Software developer · Malta

Work in Malta
as a software developer.

Malta offers more routes for this job than most destinations on this site, and they are not variations of one another: three carry different income figures, and one of them is not about working for a Maltese employer at all. Choosing by the lowest number is how people end up applying on the wrong basis.

Recognition
Not regulated
Work permits sourced
4
Official sources
23
Last checked
2026-08-03
Build my roadmap →Compare the permits

The short answer

Two questions, and they are not the same question.

◎No licence decision

Recognition

Not regulated · no recognition decision required

No authority approves your qualification before you take this job in Malta. That is a sourced finding, not an absence of research: the links at the bottom of this page are what it rests on.

↗Always required

Work authorisation

Whatever the recognition branch says, you still need the legal right to work in Malta. We have sourced 4 routes for a qualification obtained outside the EU and EEA.

  • Key Employee Initiative (KEI)
  • Specialist Employee Initiative (SEI)
  • Single Permit (standard track)
  • Nomad Residence Permit

Work authorisation

Every permit we can source,
side by side.

Open the full roadmap →

Key Employee Initiative (KEI)

Identità — Expatriates Unit (formerly Identity Malta Agency)

Checklist
Salary floor
EUR 45,000 a year (2026 figure)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.
Qualification
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.
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
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
Everything about Key Employee Initiative (KEI) →
The procedure, step by step4 steps · 2 possible outcomes
  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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.

Possible outcomes

  • A Single Permit fast-tracked under the KEI, combining residence and work authorisation for the named employer and post.
  • Referral to the standard Single Permit process, or refusal, where the salary, post or documentation conditions are not met.

Specialist Employee Initiative (SEI)

Identità — Expatriates Unit (formerly Identity Malta Agency)

Checklist
Salary floor
EUR 30,000 a year (2026 figure)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.
Qualification
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.
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
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
Everything about Specialist Employee Initiative (SEI) →
The procedure, step by step4 steps · 2 possible outcomes
  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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.

Possible outcomes

  • A Single Permit fast-tracked under the SEI, combining residence and work authorisation for the named employer and post.
  • Referral to the standard Single Permit process, or refusal, where the salary, qualification/experience or documentation conditions are not met.

Single Permit (standard track)

Identità — Expatriates Unit (formerly Identity Malta Agency)

Checklist
Processing
Legal maximum of four months under Subsidiary Legislation 217.17; Identità states the average is closer to two months from a complete submission
Application fee (first-time)
€600
Renewal
€150 per year
Pre-Departure Course (first-time applicants, from January 2026)
€250
Everything about Single Permit (standard track) →
The procedure, step by step4 steps · 2 possible outcomes
  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.
  3. Any foreign qualification certificate must be accompanied by an MQRIC recognition statement, or by proof that the MQRIC application is pending.
  4. 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.

Possible outcomes

  • A Single Permit combining residence and work authorisation for the named employer and post, for a defined period of over six months, renewable.
  • Refusal, or a request for further documentation, where Jobsplus's labour-market test or Identità's due-diligence checks are not satisfied.

Nomad Residence Permit

Residency Malta Agency

Checklist
Salary floor
EUR 42,000 a year (2026 figure)Residency Malta's eligibility page states a minimum gross yearly income of €42,000. Applicants who submitted before 1 April 2024 remained on the earlier threshold of €32,400 — not relevant to a new application today, but stated by the source alongside the current figure.
Application processing
About 30 working days from receipt of the application fee, per Residency Malta
Residence card issuance
Three to four weeks after biometric capture
Application fee
€300 per applicant and per family member, non-refundable, payable on application and on every renewal
Residence card issuance (paid to Identità)
€100 per person
Change of address after approval
€50
Everything about Nomad Residence Permit →
The procedure, step by step4 steps · 3 possible outcomes
  1. Establish which of the three eligible categories applies: an employment contract with a company registered abroad, a partner or shareholder role in a company registered abroad, or freelance or consulting services for clients whose permanent establishments are abroad.Residency Malta states that a person contracted by a foreign company but assigned to work for its Maltese subsidiary is not eligible for this permit.
  2. Gather a valid travel document, proof of the minimum gross yearly income, health insurance covering the EU (including Malta) and the UK, a property rental or purchase agreement in Malta, a police conduct certificate, and pass a background-verification check.
  3. Apply online through the Nomad Residence Permit portal. Residency Malta's Client Relations officers verify your documents and issue a receipt of application before requesting payment of the application fee.
  4. On approval in principle, submit proof of accommodation and health insurance within the stated window; on final approval, travel to Malta — obtaining an entry visa first if your nationality requires one — and book an appointment for biometric capture.Residency Malta states that holding a Single Permit, or any other Maltese permit, at the same time as the Nomad Residence Permit is not possible: issuing the Nomad Residence Permit automatically revokes the other permit.

