the details on the right hand side of the page. Our immigration experts will be glad to discuss your needs in greater detail.

Immigration Summary

Applicants sent on assignment to Malta for over six months or locally hired in Malta may follow a single Work and Residence Permit process. Although a post-arrival single permit application is possible, work may not start until the permit has been approved. The permit is issued for 12 months and renewable annually and without restriction. The applicant may have a contract either directly with the Maltese entity or may remain on contract outside Malta. Proof of labour market testing is required for all except senior and highly-paid positions. Applicants who are primarily employed outside of Malta with a foreign payroll and contract and travel into Malta for short working trips may not require work authorisation.

Identity Malta has recently launched the Key Employee Initiative (KEI), a fast-tracked procedure for highly specialised non-EU nationals who intend to work in managerial or highly technical posts in Malta. The work and residence permit is issued within five days of submission of the application. To qualify, applicants must receive a salary of at least EUR 30,000 per year, and must present the relevant proof, and a declaration from the employer, that they have the qualifications, warrants or work experience for the position.

Applicants sent on assignment to Malta for under six months may apply for an Employment Licence and a separate residence card. The employment contract must remain outside Malta.

The Intra-Corporate Transfer Permit (EU Directive 2014/66) is only applicable to assignees falling into management/specialist or trainee categories sent to Malta for over 90 days from outside the EEA and has a maximum total duration of stay of three years for managers and specialists and one year for trainees. If an applicant meets qualifying criteria for this process, he or she may not apply under an alternative route. The applicant must have been employed for at least three to six months (for trainees) or three to twelve months (for managers/specialists) by the sending company or group of companies immediately preceding the date of the intra-corporate transfer application.

ICT permits under Directive 2014/66 allow mobility within EU member states - i.e. work permission is not required for EU ICT permit holders to work in other member states for less than 90 days (a notification may be required) and a streamlined Mobile ICT permit application may be applicable if working in other member states for longer than 90 days.

The Posted Worker (Assignment from within the EEA) process allows a non-EEA national who is employed and contracted by a home entity in another EEA country to be sent on short-term assignment as a "posted worker" to Malta without a work permit. The Department of Industrial and Employment Relations should be notified of the assignment. Additionally, a residence permit is still required if the assignee will be staying for longer than 90 days.

The Blue Card is an EU wide (with some exceptions) immigration process for highly skilled employees with a concrete job offer in the destination country and a salary at least 1.5 times the average gross annual salary for the specific job to be done. Note that this is not a commonly used category in Malta.

EEA/EFTA nationals are work permit exempt and simply need to notify JobsPlus (Malta) of their employment, and apply for a residence card if staying for longer than 90 days.