Guide
Ordinary residence in Malta: EU registration, permits and long-term status
Updated
Most people who move to Malta never touch a residence programme. The ordinary routes are the cheapest by an order of magnitude, and the least written about.
EU, EEA and Swiss nationals
Identità states plainly that EU nationals do not need a permit to reside and work in Malta. EEA nationals have the right to reside when exercising treaty rights as workers, self-employed persons, economically self-sufficient persons, family members, exempt persons or students (identita.gov.mt).
An EU or EEA national who intends to reside or work in Malta for longer than three months must register their residence with Identità. They are issued an eResidence document based on their scope of residence.
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Applying for and issuing an eResidence document | Free |
| Replacing a damaged document | €16.50 |
| Replacing a lost document, with a Malta Police report | €22 |
Third-country nationals without a programme: economic self-sufficiency and long-term residence
- Economic self-sufficiency, €100 for new and renewal applications. This is the temporary residence permit route used by beneficiaries of the Global Residence Programme, the Malta Permanent Residence Programme, the Malta Retirement Programme and citizenship. Applicants must already hold a valid authorisation to reside in Malta, and travel documents need at least 8 months' validity at submission.
- Employment routes, where a Maltese employer applies for a single permit on your behalf. Those are covered on our sister site for Malta work permits.
- Long-term residence status, €500, for third-country nationals who have been legally and continuously resident in Malta for five years or more, have stable and regular resources, have their own accommodation and fulfil the integration measures in Subsidiary Legislation 217.05. The status is permanent and the residence permit is issued for five years.
Both fees are published by Identità (economic self-sufficiency, long-term residence).
The fee nobody budgets for
Across every route the largest unpublished cost is professional: the licensed agent, mandatary or law firm. MPRP applications may only be submitted through a Licensed Agent. Global Residence Programme applications must be made through an authorised registered mandatary.
Neither the Residency Malta Agency nor the Laws of Malta publish what those intermediaries charge, and we will not invent a range. Ask two or three for a written fee schedule and compare like for like. Application drafting, due diligence handling, property search and post-approval renewals are often priced separately.
Residence and tax residence are different questions with different tests. A residence card does not settle where you are taxed, and Malta's remittance treatment turns on rules outside the immigration file. Take tax advice before you assume.