Before you start

For the single permit: a job offer with a Malta-registered employer
For the Key Employee Initiative: an annual gross salary of at least €45,000 and documented qualifications
For the Nomad Residence Permit: €3,500 gross a month and a foreign employer, foreign company you part-own, or foreign clients
Accommodation in Malta, health insurance and a police conduct certificate

Step-by-step

1
Establish which route your employer will file
The ordinary single permit involves a Jobsplus labour market test and a queue measured in months. The Key Employee Initiative is fast-tracked but needs €45,000 a year and evidence the post was advertised for at least two weeks within the preceding two months.
Via employerWho: Your employer
2
Or apply for the Nomad Residence Permit yourself
Through the Residency Malta Agency. You need income evidence of at least €3,500 gross a month, secured for at least five months — roughly €17,500 at application — plus health insurance covering the EU including Malta and the UK, and a rental or purchase agreement.
OnlineWho: YouAround 30 days from a complete application
3
Pay the fees
The first-time residence permit is €600, with renewals at €150 per year. The Nomad Residence Permit has its own application fee per applicant and dependant.
OnlineWho: You or your employer€600 first-time; €150/year renewal
4
Collect the eResidence card
Issued by Identità. Its number is what banking, tax and social security all key off, so nothing downstream proceeds without it.
In personWho: You
5
Keep your tax filing current — renewal depends on it
Single permit renewals require a valid employment contract and an annual tax declaration stamped by the tax authority. Falling behind on Maltese tax filing directly threatens your permit.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport
Employment contract, or evidence of foreign employment/clients for the nomad permit
Qualifications or documented work experience
Police conduct certificate
Health insurance covering the EU including Malta, and the UK
Rental or purchase agreement for accommodation

Things most newcomers don’t know

The Nomad Residence Permit's tax treatment changed and most guides still have it wrong.

Qualifying income is exempt from Maltese tax for the first twelve months — running from the permit's issue or 1 January 2024, whichever is later — and then taxed at a flat 10% on authorised work income. The MTCA issued interpretative guidelines in January 2026 clarifying compliance without changing the substance. Material describing a permanent exemption, or no Maltese tax at all, is describing the pre-2024 scheme.

Source: GVZH / MTCA guidance on the Nomad Residence Permits (Income Tax) Rules

Work for a Maltese subsidiary of your foreign employer does not qualify for the 10%.

'Authorised work' means employment by a foreign-registered employer, business activity for a foreign company you part-own, or freelance work for clients established abroad. If your group has a Maltese entity and you are contracted to serve it, the income falls outside the rules. Large employers with an existing Malta presence are exactly where this trap sits.

Source: Nomad Residence Permits (Income Tax) Rules — definition of authorised work

The €45,000 Key Employee Initiative threshold is the whole gate.

Below it, a role of any seniority goes back into the ordinary single permit queue, which in Malta is measured in months rather than days. The KEI does not change your legal status — the permit and its renewal conditions are identical — it changes how long you wait. For a start date that matters, that is the difference.

Source: Identità — Key Employee Initiative eligibility

Your permit renewal depends on a stamped tax declaration, which surprises people.

Renewals require a valid employment contract and an annual tax declaration stamped by the tax authority. Immigration status and tax compliance are connected here in a way they are not in most member states. A missed filing is not merely a tax problem; it is a residence problem.

Source: Identità — permit renewal conditions

Common mistakes to avoid

Quoting the €2,700 monthly nomad threshold, superseded by €3,500 on 1 April 2024.
Assuming the 10% rate covers work done for your employer's Maltese subsidiary.
Accepting a Key Employee Initiative promise on a salary below €45,000.
Underestimating the ordinary single permit queue when planning a start date.
Letting Maltese tax filing slip and putting the permit renewal at risk.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.