Possible outcomes

  • A Nomad Residence Permit valid for one year, renewable at Residency Malta's discretion for as long as the eligibility conditions continue to be met.
  • Automatic revocation of any other Maltese residence or work permit already held once the Nomad Residence Permit is issued.
  • Refusal, where the income, remote-work-category or background-check conditions are not met.

Document preparation

What you still have to prepare.

Ordered the way the procedure runs, from an origin outside the EU and EEA. Pick your own country of qualification below and the planner reorders it for you.

1

Prepare your documents

  1. Request certified copies of your degree and full academic transcripts from the Indian university or board that issued them.
  2. The Apostille Convention has been in force for India since 14 July 2005, so an apostille replaces consular legalisation. An Indian educational document cannot go straight to the apostille, though: it is authenticated first by the Regional Authentication Centre of the State or Union Territory whose authority signed it, and the Ministry of External Affairs apostilles it afterwards on the strength of that signature.Which office acts as the RAC, what it charges and how long it takes are set by each State or Union Territory, not by the MEA.
  3. Since July 2012 the MEA has not accepted documents directly from applicants. They go through one of the four authorised outsourced agencies — BLS International Services, Superb Enterprises, IVS Global Services or Alhind Tours & Travels — and since 1 January 2019 the service also runs from Branch Secretariats and Regional Passport Offices in 16 cities.The MEA advises applicants not to rely on unauthorised persons or touts. Nobody outside those channels can lodge an apostille for you.
  4. If your certificate already sits in an Indian digital depository — CBSE documents from 2014 onwards, or anything issued through the National Academic Depository — e-Sanad handles the apostille online and the physical route does not apply. CBSE physical copies from 2014 onwards are no longer accepted over the counter.
  5. An apostille certifies the signature and seal of the Indian authority that signed your document. It says nothing about what the document contains: the MEA states explicitly that it does not take responsibility for the contents.It is a check on the paperwork, never a statement about the level or the content of your qualification.

What it costs

MEA apostille
Rs 50 per apostille sticker
Authorised agency service charge
Rs 84 per document, plus Rs 3 per page for scanning
State authentication before the apostille
Set by the State or Union Territory that authenticates the document — confirm the current fee with the relevant RAC

Where you qualified

The answer changes
with your country.

Everything we cover →

Qualified outside the EU and EEA — permit required

Colombia → MaltaOpen this roadmapArgentina → MaltaOpen this roadmapIndia → MaltaOpen this roadmapPhilippines → MaltaOpen this roadmapNigeria → MaltaOpen this roadmapBrazil → MaltaOpen this roadmap

People reach this page looking for

  • Key Employee Initiative Malta salary
  • Specialist Employee Initiative Malta
  • Malta Nomad Residence Permit income
  • Malta single permit for IT workers
  • MQRIC recognition statement Malta

Questions

Answered from the same sources.

Is software developer a regulated profession in Malta?

No. We verified that software developer is not a regulated profession in Malta, which means no authority has to approve your qualification before you may hold the job. You still need a legal right to work there.

Which work permits can a software developer apply for in Malta?

We have sourced 4: Key Employee Initiative (KEI), Specialist Employee Initiative (SEI), Single Permit (standard track), Nomad Residence Permit. Each one has its own conditions, and this page compares them side by side rather than recommending one.

What salary do you need to work in Malta as a software developer?

Key Employee Initiative (KEI): EUR 45,000 a year (2026 figure, 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.). Specialist Employee Initiative (SEI): EUR 30,000 a year (2026 figure, 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.). Nomad Residence Permit: EUR 42,000 a year (2026 figure, Residency Malta's eligibility page states a minimum gross yearly income of €42,000. Applicants who submitted before 1 April 2024 remained on the earlier threshold of €32,400 — not relevant to a new application today, but stated by the source alongside the current figure.).

Do you need your degree recognised for a Malta work permit?

Some routes ask for academic comparability, which is not the same thing as professional recognition. Recognition statement comparing a foreign qualification against the Malta Qualifications Framework (MQF) is issued by MQRIC (Malta Qualifications Recognition Information Centre), within the MFHEA. The permit pages above say which routes require it.

Is this page up to date?

The oldest source behind it was checked on 2026-08-03. Every claim links to the official page it came from, with its own check date, so you can verify any of it yourself in one click.

Evidence

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

23 official pages, each with the jurisdiction it speaks for and the date a human last opened it. The oldest of them is 2026-08-03, and that is the date this page is only as fresh as.

Two minutes, no account

Your qualification, your country, your roadmap.

This page answers the pairing in general. The planner answers it for the country you actually qualified in, and prints the result with its sources attached.

Build my roadmap →How we verify this