Malta · Work authorisation

Specialist Employee Initiative (SEI)

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

Identità describes the SEI as the route for third-country nationals who meet the Single Permit Regulations but not the KEI's conditions. Only the Maltese employer may submit the application, not the applicant.

2026 figure

Salary floor

EUR 30,000 a year

Identità's eligibility page for the SEI states this as a gross annual salary of at least €30,000, on top of the qualification or experience test.

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

Malta Qualifications Framework (MQF) Level 6 or higher directly related to the job offer, or a lower qualification combined with at least three years' experience directly related to the job offer.

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 signed employment contract with a Maltese-registered company, and confirm you meet either the MQF Level 6 qualification test or the three-years'-experience alternative for the position offered.Identità accepts previous employment contracts, official employment-authority records, or reference letters stating start and end dates and the work carried out, as evidence of the experience alternative.
  2. Have proof gathered of one job advertisement published for at least two weeks within the two months before the application, on an appropriate local media platform.

Get your qualification assessed

  1. Because the SEI is a fast track to the Single Permit, 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 through the Single Permit Online Portal once Identità approves their portal access. You receive a link to confirm and validate your data, then your employer is notified for final, paid submission.Identità's own pages disagree on the SEI fee: the eligibility page states €600, the application-procedure page states €300. Confirm the current amount with Identità before paying. Processing time is fifteen working days from a complete submission, per Identità.

Cost and time

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

Fees

Application fee
Identità states two different figures on its own site — €600 on the eligibility page, €300 on the application-procedure page. Confirm the current amount before applying
Renewal
Up to three years, subject to a continuing employment contract — confirm the current renewal fee with Identità

Timeframes

SEI processing
Fifteen working days from a complete submission, per Identità
Initial permit validity
One year, renewable for up to three years while the eligibility conditions continue to be met

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.

5 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