Malta · Work authorisation

Key Employee Initiative (KEI)

Issued by Identità — Expatriates Unit (formerly Identity Malta Agency). It is checked against conditions rather than scored, so the question is whether you meet each one, not how many points you gather.

Basis
Checklist
Steps
4
Possible outcomes
2
Last checked
2026-08-09

Conditions

What this permit
asks of you.

Which desk decides

The authority, exactly

Subsidiary Legislation 217.17 names the decision-maker as the "Director" for Citizenship and Expatriate Affairs. Identità states that the KEI's administrative process follows that of the regular Single Permit, including the due-diligence process — only fast-tracked.

2026 figure

Salary floor

EUR 45,000 a year

Identità's eligibility page for the KEI states this as a gross annual salary of at least €45,000, alongside a managerial or highly-technical post. The KEI is also extended to innovators endorsed by Malta Enterprise for a start-up project, a category the page does not tie to this salary figure — confirm with Identità which basis applies to your case.

A figure without the year it belongs to and the condition attached to it is how someone rules themselves out of a permit they qualify for. Both are above.

Qualification

What it wants from your degree

Certified copies of the qualifications, warrants or proof of work experience relevant to a managerial or highly-technical post, or endorsement by Malta Enterprise as an innovator in a start-up project.

Not a licence

Academic comparability

Recognition statement comparing a foreign qualification against the Malta Qualifications Framework (MQF), issued by MQRIC (Malta Qualifications Recognition Information Centre), within the MFHEA.

This compares your degree to a local one. It is an academic statement and it does not authorise you to practise any profession.

Qualification already listed on the MQRIC database: €15. Not published as a fixed figure. MQRIC states the timeline depends on how quickly its counterpart authority in the country that issued the qualification responds

The procedure

4 steps,
in the order they happen.

Prepare your documents

  1. Secure a job offer in Malta for a managerial or highly-technical post, or secure endorsement from Malta Enterprise as an innovator in a start-up project.
  2. Have your employer publish a job advertisement on an appropriate local media platform for at least two weeks within the two months before the application, and gather certified copies of your qualifications, warrants or proof of relevant work experience.Identità's Single Permit documents list states this two-week local-media test as the reduced version that applies to KEI, SEI, Blue Card and Skilled Occupation List applicants — other Single Permit applicants face a three-week test through Jobsplus and EURES instead.

Get your qualification assessed

  1. Because the KEI is a fast-tracked Single Permit application, Identità's Single Permit document list applies: any foreign qualification certificate must be accompanied by an MQRIC recognition statement, or by proof that the MQRIC application is pending.

Register and start working

  1. Your employer applies for the Single Permit through the Single Permit Online Portal under the KEI fast track. You receive a link to confirm and validate your data before your employer makes the final, paid submission.Identità states an expected KEI processing time of five working days from a complete online submission. Identità also states that, from January 2026, a Pre-Departure Course is mandatory for third-country nationals applying for a Single Permit for the first time — its own page does not say whether KEI applicants are exempt, so confirm this with Identità before travelling.

Cost and time

What it costs,
and how long the authority says it takes.

Fees

Single Permit application fee (first-time)
€600
Single Permit renewal
€150 per year, for up to three years
Pre-Departure Course (first-time applicants, from January 2026)
€250 — confirm with Identità whether the KEI is exempt

Timeframes

KEI processing
Five working days from a complete online submission, per Identità
Initial permit validity
One year, renewable up to three years while a valid employment contract and an annual tax declaration are current

Published processing times, not a prediction about your case.

Both halves together

Guides that use this permit.

Each one takes a profession into Malta and runs the recognition branch and the authorisation branch side by side, including what your country of qualification adds.

Evidence

Every claim on this page, and where it came from.

4 official pages, each with the jurisdiction it speaks for and the date a human last opened it. The oldest is 2026-08-09, and that is the date this page is only as fresh as.

Is this the right permit for you?

That depends on where you qualified.

The planner compares every route Malta opens to your country of qualification, and adds the recognition branch when your profession has one.

Check my path →All Malta permits