Malta · Work authorisation

Single Permit (standard track)

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. Only the Maltese employer may submit the application — a third-country national cannot apply directly, except an authorised live-in carer applying with the employer's endorsement.

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. Have your prospective employer, who must be registered with Jobsplus, publish a job advertisement with Jobsplus and on the EURES portal for at least three weeks within the two months before the application.Identità's documents-required page states this three-week Jobsplus/EURES test for standard applications, against a shorter two-week local-media test for KEI, SEI, Blue Card and Skilled Occupation List applicants.
  2. Gather the core documents Identità's checklist requires: passport, a CV in Europass format, the signed employment contract, a position-description form, and health insurance covering at least €100,000 for Malta and Europe.

Get your qualification assessed

  1. 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 through the Single Permit Online Portal. The application is only complete once you confirm your data online and either party pays the fee.From January 2026, Identità requires a Pre-Departure Course for third-country nationals applying for a Single Permit for the first time, covering living and working in Malta and workplace rights and obligations.

Cost and time

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

Fees

Application fee (first-time)
€600
Renewal
€150 per year
Pre-Departure Course (first-time applicants, from January 2026)
€250

Timeframes

Processing
Legal maximum of four months under Subsidiary Legislation 217.17; Identità states the average is closer to two months from a complete submission

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.

7 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